Furnishing Your Home

Renting Furniture
How the Scheme Works
Other Options
After Five Years

Renting Furniture

The Council operates a scheme that allows you to rent essential furnishings as part of your tenancy.

The aim of the scheme is to provide furniture to new tenants setting up home for the first time and who otherwise may not be able to afford it.

You must be either:

• A new tenant housed for the first time, or
• An existing tenant who is transferring from one Council home to another because you are fleeing harassment or you have been awarded an 'urgent' status.

Furnishings include items such as carpets, curtains, cooker, refrigerator, beds and bedding and other items that are needed to set up your new home.

The scheme seeks to ensure that our property becomes your 'home' and that the tenancy is more likely to succeed.

How the Scheme Works

If you are eligible to rent furnishings you can choose the things you need from our furnished tenancy brochure. You will need to sign up for the furnishings at the same time as you sign up for the tenancy for your home. The furnishings will then be delivered to your new home as soon as possible after your tenancy has started.

You will pay rent for the items you have chosen, for a period of five years. At the end of the five years we will visit you to see if you want to continue under the scheme.

You will be responsible for keeping the furnishings safely in your property and you will be expected to look after the items and keep them in good order (allowing for fair wear and tear).

If you wish to move to another Council home you can, but you will need to consider a number of options available to you. Please discuss further with us.

Other Options

Before you agree to rent furnishings from the Council you should make sure that you have explored other options available to you. For example, you may be entitled to a grant from the Social Fund or help from a charity.

Remember that the furnishings will not belong to you but will remain the property of Oxford City Council at all times.

There are financial limits to the total value of furniture/goods you may choose depending on the size of the property. Carpets are not included in the financial limits. If you would like carpets to be supplied you must also inform the Estate Manager of this when you sign up for the scheme.

After Five Years

At the end of the five year period you will be given the opportunity to choose whether to:

• End the rental and have the items removed.
• Cease the rental but have the items left in your home. (Please note the items remain the property of the Council but will be removed (rather than repaired) if they break down or wear out).
• Continue with the scheme for a further year and continue to make a choice on an annual basis, as to whether to continue renting or not.

You will be visited on a regular basis to enable the inventory of furniture/goods to be checked. Remember the Council owns the furniture/goods and your tenancy may be affected if any items are missing or damaged.

Page last reviewed 16 Feb 2009