BCP Homes: Tenancy Agreement Variation Consultation

We would like to hear your views on proposed changes to Tenancy Agreements for council tenants.

Why are we consulting?

Currently, BCP Council tenants in Bournemouth and Poole have tenancy agreements with different terms and conditions. The proposed changes will ensure that most existing tenants, and all new tenants, will have the same Tenancy Agreement.

The proposed changes are outlined in the Summary document with Part 1 detailing the changes for Bournemouth tenants and Part 2 detailing the changes for Poole tenants. 

Your statutory rights as set out in the Housing Act 1985 are not affected by the proposed changes. Please note, you will not be required to sign a new Tenancy Agreement.

Who could be affected by the proposed changes?

Most of our tenants have a lifetime secure tenancy that has no end date or have an introductory tenancy. Any tenant with these tenancies will have their terms and conditions varied. 

In January 2024, the council agreed that it would no longer offer flexible fixed term tenancies to new tenants. These are tenancies with an end date, and which are subject to review to see if a new tenancy can be granted. We cannot vary the terms and conditions of tenants who currently have this type of tenancy as the law does not allow this. At the end of the fixed term, they will automatically convert to lifetime secure tenancies unless we take legal action to end them. These tenants will remain on their existing terms and conditions unless they move home. Those tenants whose fixed term tenancies have already converted to lifetime secure tenancies will have their terms varied. 

We will continue to offer all new tenants a 12-month introductory tenancy. This is a trial period and at the end of the introductory period the tenancy will convert to a secure tenancy unless we have extended it by a further six months or have taken legal action to end the tenancy because a tenant has failed to meet the terms of their tenancy.

How to take part

Please tell us your views by:

• Reading the relevant Summary Document detailing the proposed changes along with the relevant proposed new Tenancy Agreement before giving us your views
• Completing the online survey below or;
• Completing the paper survey we have sent to you and returning it in the freepost envelope we have sent you by the deadline.
• If you live in sheltered or independent senior living accommodation, you can hand your completed survey to your Scheme Officer.
• An Easy Read and/or Large Print version of the Summary Document can be downloaded in the 'Documents' section of this page. If you would like a hard copy posted to you, please contact us using the details below.

The consultation will close at 23:59pm on 9 August 2026.

As an incentive, we will enter respondents into a prize draw to win one of three £100 shopping vouchers. Winners will be drawn and contacted after the survey closes.

Next steps

We will carefully consider all the comments we receive before making any decisions about the proposed changes to the Tenancy Agreement.

After this, we will serve you with a formal Notice of Variation (under Section 103 of the Housing Act 1985). This will include a copy of the new finalised Tenancy Agreement and details of the date on which the changes will become effective.

Support

If you have any questions about the proposed changes, you can visit us at Kinson Hub, Wimborne Road, Kinson or at Poole Central Library in the Dolphin Centre to discuss these with officers at any time during the consultation period. Officers will be available during normal opening hours which can be viewed using the link above.

If you have any questions, need support completing the survey or need the documents in a different format please email BCPHomes@bcpcouncil.gov.uk or call 0800 028 1870.