Lifetime tenancies 'only for those in long-term high need'

This is the recommendation of Natalie Elphicke, chair of Million Homes Million Lives and co-author of the Treasury-commissioned House/Elphicke review of council house building, as the government prepares for a ‘review’ of lifetime tenancies.

Writing on the Conservative Home website, Ms Elphicke recommended reforming lifetime tenancies to offer either five or 15 year fixed-term tenancies to most tenants.

Lifetime tenancies were the standard offer to new tenants of both councils and housing associations before the Localism Act 2011, which gave flexibility on the length of new tenancies.

At the Budget earlier this month, the government announced a review of lifetime tenancies ‘to limit their use’ but provided no further detail on the measures it is considering.

Ms Elphicke wrote: ‘The allocation of social housing can be at best inefficient, and, at worst, can create unfairness and reduced life opportunities for others.

‘Modernisation of the current arrangements for social housing leases would bring the arrangements into line with modern housing choices, and enable greater fairness to be achieved.’

She suggested three types of new tenancy should be created; housing help for life, lifetime tenancies for tenants with high housing requirements, such as mentally ill and ‘highly disabled’ people, and those in ‘extreme old age’; family and carer tenanices, 15-year tenancies for those with a ‘higher level of need’, such as sole parents and carers; and fixed five-year ‘review and renew’ tenancies for all other tenants.

Ms Elphicke, who has written on housing for think tanks Policy Exchange and the Centre for Policy Studies, said it ‘seems highly likely’ that existing tenancies would be undisturbed.

The government has not yet set a timetable for its review.