Issue - meetings

To consider the draft Tenancy Strategy as part of the consultation currently being carried out on the policy.

The Committee received a report from the Strategic Housing Manager on the Council’s draft Tenancy Strategy. The Strategy was currently under going a 12 week period of consultation and a final decision on the Tenancy Strategy would be made by Cabinet once consultation had been completed.

The Localism Act 2011 placed a requirement on all local authorities to produce a Tenancy Strategy which outlined the Council’s approach to flexible tenancies and enabled Registered Providers (RPs) of social housing to formulate their own tenancy policies. RPs in Cheshire East needed to have due regard to the Council’s Tenancy Strategy when formulating their policies on flexible tenancies but did not have to adhere to the strategy and did not have to follow the guidance of the Council. The Council tried to mitigate against RPs not following the Tenancy Strategy by working with the three main RPs when producing the strategy to ensure that the content was workable for them.

The draft Tenancy Strategy contained a vision for what RPs should consider when determining tenancy terms (e.g. make the best use of housing stock and reduce levels of under occupation and overcrowding). The Strategy also outlined the type of tenancies available to RPs and the circumstances in which tenancies would not be granted or renewed.

Flexible tenancies were a way of making the best use of housing stock as well as offering people some stability with out committing RPs to life time tenancies. Existing tenancies would not be affected and RPs would still be able to offer life time tenancies.

The Committee was concerned that RPs were only under a duty to have regard to the Council’s Tenancy Strategy but were pleased that the best efforts had been made to work with RPs to ensure that they adhere to the Council’s position.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted and the Strategy be endorsed by the Committee.