Birth of The Port

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The Pioneers statue celebrates the canal builders who founded Ellesmere Port and was cast in bronze by Liverpool artist Stephen Broadbent.

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Introductory Tenancies and You

At its meeting on 30th November, the council's housing committee voted to adopt an introductory tenancy scheme with effect from 1st January 2007.

The council plans to use introductory tenancies to help it deal with any anti-social behaviour, rent arrears and other serious tenancy problems caused by new tenants. Housing associations and the landlords who took over the old council housing stock in other areas such as Chester and Wirral use starter tenancies (which are similar to introductory tenancies) and this change brings the borough council into line with them.

The council consulted widely with interested parties before deciding to adopt an introductory tenancy scheme, and the response was overwhelmingly in favour of the idea. The council will start using introductory tenancies from 1st January next year, when the first set of introductory tenants will move into their new homes

To view a copy of our introductory tenancy agreement, policy statement and information leaflet please follow these links:

EPNBC Introductory Tenancy Agreement

Introductory Tenancy Policy Statement

Introductory Tenancy Information Leaflet

The main points of the new introductory tenancy scheme are :

  1. From 1st January 2007, all new tenants of the council, who are not at the moment
    - secure tenants of another council, or
    - assured tenants of housing associations or housing trusts
    will be introductory tenants if they would previously have been given a secure tenancy.
  2. We can only give introductory tenancies to new tenants. Existing tenants keep their current status as secure tenants, even if they transfer to another council property.
  3. Introductory tenants are subject to a one year trial period, which can in some circumstances be extended to 18 months.
  4. The introductory tenancy agreement is based on the council's current secure tenancy agreement, except that it explains the different tenants' rights for introductory tenants and secure ones.
  5. We can ask the court to terminate an introductory tenancy in the same kinds of situations that we would use court action against secure tenants. These are most likely to be breaches of the tenancy agreement such as rent arrears and anti-social behaviour, but could include other situations where we would have grounds for possession against tenants anyway under the Housing Act 1985, if they were secure tenants. Most of these are set out in the part of your Tenants' Handbook that explains how you can lose your home (on pages 9 to 11).
  6. Unless we have a good reason to terminate an introductory tenancy agreement, and we serve notice on the tenant, they will become a secure tenant at the end of the trial period.
  7. We will investigate complaints against introductory tenants in the same way as we do complaints against other tenants, and we have additional safeguards in place for vulnerable tenants.
  8. Introductory tenants have the right to ask a panel to review any decision to end their tenancy; and this panel will be made up of very senior officers from the council's Housing Services Group. If a panel decides that it was reasonable to serve a notice, when we take court action, we do not have to prove any grounds for possession to the court , or that it is reasonable to make a possession order.
  9. If we end an introductory tenancy without good reason, we might have a duty to re-house the tenant as homeless.

All this means that introductory tenancies make it easier for us to take action against new tenants who break their tenancy agreements and who might be causing problems to their neighbours. We have to investigate complaints against introductory tenants in a similar way to complaints against other tenants, but if we consider that a complaint is justified, we can fast track possession action against them.

Some paper copies of the introductory tenancy agreement are available on request from our main office in Ellesmere Port and our branch offices in Neston and the Westminster Neighbourhood Housing Office.

During the consultation, some of the replies from tenants asked whether tenants who were causing problems for their neighbours could be made subject to introductory tenancies. While we cannot do this directly, we can sometimes do something similar by asking the court to make something called a demotion order. This reduces the tenant's security of tenure, and puts them in a similar position to an introductory tenant for one year. This has not happened very often, and the court has to agree that it is reasonable to make such an order.

There is more information in our leaflet "Introductory Tenancies: What you need to know." If you want to know more about introductory tenancies, you can also contact our Rehousing or Area Management Teams; and there is some information about introductory tenancies on the Citizens Advice Bureau website.