Tenancy strategy

With over 3400 residents on our housing needs register Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council are dedicated to ensuring that registered housing providers help us meet this need, and offer affordable, well maintained and managed, safe homes, by encouraging them to follow this strategy and fulfil their obligation to endeavour to work in the best interests of local residents and, in so far as possible, allocate homes consistently in line with our Housing Allocations Policy.

Our findings locally support the national view that flexible fixed term tenancies are not achieving their aims. Both the flexible tenancies and the five-year reviews have been problematic, placing un-necessary anxiety and uncertainty on residents and resource intensive for the council.  Data identified that of the 850 flexible tenancies that ended in Welwyn Hatfield, only 2 properties became available to re-let as a direct result of the fixed term flexible tenancy review process.

The Council also carried out a consultation with our tenants, and applicants on our housing needs register, on the future use of flexible fixed term tenancies in our housing stock. The vast majority of respondents were in favour of ending the use of flexible fixed-term tenancies.

As a result of both of the above, the council’s preference is now for the use of secure lifetime tenancies in our borough and the council itself have stopped issuing or renewing flexible fixed term tenancies as of November 2023. Evidence supports that secure tenancies are the best type of tenancy to address local housing need, support the development of sustainable communities and improve the health and wellbeing of tenants.

Private landlords and letting agents, are not required like social landlords to take account of this strategy, but they are crucial in meeting the housing needs of residents in Welwyn Hatfield.  Many landlords and letting agents responsibly provide good quality homes, meet their legal duties and are supportive of tenants who adhere to the tenancy agreement.  We would like this good practice to extend to all landlords and letting agents in our area and commit to continue to persuade the sector to do so in our tenancy strategy. The Government guidelines we strive for our private sector landlords and agents to adhere to is set out in appendix A.