Landlords Wary Of Flexible Tenancy Trap

Government plans to introduce fixed-term tenancies could be derailed by a series of human rights rulings. Three Supreme Court rulings threaten social landlords with a deluge of expensive legal challenges if tenants are unwilling to move when their fixed-term, or flexible, tenancy ends, lawyers have warned. Each of the three cases applied principles laid down in the Pinnock case, which last year ruled that a landlord must show proportionality when attempting to repossess a tenant’s home. This established for the first time that tenants’ personal circumstances should be taken into account in repossession cases. The warning comes as a government consultation revealed that two-thirds of social landlords would introduce fixed-term tenancies. A CLG spokesperson said the recent Supreme Court judgements did not make flexible tenancies unworkable. Read more on Inside Housing.