Major housing associations to scrap fixed-term tenancies

Optivo said it would begin transferring tenants from fixed-term tenancies to lifetime tenancies next month.

Paul Hackett, chief executive of Optivo, said: “We want to build strong and sustainable communities and believe that lifetime tenancies fit better with this ambition.”

Midland Heart and Live West both said they would scrap fixed term tenancies for smaller homes, but would keep them for larger properties, of three and four bedrooms respectively.

This was to help make best use of in-demand larger houses, typically in circumstances where children grow up and move out.

Of the 12 currently reviewing their policies, Bath-based Curo and another association that did not wish to be named suggested that they were "likely" to scrap their use.

A spokesperson for Curo said: "Feedback from customers is that they don’t really understand them, can find it difficult to exchange their home and are reluctant to decorate or fully furnish their home. They are causing some customers a lot of anxiety. We have found the process of reviewing tenancies at the five-year point useful though and have picked up a number of support cases and other issues that need addressing. So we are considering five-yearly audits as an alternative."

A spokesperson for Clarion, the UK’s largest association, added: "Our approach will be informed by how we can best support our existing residents and those with the greatest housing need.”

Many of the housing associations that responded to the survey cited uncertainty for tenants and extra work for frontline staff as key reasons fixed-term tenancies were not working.

Some suggested that they limited people’s ability to ‘put down roots’ or to build good communities.

A further 12 responded saying they had never used fixed term tenancies.

Sue Shaw, director of homes, neighbourhoods and regeneration at Plymouth Community Housing, one of these, said: “We haven’t introduced fixed-term tenancies as we felt that as a social housing provider, we should always give as much security and certainty to our tenants as possible.

“We did this so that tenants could confidently see their PCH property as their home for the long-term. Taking this approach has always enabled people to put down roots and become part of the local community.”

The government had once planned to phase out providing lifetime tenancies in social housing altogether, instead creating new rolling tenancies of five-year fixed terms for new tenants and those who inherited a tenancy. However, it abandoned the plans last August with the launch of the Social Housing Green Paper.