Housing Association has sent me the previous occupier's tenancy agreement, what should I do?

Shaky_Jake

I've rented/lived in a local Housing Authority property since 2004, and to prove my tenancy in order to clear up a small legal matter I recently requested a copy of my tenancy agreement from them. You can usually request this online and they just upload a copy, but for some reason the HA's website was being unresponsive, so I had to make an in-person request for it. The person I spoke to didn't understand why I couldn't access it in the usual way, but promised to send me a copy through the post ASAP.

They did so, as quickly as they promised. No problem there. However, the agreement they've sent me isn't in my name, it's in the name of the previous tenant (who left the property over twenty years ago). So I suppose this explains why I couldn't access the document online - because it now looks very much like they've lost or can't find my tenancy agreement. In the time I've lived here the HA (a large private company) has changed ownership maybe twice (and changed premises at least half a dozen times), so that could well explain the issue. There's no cover note or anything that mentions the discrepancy in tenancy details, just a printed copy of the agreement. 

Thankfully, in the meantime the authority I was having the legal issue with have accepted my Electoral Roll records as proof that I've lived at the address these last twenty years, so that particular panic seems to be over. I also have at least five years' worth of rent statements that confirm that I at least pay the rent here, so I guess it isn't an immediate problem.

So, where do I stand here? The HA regularly correspond with me only and seem to have my name only listed as 'the occupying tenant', and in every respect (rent and bill paying, repairs and regular services, etc) I seem to be regarded by them as, effectively, the tenant. It just seems that my particular tenancy agreement has gone AWOL. I do know it exists, because I did have a hard copy of it at one time (it's probably still here, at the bottom of a box somewhere).

Any advice gratefully received.

Tabieth

I’d just contact them and explain the situation (and point out their GDPR breach). It should be a fairly simple sort given the documents you have. 

eddddy

As above, tell them they've sent the wrong tenancy agreement, and ask them to send the correct one.

And wait to see if they send you the correct one, or tell you that they can't find it.

Bookworm225

so it might be a simple mistake. Just discuss it with them, no need for drama