Issue - meetings

The Head of Community Services presented a report in respect of a proposed new tenancy agreement and tenancy handbook.  Members were advised that since the publication of the agenda some amendments had been made to the Housing Tenancy Agreement and Conditions, in accordance with legal advice, and a new copy of this document was circulated at the meeting for Members’ consideration.

The documents had previously been considered at a meeting of the Executive Committee held on 9^th July 2019 when Members had agreed that the Council should consult with tenants about the proposed changes.  A significant amount of consultation had been undertaken with tenants in respect of this matter.  Many tenants had indicated that it would be helpful for copies of the Tenancy Handbook to be made available for consideration on the Council’s website as well as a hard copy at Redditch Library.

Members praised the amount of consultation that had been conducted with tenants in respect of this matter.  There was general consensus that the agreement would help to protect Council assets and enable the authority to more effectively manage tenancies.

During consideration of this item some concerns were raised about the extent to which it would be possible for the Council to undertake enforcement action in accordance with the conditions detailed in the handbook and agreement.  Members suggested that there would be a need for enforcement action to be applied consistently to address this issue. 

The Committee was informed that the agreement would apply to new Council tenancies and would be reviewed every three to five years.  Should there be any problems in relation to existing tenancies the Council would seek to comply with the new conditions moving forward.

RESOLVED that

following formal consultation, the Housing Tenancy Agreement and Conditions be adopted; the proposal to introduce a new Tenants Handbook to be endorsed by Members to compliment the Housing Tenancy Agreement and Conditions.