Author and Job Role Alison Bolton, Chief Executive & Monitoring Officer
Protective Marking: Official
Executive Summary:
On 19th January 2026, Section 21 eviction notices were served to all tenants living in the 21 occupied properties owned by the Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) asking them to vacate the properties by 1st May 2026. This triggered a legal process to regain possession of the houses, which remains ongoing (as at March 2026).
The decision to take this course of action was an extremely difficult one and was not made lightly. Whilst ultimately the decision falls to the PCC as legal owner of the properties, this matter has been subject to discussion and consideration at meetings of the Surrey Estates Board, which is chaired by the PCC and where the Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and other senior personnel of Surrey Police are attendees.
There has been an extensive and careful review of alternatives, with due consideration given to the human impact on everyone involved. Throughout, the PCC and Force have sought and followed independent legal advice to ensure that their actions were responsible, compliant and fair. Ultimately, the PCC needed to carefully weigh the impact on a relatively small number of individuals against the wider strategic aims of the Surrey Police Housing Strategy, the longer-term benefits to the broader organisation and the best use of public money.
Below, we have set out information to provide the wider context to the PCC taking this decision.
Surrey Police Housing Stock
There are currently 21 PCC-owned houses that are occupied by either serving police officers or police staff. These properties are located across the county and are primarily 3-bedroom semi-detached 1950s-built homes. The properties are located in Godstone, Burpham, Weybridge, Frimley, Redhill, Addlestone, Chertsey, Ottershaw, Milford and Dorking. The capital value of the houses ranges from around £450,000 to almost £1million. Surrey is, we believe, unique among other force areas in being the only one to have retained housing for use by staff and officers. This is something the PCC wishes to see continue.
Whilst the PCC is the legal owner of all land and buildings, the properties are leased to a third-party housing management company (Fidum) who in turn, leases them to staff and officers through an assured shorthold tenancy and at a subsidised rent which equates to around 50% of current market value. This third-party arrangement is necessary due to the fact that PCCs’ powers of competence do not permit them to issue assured shorthold tenancies, unlike, for instance, a housing association. Under all our current tenancy agreements, Fidum retains the right to repossess the properties if the tenant is given at least two months’ notice.
There is currently very little turnover of officers/staff within these houses, with properties often only becoming free on retirement, resignation or dismissal. Current tenants have benefitted from police housing for periods ranging from just over six months to 36 years. In more recent years, the Force has applied criteria to how the houses have been allocated with any vacant houses being offered to serving officers or staff earning the lowest salaries and with preference being given to those with emergency housing needs or who find themselves in a situation which may affect their ability to continue to serve.
Surrey Police Housing Strategy
In 2022, the PCC together with the Chief Constable, initiated work on a revised Housing Strategy for Surrey Police as part of the wider Estates Strategy. The strategic aims of the Strategy for the police housing stock – both existing and any future new accommodation – were as follows:
- A strong commitment to offering residential accommodation to new or junior officers for a relatively limited duration during their early years of service
- Accommodation should be of good quality and be well-maintained
- Availability of suitable accommodation for new officers should not be stifled by officers being able to stay for an indeterminate period and that the PCC should be able to recover possession from officers either after a fixed period or if they leave/are dismissed from the Force.
The Strategy was informed by a survey of new-in-service officers and staff which was conducted to better understand housing needs and the impact on recruitment and retention at a time when the Force was making great efforts to bring in officers under the Government’s uplift programme. That survey revealed some key findings:
- One third of respondents lived in privately rented accommodation.
- A further 29% lived with family or friends
- Approximately six out of ten respondents (62%) said that if the ability to rent accommodation as a benefit of working for Surrey Police was available, they would make use of it, with a further 16% undecided
- A large proportion of respondents (85%) said having accommodation would encourage them to remain in Surrey Police for the longer term.
It was clear that the ability to offer subsidised, good quality, environmentally sustainable housing to officers and staff would be a real positive for the Force.
At this point in time, it was also acknowledged that the housing stock was suffering from a legacy of under-investment and that the arrangement with the then-housing management company had been poorly managed. A decision was taken to invest £3.5million in a programme of housing refurbishment (from the sale of a number of properties) and to exit the lease with the then-housing provider. During the programme of refurbishment, tenants were offered a reduced or rent-free period given the disruption. Fidum was installed as the new managing agent and intermediate landlord to ensure that tenancies were better managed.
A revised criteria for the future allocation of police housing, barring where there is a very specific operational need to house an officer, was also drawn up as follows:
- Must be a serving staff member or officer
- Must be within the first three years of service
- Must earn less than £40,000/annum
- Must have a household income of less than £80,000/annum
- Must not own another property
The initial work on the Housing Strategy described here pre-dates the introduction of the Renters Rights’ Bill (and the Renters (Reform) Bill before it).
The Renters’ Rights Act
In September 2024, the Government introduced the Renters’ Rights Bill to Parliament. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025, once implemented in May 2026, will see the abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and will remove the ability for a landlord to evict a tenant without cause. The Bill as first drafted recognised that there would remain some instances where a landlord should retain the ability to end a tenancy, including where a tenant is offered a property as part of their employment. Unfortunately, the Bill did not extend this provision to policing.
