Tenancy strategy
The council approved its Tenancy Strategy at the Cabinet meeting held on 5 December, 2012.
The council is required to produce a tenancy strategy as set out in the Localism Act which gained Royal Assent in November 2011.
Under the terms of the the Localism Act, Councils in England must prepare and publish a strategy (a “tenancy strategy”) setting out the matters to which the registered providers of social housing for its district are to have regard in formulating policies relating to:
- the kind of tenancies they grant
- the circumstances in which they will grant a tenancy of a particular kind
- where they grant tenancies for a term certain, the lengths of the terms, and
- the circumstances in which they will grant a further tenancy on the coming to an end of an existing tenancy.
The council supports the provision of lifetime tenancies for Tower Hamlets Homes in most circumstances in order to maintain sustainable communities and enable tenants to have the comfort of being able to enjoy a secure lifetime tenancy.
The council agreed that whilst they were in favour of lifetime tenancies it was recognised that many registered providers will want to make use the new flexibilities in order to more effectively manage their stock.
In setting the tenancy strategy for Tower Hamlets, the cabinet agreed to set out to registered providers who do make use of the flexibility, a set of conditions to ensure that the needs of vulnerable groups are met. Registered providers will be expected to have due regard to these conditions.
The strategy was developed through extensive consultation with residents, tenants, stakeholders, members, community and voluntary organisations and staff.
The council would like to thank everyone that contributed to the development of the tenancy strategy.
A copy of the tenancy strategy is available to download.