Eric Pickles's Localism Bill means no pressure on council tenants to make do with short term landlord agreements
Published: 02 June 2011
by DAN CARRIER
COUNCIL tenants will not be forced to sign short-term tenancy agreements when the government’s Localism Bill becomes law.
Communities and local government minister Eric Pickles is steering a bill through the House of Commons which will mean council tenants signing agreements similar to those in private accommodation.
But Town Hall housing chief Labour councillor Julian Fulbrook has already issued said that he will ignore the discretionary measure: “It would mean housing for a very limited number of people and only those on benefits. We want to provide decent affordable homes and settled, mixed communities. We don’t think this bill will help us do that.”
But Mr Pickles, speaking at the Jewish Museum last week to launch a £2.2m grant to help maintain the Nazi death camp Auschwitz in memory of those killed in the Holocaust, told the New Journal it would be down to individual councils to enforce the law. He said: “I think it is up to them.What we will do is create a new tenancy to get private money into social housing and I have found there has been a lot of interest in doing this. It will be down to Camden Council to fix the terms, so it can be as long as they want them to be. If they do not want to offer five, 10 or 25-year agreements, then that is entirely up to them.”