Grant Shapps: New rules to end prejudices about social housing

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Housing

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has claimed that new 'flexible tenancies' will help end long-held prejudices about social housing and ensure it once again becomes a springboard for success.

Mr Shapps said the flexible tenancies will end the "lazy and patronising" perception that social housing is a dead-end option for life.

He claimed instructions published this week will ensure that councils and housing associations will, for the first time, have genuine freedom to ensure that more people benefit from social housing.

Starting next year, new tenants will now get the helping hand they need "for as long as they need it", rather than a single option of a home for life, ensuring more social homes are available to people who need them.

Mr Shapps said for too long social housing has been seen by many as a second-class option, and these changes would restore its original purpose - to provide a flexible alternative to help tenants achieve their aspirations.

Ministers believe the current system has failed, and are introducing the most radical and fundamental reforms to social housing for a generation. The new instructions published this week are a key step in delivering that reform, and will make social housing fairer by striking a sensible balance between the needs of new and existing tenants, whose tenancies will not be affected.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: "For too long social housing has been seen by many people as a byword for failure, a home for life in a dead-end street. I want to restore pride to social housing, so a social tenancy is once again seen as a launch pad to fulfil aspirations.

"That's why I have published new instructions for councils and housing associations so, for the first time, they have genuine freedom to ensure more people benefit from living in a social home.

"These changes will not affect existing tenants, but allow landlords to make more housing available for those most in need and give people the helping hand they need, for as long as they need it, including lifetime security where it is appropriate."

As part of its plans for social housing outlined in the Housing Strategy, the Government will also consult on 'Pay to Stay' proposals. This will mean that 'high-earning' social tenants, such as households on incomes of over £100,000 a year, will pay up to market rents if they want to continue living in 'taxpayer-subsidised' homes.

Councils will also be given new powers to reject applications for social housing from people who own a 'perfectly acceptable' home of their own.

And there will be stronger measures to help tackle the 'outrage' of 50,000 unlawfully-occupied social homes - with a more detailed consultation to be published later this year.

Other commitments include:

• Mutual exchange: to enable access to internet-based mutual exchange schemes - including the national HomeSwap Direct database - to give tenants who want to move the best possible opportunity of finding a match.
• Tenant involvement: to strengthen landlord accountability to tenants and support the Tenant Cashback model, providing new opportunities for social housing tenants to get involved in commissioning repair and maintenance service for their homes.
• Rent: to make changes to reflect the introduction of the Affordable Rent model.
• Quality of Accommodation: to clarify that providers are expected to maintain their stock at a decent level.