A COUNCILLOR says taxpayers are losing out because a local authority is allowing too many of its tenants to exist on so-called ‘tenancy at will’ arrangements.

Councillor John Shuttleworth said such arrangements meant Durham County Council had to pick up the tab for building repairs and maintenance.

A tenancy at will occurs when a landlord and a tenant agree that the tenant will be allowed to occupy a property before a lease has been issued, often while they are in negotiations to finalise the lease.

But they are only intended to be temporary arrangements and not an alternative to a full tenancy.

Cllr Shuttleworth submitted a Freedom of Information request to the council in February asking for detailed costs of all repairs and maintenance carried out under tenancy at will.

The information was not received until this month, with the councillor receiving an apology for the late response.

Costs met by the council and outlined in its reply ranged from £712 for the former Stanley School of Technology, which is now a community football centre, to £516,305 on business units at the Stella Gill industrial estate, in Pelton Fell.

Other notable costs included £138,284 on a new boiler, inspection and testing at Glenroyd House, in Consett, a former care home now run as a community centre and which houses a foodbank, church project and sexual health clinic among other functions.

The council also spent £16,959 on a children’s centre in Evenwood and £46,907 on the Blackhill and Consett Park Lodge Heritage Centre.

Cllr Shuttleworth said tenancy at wills should be changed to formal lease arrangements after approximately three months, but instead some were lasting for years.

He claimed the issue had been “badly managed” by the authority, adding: “These ad-hoc arrangements will be costing you, me and everybody else a big lump of money.”

Stuart Timmiss, Durham County Council’s head of planning and assets, said: “In common with most councils we use tenancy at will agreements where land or buildings are being used on a temporary basis, in order to protect the interests of ourselves and the occupier.

“In most cases, tenancy at will agreements are in place while lease terms are being agreed and will echo the terms of the proposed document.

“However, we will allow agreements to run for longer periods where there is a benefit to County Durham, such as a company setting up new premises.

“The majority of tenancy at will agreements require the payment of rent and often include obligations relating to repairs and maintenance.”