Shapps to hand tenants "freedom pass" to improve mobility

Council and housing association tenants will have a “freedom pass” allowing them to move home for work, to be closer to family or for any other reason under a scheme proposed by the Housing Minister this week.

Grant Shapps said he would introduce a new National Affordable Home Swap Scheme, which will enable tenants to see details of every other council and housing association tenant in the country looking to exchange homes, not just those in their area.

The Department for Communities and Local Government described current house-swap schemes as “patchy”. It said: “The new comprehensive system will help to address the contradictory current situation where over a quarter-of-a-million households live in overcrowded accommodation while a further 430,000 households are unable to easily downsize from larger properties they no longer need.”

The government said the situation meant that the country’s stock of affordable homes was inefficiently used.

Shapps also revealed that he will be working with the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham on whether they could offer a “right to move” scheme, under which tenants could ask their landlord to find them a home in the area they want to live.

The minister threatened to introduce a “right to move” for tenants through legislation if he does not see improvements in help for tenants to move.

Grant Shapps said: “Social housing should provide more than a roof over people’s heads – it should lift them out of poverty, and free them to take chances to improve the quality of their own lives. Instead, many tenants are left trapped in their own homes, while councils and housing associations turn their attention to record waiting lists.

“This cannot continue – as we work to tackle the record budget deficit we must ensure vulnerable people benefit from, but don’t become trapped by, the safety net that social housing provides.”

Shapps’ announcement comes shortly after the Prime Minister floated the idea of allocating affordable homes on fixed terms, possibly for five years, rather than for life.