1.1 There have been many changes in the national housing landscape since Norwich City Council published its previous Tenancy Strategy on 24 January 2013 in accordance with section 150 of the Localism Act 2011. The tenancy strategy must be kept under review. But, in this latest update, we have not changed our position on offering lifetime tenancies. This strategy helps to inform registered providers of our expectations regarding social housing provision and expectations for social housing tenants.
1.2 The use of flexible tenancies in social housing originated from the Localism Act 2011, which came into force on 1 April 2012. This tenancy is derived from the government’s view that social housing tenants should not benefit from greater tenancy security than tenants in the private sector. The Housing and Planning Act 2016 developed the definition of flexible tenancies with the intention of phasing out the award of lifetime tenancies for new social tenants. Social tenants were only to be offered fixed-term tenancies. But, with the proviso that landlords could offer tenancies lasting up to the 19th birthday of the youngest occupant. This would have affected new and existing tenants who moved home (with a few exceptions).
1.3 These provisions were not implemented as the national climate regarding social housing changed dramatically following the fire at Grenfell Tower, London, in 2017. In “A New Deal for Social Housing” 2018, the government stated it would not implement compulsory fixed-term tenancies. This corresponds with proposals requiring landlords in the private sector to offer longer tenancies and to prohibit “no fault” evictions of private sector tenants. The recent impact of temporary constraints on eviction during the pandemic, and rising energy prices on the cost of living have been contributory factors.
1.4 The Secure Tenancies (Victims of Domestic Abuse) Act 2018 and the Domestic Abuse Act (2021) recognised that, where a secure (lifetime) tenant was offered a new tenancy when moving due to domestic abuse, they should retain their existing security of tenure, and not be offered a fixed-term tenancy.
1.5 The social housing sector was subject to a compulsory 1% rent reduction for four years from April 2016 to March 2020. This affected many areas of social housing including regeneration and planned improvement programmes.
1.6 Universal Credit (UC) has been rolled out across the whole of the UK and is now the primary state benefit for those of working age on a low income or out of work. The impact of these requirements on rent arrears or on social landlords’ income collection, particularly following yearly rent increases, will be monitored.
1.7 In the Social Housing Regulation Bill, the government sets out what every social housing resident should be able to expect on:
- safety
- landlord performance
- complaints
- being treated with respect
- having their voice heard
- the quality of their home and neighbourhood
- access to home ownership.
This tenancy strategy supports the practices we will use when awarding housing for lifetime secure tenants, and to new tenants where introductory tenancies will apply.
