Housing tenancy agreement consultation 2025

Background

A tenancy agreement is a legal contract between the council and the council tenants in Bristol which sets out the conditions of the tenancy. 

An introductory tenancy agreement is a tenancy that usually lasts 12 months and is offered to new council tenants. In some cases, the introductory tenant period can be extended, for example if the tenant is behind on rent payments or if anti-social behaviour takes place. 

A secure tenancy agreement is a long-term agreement that lasts if the tenant does not break the conditions of the agreement. A secure tenancy is granted after the tenant has successfully completed the introductory period.  
The council’s tenancy agreements were last reviewed in 2010 and now need updating. The proposed changes to the tenancy agreements reflect changes to areas such as:  

• Housing law - there have been significant changes in housing law since the tenancy agreements were last reviewed, this includes the introduction of the Localism Act 2011 as well as new case law which may affect how tenancy clauses are interpreted.
• Compliance with the Regulator of Social Housing – new Consumer Standards were introduced in 2024 that require landlords to be more transparent, responsive and tenant-focused.
• Technology - There have been significant changes in Data Protection law since the tenancy agreements were last reviewed. The draft tenancy agreements make clear how our tenants’ data would be collected, stored and used in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
• Language - We have updated the language we use within the tenancy agreement to make the language clearer and avoid disputes.  

Why are we consulting? 

Before we can make any changes to the council’s tenancy agreements, we need to provide council tenants with a Preliminary Notice of Variation which has been mailed out to all tenants. This is a letter that we send to council tenants to tell them that we propose to make changes to their tenancy agreement.

We have summarised the proposed changes to tenancy agreements outlined in the Preliminary Notice of Variation in these Summary of Proposed Changes Documents: 

• Summary of Proposed Changes Document – Introductory Tenancy Agreement
• Summary of Proposed Changes Document – Secure Tenancy Agreement 

The full draft tenancy agreements are also available to view here:

• Full draft Introductory Tenancy Agreement
• Full draft Secure Tenancy Agreement

How do I take part? 

 We are asking for your views on the proposed changes to the temporary tenancy agreement and the secure tenancy agreement.  

 Please provide your comments in the textbox below.

This consultation will be open from Wednesday 25 June until midnight on Tuesday 12 August 2025. 

 Please submit your response by Tuesday 12 August 2025.

Alternative formats 

If you need this consultation survey as a paper version, Easy Read, Braille, large print, British Sign Language, or other alternative format, you can request this by emailing: tenancyagreementconsultation@bristol.gov.uk

What happens next? 

The results of this consultation will be analysed and presented to the Homes and Housing Delivery Committee for a decision on the final introductory and secure tenancy agreements in September 2025.

 Following committee, a covering letter for Notice of Variation, Notice of Variation Introductory to Secure and Summary of changes to Tenancy Introductory to Secure along with the new tenancy agreement will be sent to those tenants who have an introductory tenancy.   

A covering letter for Notice of Variation, Notice of Variation Secure and Summary of changes to Tenancy Agreement Secure will be sent along with the new tenancy agreement to those tenants who have a secure tenancy.