The decision is to waive the normal processes
for allocating secure tenancies to enable the displaced tenants of
Honeycroft to be granted a secure tenancy at a different address.
In October tenants of the main building were asked to move out in
response to a risk of legionella within the water system. All
tenants were successfully relocated, mostly to other Council
properties. Their tenancies currently remain at Honeycroft but some
have expressed a desire to remain in the accommodation they were
moved temporarily to. Housing Benefit can be claimed for up to 13
weeks where someone is absence from their normal address. From the
week commencing 22 January, it will be necessary to end the
Honeycroft tenancies to ensure that the tenants can continue to
claim their benefit entitlement. This will apply equally to those
that do not wish to remain in the accommodation in the longer term
and those that do. It is proposed that those who do not wish to
remain in the accommodation in the longer term will be granted a
secure tenancy at their temporary address and a further secure
tenancy at the address they eventually move to at an appropriate
time in the future. Normal policy would require a tenant to make a
housing register application and wait to be allocated alternative
accommodation when it becomes available but in the circumstances
this has not been possible and is not appropriate