10 Jul 2026
St Albans council has been accused of slipping harsh measures including eviction threats and loft bans into new tenancy contracts which will affect thousands of local residents.
As part of a complete overhaul of SADC’s secure tenancy agreement, it appears as though they have included various legal changes which may have a substantial impact on tenants.
The SADC Tenancy Consultation, which closes on Monday (July 13), features a Table of Proposed Changes which includes the following terms:
- Eviction Threats for Missed Appointments: Tenants face losing their homes and paying full council court fees if they fail to answer or miss communication from third-party gas and electrical safety contractors.
- Mandatory Photos: Every single person named on a council tenancy agreement is now legally forced to submit a photograph of themselves to a council database.
- The Total Loft Ban: A strict blanket statement has been added to the contract rules stating residents “must not use or enter the loft” for health and safety reasons. This prevents ordinary storage (like Christmas decorations or suitcases) for families who have lived here for decades and have no alternative storage space.
- Seizing Compensation: If a tenant wins a compensation case against the council for massive housing failures like severe damp or black mold, the council can now legally seize that money to offset separate disputes rather than paying the cash out to the tenant to replace ruined belongings.
- Property Access: In the small print, the council is slashing the standard notice required to enter homes from 48 hours down to just 24 hours. Vulnerable tenants, the elderly, and those with support needs require longer notice periods to arrange assistance or prepare, not less.
- Home Alterations: SADC is making the rules for home improvements incredibly punitive. Tenants must formally apply for written permission for minor, ordinary changes. If a family makes an improvement without jumping through council hoops, the text states the tenant will be forced to pay the full cost out of their own pocket to rip it down and return the property to its original state.
- Visitor Responsibility: SADC has slipped in clauses making the tenant entirely legally liable for the behaviour of any visitor. If a guest or family member uses “insulting words” or is accused of any form of verbal “abuse” near the property, the council can hold the tenant liable.
In a letter to tenants requesting their views on the changes, SADC stated: “St Albans City and District Council is reviewing its tenancy agreement to ensure it is clear, fair and up to date… The proposed changes form part of our wider service improvement work and are intended to support safe and well-managed homes and neighbourhoods and clearly set out tenant and landlord responsibilities.”
On SADC’s official consultation website, the council claims these contract changes are part of their “wider improvement work following the recent housing inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing”. SADC received a C2 grading in its first inspection by the new Regulator, which is in line with other Hertfordshire councils which manage their own housing stock and placed them in the upper half of English councils.
A tenant who contacted the St Albans Times on condition of anonymity said: “Nothing in the Regulator’s standards requires a council to threaten vulnerable tenants with eviction over missed contractor text messages, force them into a mandatory photo database, ban them from their own lofts, or seize their repair compensation cash.
“Many tenants feel intimidated by these changes. The official survey forces people to input their exact names, addresses, and personal details to object, meaning vulnerable people are too afraid of council retaliation to reply. I’m deeply concerned about the timescale and how many tenants are actually aware of these punitive changes – it could now be too late to fight back.”
SADC strategic director for community and pPlace delivery Chris Traill said: “Our tenancy agreement has not been updated since 2014 so is in need of a review. We are working to ensure the updated agreement will be easy to understand and reflect current legislation and good practice. The changes we are proposing are minor and in most cases are simply a clarification of existing procedures.
“For instance, we already store photographs of those who have signed a tenancy agreement, partly as a safeguard against fraud, and this is a standard practice across social housing.
“The complaints raised by the tenant quoted in your article are not in line with the general feedback we are receiving and we feel it is plain wrong to call the changes ‘punitive’.
“Our tenancy team will be happy to talk to the tenant in question – or anyone else with concerns.
“We can assure them that our updated tenancy agreement will be fair, consistent and transparent, support well-managed homes and set out the responsibilities of both the council as landlord and the tenant.
“In regards to some of the specific points raised, tenants are not allowed to use loft space for storage for sound health and safety reasons, again a standard requirement in the rented sector.
“Lofts are not designed for storage; water tanks, insulation and cabling have to be protected from damage; and there is an injury risk to tenants from using the loft for this.
“We have a statutory duty to access homes on occasions to carry out safety checks and the vast majority of tenants are happy to comply with this. Plenty of notice is given by letter, email, phone call or a visit and we will only take legal action to access the property when all such efforts have been exhausted.”
Tenants can still have their say on the changes at https://tinyurl.com/SADC-Tenant-Survey before Monday.
