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The Tories are quietly banning a scheme which offers poor residents a council house for life.

Lifelong secure tenancies - which meant tenants could keep council homes until they died and hand them on to their children - will be phased out in the Housing and Planning Bill.

Instead councils will only be allowed to offer secure tenancies of two to five years and 'review' the tenant's circumstances before deciding whether to kick them out.

When children or other relatives apart from a spouse inherit a tenant's home, the tenancy will be capped at five years - after which it could be handed on to someone else.

Labour's shadow housing minister John Healey blasted the move tonight.

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(Image: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire)

"People will be astonished that Ministers are legislating to deny families a stable home," he said.

"This will cause worry and upheaval for tenants, and break up communities.

"Councils are already able to decide on the length of tenancy they want to offer according to local needs.

"Margaret Thatcher passed the law to give council tenants secure tenancies which David Cameron is now tearing up. This generation of Tory Ministers seem to have a vendetta against council tenants and council homes."

The move emerged in the small print of a 66-page document containing amendments to the Bill , which will deliver the Tories' 'affordable' starter homes costing up to £450,000 .

Housing minister Brandon Lewis wrote: "A secure tenant can currently live in a property for life.

(Image: Mirrorpix)

"In future secure tenancies will generally have to be for a fixed term of 2 to 5 years and will not automatically be renewed.

"Towards the end of the term, the landlord will have to do a review to decide whether to grant a new tenancy or recover possession."

Specialist magazine Inside Housing reported the move will not affect housing associations, which mostly offer assured tenancies instead of secure tenancies.

As it's currently drafted, the change is also not expected to hit people who are already on a lifelong tenancy.

But the policy was still attacked by housing associations.

John Bryant of the National Housing Federation told Inside Housing: "Our view is that housing associations are in the best place to decide what type and duration of tenancy to offer.

"We don’t want to have that decision taken away – whether by legislation or regulation."

poll loading Is it fair to offer a council house for life? 2000+ VOTES SO FAR YES NO

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And we will continue to campaign over the coming weeks to stop the change in law.

Dear Prime Minister, we are strongly opposed to your plan to end lifetime tenancies for people living in council housing. This will have a disastrous impact on communities across the country. We urge you to think again and restore this long-held right for council tenants immediately.

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