No more council houses for life, says David Cameron

Author: The Daily Telegraph - Aug 5, 2010

Posted in: Planning, Housing and Economic Development / Reform of the social housing system / Local Government News

The Prime Minister said the Government may introduce “fixed period” tenancies to ensure new social housing tenants can be evicted if their circumstances improve.

People who are given council houses are currently awarded an indefinite “secure tenancy” if they successfully complete a 12-month trial tenancy.

This means they can only be evicted through the courts if they fail to pay rent, cause serious problems for their neighbours or in other exceptional circumstances. If they die, their secure tenancy can be passed on to a partner or child.

Mr Cameron said the current rules meant that people in more severe need of housing were being kept on council waiting lists while some tenants’ situations got better.

“At the moment we have a system very much where, if you get a council house or an affordable house, it is yours forever … And actually it ought to be about need,” Mr Cameron told a public forum in Birmingham.

His comments came in response to a mother of two teenagers, who told him she slept on a blow-up bed for two years because her council could not find her a bigger house.

“Your need has got greater,” Mr Cameron told her, “and yet there isn’t really the opportunity to move.

“There is a question mark about whether, in future, should we be asking, actually, when you are given a council home, is it for fixed period, because maybe in five or 10 years you will be doing a different job and be better paid and you won’t need that home, you will be able to go into the private sector.”

A total of 1.8 million families are currently on waiting lists for council housing. The Government advises local authorities on how they should ration properties but councils also use their own criteria,

Local families living in cramped conditions and people who are homeless or have medical conditions being made worse by their houses are usually prioritised. Only some local authorities consider the income of applicants.

It is thought councils and housing associations would be left to decide how long local fixed-term tenancies would last.
Mr Cameron conceded that an attempt to reform the system would cause “a big argument” but was necessary.

“Looking at a more flexible system I think makes sense,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that any changes would not, however, apply to people already in social housing. The Conservatives pledged in their general election manifesto to protect the rights of existing tenants.

Kay Boycott, of the housing charity Shelter, said Mr Cameron had “sidestepped the fundamental cause of our housing crisis”, which she said was a “desperate lack of affordable housing supply”.

“Whilst it is crucial the Government asks questions about how we tackle our growing housing crisis, we do not believe the bigger question in housing policy is security of tenure for new tenants,” she said.”

Grant Shapps, the housing minister, yesterday launched a national “home swap” scheme for people living in social housing.

Under the scheme, council and housing association tenants who want to move closer to work or family will be able to put details of their property on to a national register.

The register will be available to view by other tenants in a similar position. It is hoped tenants will then arrange to swap properties to get closer to their desired location.

Mr Shapps said he hoped the scheme would “free tenants to take chances to improve the quality of their own lives”.

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