Decision details

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet approved the draft Housing Landlord Tenancy policy, including the end of fixed term tenancies.

KEY DECISION:

Yes

PORTFOLIO:

Housing and Homelessness

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED/REJECTED:

As set out in the report.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

None

DISCUSSION:

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Homelessness introduced the item and explained that the Housing Landlord Tenancy Policy was long overdue a review and that the main aim of the new policy was to move away from Flexible Fixed Term Tenancies to enable people to build homes through more secure tenancies. 

The Assistant Director for Housing provided a brief summary of the report and explained that relevant legislation from the Localism Act 2011, namely the introduction of the Flexible Fixed Term Tenancy (FFTT) which gave local authorities and housing associations the discretion to offer secure fixed-term tenancies (minimum term of two years) instead of traditional lifetime tenancies, was now outdated [given changes introduced in the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023]. NFDC had not terminated any tenancies through the FFTT review process as none met the necessary criteria. The Assistant Director for Housing and Communities explained that there had been no high court cases to set legal precedent across the country regarding this legislation and local authorities were generally moving away from FFTTs. It was heard that legally it is very difficult to end a tenant’s occupancy on fixed term tenancies as there are lots of processes and costs involved. Furthermore, tenants find FFTTs stressful due to the security of the tenure. NFDC had existing terms of tenancy that alleviate the issues relating to FFTTs and Cabinet were reassured that NFDC had adequate powers to enforce its tenancy agreements, therefore it was recommended to end the use of FFTTs. 

The Portfolio Holder for Community, Safety and Wellbeing explained that the item had been reviewed by the Housing and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel and that there had been good discussion by the Panel on the matter, with overall support for the recommendation. 

A non-Cabinet member acknowledged that this was a positive move forward but was concerned about NFDC tenants who would still be on FFTTs during and after Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). The non-Cabinet member also raised concern over matters of succession for children of deceased tenants, to which the Assistant Director of Housing reassured the member that rules of succession were clearly set out in the existing NFDC policy as part of the lifetime tenancy agreements. The Strategic Director for Housing and Communities explained that work would begin on aligning tenancy agreements at a point in time following vesting day of the new Council. Therefore, existing tenancy agreements from each legacy council would continue for some time following vesting day, including the FFTTs, as it would take time to harmonise all the various tenancy agreements and policies. The Strategic Director of Housing and Communities reassured Cabinet that staff would be used to managing FFTTs and that this service would continue after vesting day until they were naturally phased out.