Age rules for Wolverhampton Council flat scrapped

The council says it has been forced to consider the move because of the growing demand for smaller properties in the wake of the 'bedroom tax' fall-out.

However concerns have been raised about a potential 'clash of lifestyles' between young and old people living in the same block.

There are currently 2,295 council flats in 78 high and low-rise blocks around the city that are reserved for tenants over a certain age.

The number amounts to 10 per cent of the authority's total housing stock.

The age limits span from a minimum of 25 years old up to a minimum of 60, with the bulk of the apartments, more than two-thirds, reserved for tenants aged at least 30.

Presently there are 7,880 people on the housing waiting list in Wolverhampton but of the 892 properties that became available to lease last year, only 180 were two-bedroom flats, for which the demand is highest.

The council says that the age restrictions on its homes means that an unfair number of flats are being reserved for older people while others with a higher priority, mainly families with children, are being left on the waiting list.

Letters have been sent by the council to all households affected, with several tenants responding, outlining their objections to the move.

Among those who responded was a tenant from William Bentley Court in Heath Town, who said the proposal to remove age limits had 'created dismay, disappointment, annoyance and, indeed, despair' to many residents.

He went on: "Tenants are concerned that lowering the age limit will result in a younger people coming into the block who will see it as a temporary stop-gap and have no loyalty in maintaining the new standards."

Another, from St Joseph's Court in the Merry Hill ward, called on the council to rehouse any older tenants who may 'feel threatened' if the age restrictions were lifted.

A neighbour from the same block suggested the authority adopt a similar approach to Birmingham City Council which has converted more than 20 high-rise blocks into 'vertical warden schemes' for older people.

Isolation

Another tenant from St Joseph's Court said that Wolverhampton Homes did 'not have a sufficiently robust approach to anti-social behaviour or the capacity to deal with more cases.

He said the reduced concierge service at the Merry Hill flats did not help as there was now less monitoring of comings and going in the building.

A tenant from Bromfield Court in Tettenhall Wood wrote that she agreed in principle with releasing more homes for younger people but was concerned that within her block there were some 'particularly old' tenants.

She said: "If young people, those with children, or those from a different culture moved in, it could present a clash of lifestyle and lead to the isolation of older tenants." Another suggested that the council had been discriminating against younger people for years and this latest initiative was an attempt to 'rectify this mistake.'