Tenancy policy

Secure tenancies

Secure tenancies, generally carry on indefinitely and are often referred to as lifetime tenancies. The tenancy may be ended as follows:

• by the tenant – notice to quit;
• by the Council – court order;
• by agreement – surrender.

The Council’s tenancy agreement explains these circumstances in more detail and clarifies the Council and tenants’ responsibilities. However, it should be noted that the Council may normally only seek to end a tenancy if the conditions of the tenancy agreement have not been adhered to, when a tenant passes away, or due to demolition or redevelopment.

Existing secure tenants transferring from other Council properties will retain their secure tenancy. Existing assured tenants of housing associations who are transferring into council properties will become secure tenants.

Non-secure tenancies and licences

There are a few exceptional situations that operate outside the normal framework of secure tenancies. These tenancies benefit from even less security and protection and normally apply to short term accommodation. The most common of these exceptions are non-secure tenancies granted by the Council under its homelessness functions, which generally relate to temporary and emergency accommodation, and also for temporary decants.

As these tenancies are insecure, they can be ended by either the tenant or the Council serving a Notice to Quit (NTQ)

In addition, sometimes, licences are issued for temporary accommodation, these can be ended by either party with reasonable notice and without the requirement of a court order.

Joint tenancies

Where the proposed joint tenants are both eligible for housing as defined by legislation, the tenancies listed above could be granted on a joint tenancy basis in the following circumstances:

• Where the proposed joint tenants are married or civil partners.
• Where the proposed joint tenants live together, and the relationship is an ‘established’ one i.e., evidence is produced showing they have lived together for at least 12 months prior to the joint tenancy application.
• There is a child of the relationship living permanently in the household.  Joint tenancies will also be given in situations where a sole tenant’s eligibility for a property (whether through bidding under choices-based lettings or through mutual exchange) is created solely because of the addition to their household of their partner.

The Council will not grant a joint tenancy to a person who is entitled to succeed to that tenancy (e.g., mother and daughter) as this could compromise its ability to make the best use of its housing stock in the future.

In the context of deciding whether to grant joint tenancies the Council has full discretion, but it will act consistently in all cases.

Flexible (fixed term) tenancies

Section 154 of the Localism act 2011 gives local authorities the power to offer flexible fixed term tenancies. A flexible fixed term tenancy is a secure tenancy of a fixed term of not less than 2 years. WHBC offered 5-year flexible fixed term tenancies for all new general needs tenancies from April 2013.  WHBC have ceased offering flexible fixed term tenancies from 13 November 2023.  Existing tenants who have been awarded a flexible fixed term tenancy will revert automatically to a secure lifetime tenancy when the fixed term expires and will not be subject to a flexible tenancy review at the end of the fixed term period.