Council Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Catherine McKinnell:To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discretionary powers he proposes to allow local authorities to (a) provide older residents with lifetime local authority tenancies and (b) tailor fixed-term tenancies to suit local housing needs.

Gavin Barwell: We have introduced fixed term tenancies for all new council tenancies to ensure we get the best use out of our social housing stock and focus this valuable resource on those who need it the most for as long as they need it. The changes will apply to new tenants, but will not apply to existing lifetime tenants who remain in their own home or those required to move by their landlord. Where existing lifetime tenants choose to move, councils will be able to grant the tenant a further lifetime tenancy in their new home in circumstances to be set out in regulations. We have not finalised the draft regulations but expect these will include, for example, where tenants, including older people, downsize into a smaller home. Fixed term tenancies must be between two and ten years in length, or may be longer in the case of families with children, to cover the time a child is in school education. We will issue statutory guidance to set out the circumstances in which councils may grant longer term tenancies and expect this to include lettings to older people. Accompanying guidance will also make clear that, where a tenant's circumstances are broadly unchanged at the end of the fixed term, we expect landlords will normally grant a further tenancy in the same property.