The architecture of having a place to live. How tenancy works (assured shorthold, joint vs sole, periodic vs fixed-term). Reading a tenancy agreement. Deposits and the deposit protection scheme. Sharing a house — house rules, bills, communal upkeep. The legal rights of tenants. What to do when a landlord won’t repair, won’t return a deposit, or wants to evict. Routes when housing fails — homelessness applications, supported housing, mental-health-aware housing, hostel pathways, family conciliation.
For NEO’s cohort, who may be approaching housing later than peers (or in non-standard ways — supported living, residential care, family carer), this strand needs to be honest about diverse housing realities, not assume the standard “rent your first flat at 22” trajectory.
Tested by
Cross-curriculum
- Functional English — Reading adult-life texts (a tenancy agreement is the canonical adult-life document)
- Functional English — Writing (formal letter to landlord; complaint; deposit dispute)
- Financial Literacy — Money basics (rent, deposit, household budget)
- Citizenship — Rights, responsibilities, and equality (tenant rights, Equality Act for housing)
Suggested evidence types
- Annotated tenancy agreement (sample document)
- Drafted complaint or repair-request letter
- Comparison: three rental options against a learner’s actual constraints (budget, location, accessibility)
- Reflection on the learner’s own housing context — what would change if they were renting vs living at home; what skills are they already practising