Policing is in a uniquely complex position in terms of its ability to offer housing to officers and staff on the basis of their “employment”’ for a number of reasons. Firstly, the estate is owned by the PCC who is not the employer. In fact, police officers are not technically employed at all – rather they are Crown Servants. Police staff are employed, but by the Chief Constable and not by the PCC as owner of the estate.
It became clear that the Renters’ Rights Act could result in the unintended consequence that the PCC would not, in future, be able to provide housing to police officers in the early years of their service and that the delivery of the Housing Strategy was at risk given there would be no way to regain possession of properties, even where a tenant no longer worked for Surrey Police. Essentially, the PCC could lose any control over the housing stock. The PCC therefore lobbied successfully over a number of months and the Government ultimately amended the Bill in April 2025 so that Ground 5C – “End of employment by the landlord” was extended to include police officers.
In practice, this means that under the Renters’ Rights Act, the PCC can regain possession of a property in two circumstances:
- where a police officer is granted a tenancy for the purpose of providing the tenant with accommodation during the early period of their employment, that purpose has been fulfilled and the house will be let to another current or future employee; and
- where a tenancy was granted for a particular purpose relating to the tenant’s service as a police officer and that purpose has been fulfilled or the tenancy is no longer required for that purpose. I
In any other circumstance, the PCC cannot rely on Ground 5C. In the absence of any adverse conduct by the tenant (e.g. rent arrears, anti-social behaviour) it would be unlikely the PCC would be able to rely on any other ground either.
The Renters’ Rights Act and Existing Tenants
In late 2025, the PCC received legal advice that, in spite of the amendment to the Bill, there remained a risk that it may not be possible to regain possession of our current police housing once the Renters’ Rights Act is implemented. This is because, in the most part, it is not possible to evidence that current tenants have been granted a lease due to their being either in the early part of their service or as a result of a particular policing purpose relating to their service as a police officer. In other words, the PCC would not be able to rely on Ground 5C for the majority of our tenants and therefore runs the real risk of being unable to remove tenants, thus losing control of the housing stock. This would include instances where someone had left Surrey Police, had been dismissed, or wished to stay in police housing for the entire duration of their service.
The PCC considered a number of alternative options prior to taking the decision to proceed with the Section 21 process in October 2025. These included the possibility of disposing of all stock entirely, or selling the stock to a housing provider whilst retaining the ability to allocate properties to police officers or staff. Neither of these options were palatable. Once it became clearer that serving Section 21 notices may be the most suitable option in the circumstances, the PCC sought advice on the maximum notice period she would be able to offer tenants (including for instance, until the end of the school year). This was not possible in the unique legal landscape the PCC found herself in, in which:
- Section 21 notices must give at least two months’ notice, but if a tenant does not vacate then proceedings must be issued within six months of when the notice was served; and
- The transitional provisions of the Renters’ Rights Act mean notices must be served on or before 30 April 2026 at the absolute latest and proceedings must be issued by the earlier of six months from when the notice was served and 31 July 2026.
If the date in a Section 21 notice were set into the summer (for example) then this would have had the dual effect of:
- Meaning the notice period would necessarily be shorter (i.e. the PCC would have had to serve notice in the spring); and
- Risking losing control of the housing stock as if tenants to do not vacate when the Section 21 notice expires there would be a narrower window for issuing proceedings. If the Court does not issue proceedings in time, any assured shorthold tenancy would convert to an assured tenancy and the PCC may struggle to evict those tenants (even after their service) for the reasons set out above.
The PCC has also considered whether tenants could be asked to sign an agreement that they would vacate the property at a certain mutually-agreed future date, thus giving them more time to find alternative accommodation. Again, this was not possible as any such document would not be legally binding.
A number of tenants have understandably asked why we were not able to give them more notice, given that the decision to instigate the Section 21 process was taken before Christmas. As above, there is a maximum notice period for Section 21 notices which means that the effect of serving notice sooner would have been the notice would have expired sooner. Importantly, the process of actioning the Section 21 notices had not been actioned before Christmas as there were also a number of administrative and practical steps that needed to be taken for every property before the Section 21 notices could be issued – both to ensure any notices served were valid and so that the PCC ensured compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty. This took some time to put in order.
It should be noted that, where a current tenant has been able to evidence that they meet the PCC’s revised criteria in terms of salary (i.e. under £40,000 for an individual or £80,000 for a household) and length of service, they have been offered a new lease. Additionally, a lease can be offered where this is granted for a particular purpose relating to the tenant’s service as a policeofficer. This is because in both these circumstances, the PCC will retain the ability in future to regain possession under Ground 5C of the Renters’ Rights Act in the event that the tenant no longer meets the criteria/the policing purpose for which the tenancy was granted has been fulfilled or is no longer required.
