A WORRYING number of tenants in Hyndburn are handing back their council house rent books and switching to private landlords.

The increase in the turnover of tenancies is a cause for concern, says a report to the housing services committee tonight.

As well as lost rent when council houses stand empty, the termination of tenancies also increases the workload on staff in the housing, finance and repairs departments.

Regular monitoring reveals that in the first three months of this financial year the turnover of council houses was almost 20 per cent, compared with 16.4 per cent last year overall.

If the trend continues, 780 houses will become empty this year, compared to 664 last year.

A breakdown of the reasons for tenancies being terminated shows 17 per cent ended because the tenant died or went into a nursing home, 14 per cent because of a transfer or mutual exchange, 7.6 per cent were leaving the area, 11.8 per cent moved to private rented accommodation, 8.7 per cent absconded or left without notice, and 4.1 per cent were evicted.

The report says the high rate of terminations relates to the availability of alternative housing, but council officers are also investigating contributory factors.

Practical steps aimed at hanging on to existing tenants include a tenant satisfaction survey being carried out this month.

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