Plans to phase out lifelong tenancies for social housing tenants could cause ‘uncertainty and instability’, housing experts are warning.

Under proposed amendments to the Housing and Planning Bill, council house tenancies could be limited to a maximum of five years.

However, the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has called for local authorities to be given the flexibility to decide on housing tenancies at a local level.

CIH policy and practice officer, David Pipe, said individual landlords should be allowed to make their own decisions based on what is appropriate for their area, with the option of longer tenancies to give tenants more security.

He said: ‘We strongly feel that it would have been preferable to have given landlords the option of longer terms for several reasons - they offer more security for tenants (particularly, for example, those with young children), they help to create more settled and successful communities and they also reduce the administrative burden of carrying out regular reviews for landlords.’

Mr Pipe added: ‘More generally there is a risk that shorter tenancies could create uncertainty and instability for tenants and make it more difficult for housing professionals to help build sustainable, settled communities.’

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government insisted the changes would improve local authorities abilities to provide social housing ‘for those who need it most, as long as they need it’.

‘This is about ensuring we make the best use of our social housing, and that tenancies change as needs change,' they added.

‘We want to support households to make the transition into home ownership where they can.’