Member Article

Family Intervention Tenancies (FITs) are a new type of tenancy to be introduced by Sections 297-298 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.

They will be another tool for registered providers (the new term for both Registered Social Landlords and local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour. The criteria for a tenancy to be a FIT (as opposed to a Secure or Assured Tenancy) are:

• The tenant is the subject of a Possession Order which has been made (or could be made) on the grounds of anti-social behaviour respect of their previous home.
• The purpose of granting a FIT is to provide the tenant (or a member of their household) Behaviour Support Services.
• Before the tenant enters into the FIT, the landlord has served them with a notice in an appropriate form.

FITs do not afford the tenant any long-term security of tenure and are terminated by processes similar to those used for introductory, starter or demoted tenants.

The purpose of a FIT?
FITs will be suitable for tenants (or members of their household) who are to be provided with behaviour support services. The behaviour support services are not provided to the tenant (or member of their household) in their current property, and the FIT must be offered in respect of an alternative property.

The type of services offered will be intended to assist people who have:

• been evicted from their home
• have faced eviction
• could be evicted if they were a tenant
• for reasons of anti-social behaviour.

The incentive for a person to give up possession of their property where they hold either a secure or assured tenancy will be that if a FIT is not accepted they will be threatened with homelessness and a possible finding of intentional homelessness.

What property can be subject to a FIT?
The aim of a FIT is to provide family intervention or intensive support services. Clearly, if these services are provided to the tenant in their current home, they will be surrounded by all the factors which may have encouraged or prolonged their anti-social behaviour in the first instance, such as friends, peers and unsavoury associates.

The idea is that the accommodation which will be the subject of a FIT will be well away from the location of the tenant's former property in order for them (or members of their household) to break links with local connections; in effect offer a fresh start in the very real sense.

The requirements for a FIT
Before the tenant enters into a FIT, they must be served with a written notice. The notice is not a prescribed notice however, Section 297 prescribes six pieces of information which must be included in the notice.

Termination of a FIT
The registered provider will merely need to serve the tenant with a Notice to Quit. If the registered provider is a local authority, the local authority must give the tenant the right to request a review within 14 days of being served with the notice.

This provision does not apply to registered providers who are housing associations. However, it would be good practice for housing associations to provide the possibility of a review within its policy on FITs.

Once the Notice to Quit has expired, the registered provider will need to issue possession proceedings in the County Court however, it will not be necessary for any ground to be proved.

What this means to you
Whilst the exact date of when FITs will come into force is unknown, it may be as early as January 2009. In order to prepare your organisation so that it may provide FITs, you will need to consider issues such as identifying suitable candidates who should be offered a FIT, identifying providers of support services (these do not have to be offered by the registered provider), identifying potential accommodation suitable for letting under FIT, and deciding how long your FIT will last for.

Warning
The new legislation is a minefield and unless the correct processes are followed, your organisation may be caught out.

 

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