Updates further to the serving of the Section 21 notices
The PCC is very aware that this decision will affect different tenants in different ways. For that reason, one-to-one meetings with the PCC and Deputy Chief Constable were offered to all tenants in the weeks after the notices were served and most tenants availed of this opportunity. Having sought further legal advice and on the back of the tenant meetings, the PCC has agreed to instruct Fidum not to take any steps within court proceedings aside from issuing them before 18th July 2026 (unless a Defence is filed or an order requires them to take such steps). The strict timescales of the Section 21 process mean any court proceedings must be issued by this date, allowing also for the potential backlogs and processing times with the courts. Tenants will therefore have had six months from when notice was served before any steps in an eviction process would be taken, other than issuing court proceedings which are necessary in order to protect the PCC’s position. The PCC is aware that for some tenants, there may be difficulties in finding sufficient funds to secure a deposit or initial rent on a new property or to cover the costs of moving house. Therefore, the PCC has agreed to a 50% rent reduction which will be effective from the date of the Section 21 notice until 18th July.
In addition to the Public Sector Equality Duty considerations made when taking the decision to issue Section 21 notices, the Force and PCC have also completed further Public Sector Equality Duty exercises and proportionality assessments for those tenants or their family members who have particular personal circumstances and have requested ‘reasonable adjustments’. There is some flexibility and discretion available to the PCC once court proceedings have begun in terms of timescales and the point at which she may choose to take steps to push a case through court and the enforcement of any order. This includes where tenants need more time and are taking steps to seek alternative accommodation.
Conclusion
Without doubt, this decision has been an extremely difficult one and is not a decision that the PCC would wished to have made. The PCC is very aware that for some tenants, these police houses have been their homes for many years. The decision has not however, been taken in haste or without due consideration of alternative options. The unfortunate position in which the PCC finds herself, is that once the Renters’ Rights Act is implemented, the PCC would not be able to retain control of the 21 occupied properties as the grounds on which a tenant can be asked to leave are extremely limited and would not extend to circumstances such as someone leaving the Force or being dismissed.
The PCC has a duty not only to act fairly to the existing tenants, but also to the rest of the organisation and indeed to the wider public at large, given her obligations to ensure public money is spent wisely. Where the number of houses available is limited, we need to be able to demonstrate that these are allocated fairly and in support of the wider operational aims of Surrey Police. Put simply, a small number of officers and staff currently benefit from police housing at a greatly subsided rent, and for some, this has been over a period of many years. The fair and transparent allocation of housing is something that, through the delivery of the Housing Strategy, the PCC and Force have been seeking to address for some time. However, the Renters’ Rights Act has accelerated the timescales for doing this and limited the options available in terms of flexibility. Whilst the PCC may have wished to rely on other options – for instance, longer periods of notice or natural turnover of housing – this is not now possible unless the PCC is willing to lose any control over millions of pounds worth of assets.
We know that around a third of police officers and staff in the early years of their service are living in privately rented accommodation where they will be paying full market rent. We also know that there is a demand from officers and staff for affordable accommodation to help them in the early years of their service. In future, housing will be allocated against a clear set of criteria, which will be applied fairly and consistently for any new applicants. New tenancy agreements will include an acknowledgment within them that will record the circumstances in which the tenancy has been granted (i.e. intended for a set period of time during early service and when they meet the earnings criteria, or for another specified policing purpose) so that once a tenant is no longer in the early years of their service or their salary exceeds £40,000 (or £80,000 for a household), they will need to find alternative accommodation. If the tenant does not do so, then the PCC will be able to regain possession using the ground available to her under the Renters’ Rights Act. This will ensure that the limited number of properties can be of benefit to a greater number of officers and staff than is currently the case.
Recommendation:
That the PCC confirms that this is an accurate record of the circumstances leading to the decision to serve Section 21 notices to tenants in occupied PCC-owned housing, so that the strategic aims of the Surrey Police Housing Strategy can be achieved and that the allocation of police housing is both fair and transparent in future.
Police and Crime Commissioner Approval
I approve the recommendation(s):
Signature: PCC Lisa Townsend (wet signed copy held in Office)
Date: 20th March 2026
All decisions must be added to the decision register.
Areas of consideration
Consultation
Whilst this decision rests with the PCC, there has been extensive discussion through the Surrey Police Estates Board of which the PCC is chair. This has included consideration of a range of alternative options aside from progressing with the S21 process. Individual tenants have been offered meetings with the PCC and Deputy Chief Constable and through ongoing correspondence, we have assessed and kept under review any requests for reasonable adjustments.
Financial implications
No significant financial implications in the short-term.
Legal
The PCC has sought and been informed by independent legal advice throughout this process.
Risks
The principal risk is in achieving the wider aims of the Housing Strategy and retaining the ability to control the housing stock should this course of action not be taken.
Equality and diversity
The PCC has been extremely mindful of the impact of this decision on individual households and how each may be impacted differently according to their own circumstances. Public Sector Equality Duty Exercises and proportionality assessments for those tenants who have requested reasonable adjustments have been completed and the PCC continues to keep those under review.