Tenancy Strategies: A Policy Perspective December 2011 David Pipe - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Tenancy Strategies: A Policy Perspective December 2011 David Pipe – Policy & Practice Officer

Overview • The big picture • Tenure reform - What is being introduced and why • What do we expect to see? • The role of local authorities

The big picture Tenure reform is one element of a wide range of reforms: •Affordable rent •Welfare reform •Regulation reform •Planning reform •HRA reform •Right To Buy reform

Tenure reform – Why? The government feels that: •Social housing is a ‘ scarce resource ’ •It is not always ‘ targeted ’ as effectively as it could be •It is a question of ‘ fairness ’

Tenure reform – Why? “Do we want to reform tenure to actually enable people to move through housing rather than seeing it as something that you either get – ‘great, I’ve got my council house’ – or you don’t get – ‘bad…’” David Cameron

Tenure reform – What? • End to automatic assumption of ‘lifetime’ tenancies • New flexibilities to offer fixed term tenancies, usually for 5 years or more • But this is permissive, not prescriptive

What do we expect to see? • A much less homogenous sector, with homes let on a range of different terms and rents: ‘Lifetime’ tenancies, ‘Lifetime’ tenancies, social rent affordable rent Fixed term Fixed term tenancies, tenancies, social rent affordable rent • The challenge for local authorities is to manage the effect of all of these changes in your area…

Some useful resources • Managing the impact of housing reforms in your area • How to… develop your tenancy policy • The practical implications of tenure reform • www.cih.org

Any questions David Pipe – Policy and Practice Officer David.pipe@cih.org