Changes to Council Tenancy Agreements

Tenancy Agreement Information

The current Tenancy Agreement has been in operation since July 2013 when the Council introduced Flexible Tenancies.  The reason for the review is to introduce a clearer, more user friendly document and minimise the number of agreements we have from six to two.  The Consultation period will be for 12 weeks and it gives you an opportunity to feedback to customerengagement@westlancs.gov.uk, any comments you may have about the draft Tenancy Agreements:  

There are currently a number of different Tenancy Agreements in use:

  • Introductory and Flexible Tenancy Agreement
  • Introductory and Flexible Tenancy Agreement for Minors & Deed of Trust
  • Flexible Tenancy Agreement
  • Introductory and Sheltered Secure Tenancy Agreement
  • Sheltered Secure Tenancy Agreement
  • Secure Tenancy Agreement

The reasons for updating the Tenancy Agreement are:

  • To reduce the number of agreements
  • To include additional clauses around compliance
  • To improve the layout and presentation of the agreement.
  • To reflect operational changes to services
  • To reflect changes to contact details and job titles

How will this affect you?

There are no changes to the Rights and responsibilities of tenants, however as mentioned above we have minimised the Tenancy Agreement from six to two, the changes are detailed below.

INTRODUCTORY AND/OR FLEXIBLE TENANCY AGREEMENT will replace the following Tenancy Agreements

  • Introductory and Flexible Tenancy Agreement
  • Introductory and Flexible Tenancy Agreement for Minors & Deed of Trust
  • Flexible Tenancy Agreement

 

INTRODUCTORY AND/OR SECURE TENANCY AGREEMENT will replace the following Tenancy Agreements

  • Introductory and Sheltered Secure Tenancy Agreement
  • Sheltered Secure Tenancy Agreement
  • Secure Tenancy Agreement

Summary of the main changes:

A reduction in the number of Tenancy Agreements from six to two.

The 'Looking after your home' section has been updated:

  • To include a list of repairs which the Council are responsible for
  • To add to the list of examples for permission to make alterations/improvements
  • To improve clarity regarding enforcement action for gas servicing and other compliance issues
  • To include details of permission required for undertaking work in communal arears e.g. installation of broadband in communal areas

Tenants Rights section:

  • For clarity all rights have been brought together into one section.
  • Removed reasons for refusing mutual exchange requests as these are set down in law rather than tenancy conditions.

Animals section:

  • Added reference to comply with Pet Policy.

Ending your flexible tenancy:

  • This section has been significantly reworded to make it easier to understand and remove lengthy legal explanations.

In general:

  • References to Tenants Handbook have been removed as we no longer use these
  • Removed reference to why tenants may not been given another property as this is covered in Allocations Policy

Whilst the Tenancy Agreement document may have a very different look and feel, it is important to note that we have not made any changes to the rights and responsibilities of tenants.

This consultation will close on Friday 2 November 2018.