Conservatives promise to outlaw home working bans in social housing

The shadow housing minister Grant Shapps has said a future Conservative Government would prevent social landlords from banning tenants from running businesses from their homes.

The party wants landlords to remove tenancy agreements restrictions that prohibit residents from setting up home offices and has threatened registered social landlords and councils with prosecution if they fail to do so.

Shapps told The Times that the party would initially seek a constructive approach with social landlords to remove the bans where they exist and that legislation would only follow if they refused to co-operate.

He said: “We will do anything that needs to be done to help tenants start their own businesses. We believe that far from being a block on mobility and aspiration, social housing should become a freedom pass to do more with your life.”

Councils and RSLs have been reluctant in the past to allow businesses to be operated from their properties for fear of business activities disturbing neighbouring tenants and the Conservative proposals would only apply to “reasonable” businesses, rather than enabling more disruptive ventures, such as car maintenance businesses or retailing, to be operated from private homes.

Many social landlords already allow tenants to operate businesses from their homes, subject to receiving written permission.