Lifetime tenancy set to go for council housing in Northampton

Tenancy agreements in Northamptonshire could soon be limited to five years under new council proposals.

Council tenants can currently live in their homes for life but Northampton Borough Council wants to change that to five years for new tenants.

The Conservative-run authority has 12,500 council houses and a waiting list of 9,000.

But Liberal Democrat councillors said the move would increase competition for homes already in short supply.

Northampton Borough Council has started a 16-week public consultation on the issue.

Councillor Mary Markham, the cabinet member for housing, said: "The agreements will be reviewed every five years because people's needs change.

"We have some properties where one person is living in a four-bedroom house and other families that we cannot house."

But Liberal Democrat councillor Brendan Glynane said: "The result could destabilise communities.

"Concentrations of social housing will become sink estates where only tenants with chronic difficulties stay - as those who work are moved on."

The council is also looking to change the criteria to get people on the housing register.

The move could halve the number of people on the waiting list from 9,000 to around 4,500.

Currently, a banding system operates, graded from A-D, with an additional emergency band.

People in bands C and D are judged as not being in urgent need of council accommodation.

Mrs Markham said: "Bands C and D consists of people who feel like they would like to put their name down for a house but have no real need."

Mr Glynane said the move could penalise people with "mental or physical health problems" or from "severely overcrowded families".

The authority also said it wants to put people from the armed forces, those with local connections, those from the voluntary sector and people in employment higher up on the priority list.

The move is due to be discussed by councillors in December.