Do i have to leave ?? please help !!

[rebekahstuck]

I`m new to all this so please forgive any ignorance....3 years ago my dad died leaving my little on her own. I moved into his council house to care for her and signed the tenancy agreement as my sisters trustee as she was too young to hold a tenancy agreement (she had natural succession to the tenancy). Both myself and my daughter are named on the agreement as living in the property. My sister has just been admitted to a hospital for the mentally sick. Because she is not residing in the property at present do i have to relinquish the agreement? If i did my daughter and i would be homeless. I am on the rent card and i pay the rent. Both my daughter and i named as tennants in the property. Help please as i`m not sure how things stand.

Thank you in advance for any help.

[flyingdoc]

It is my understanding that if you are on the rent card then you are a tenant in your own right and cannot be made to leave.

 

The fact that you have a child (I presume your daughter is under 18 )will also stand for you as a council will not make children homeless lightly.

[rebekahstuck]

Thank you so much for your reply......yes my daughter is under 18. Again, thank you.

[jackieandwayne]

You may well be mentioned on the tenancy agreement (rent card) however, when the LA look back at the documents, they will see that you only held an interest in the tenancy until your sister reached her majority (I assume she now has?). However, if the LA have been dozy and have actually made a joint tenancy between you and your sister, they are stuffed.

 

Your sister acquired this tenancy under what is called First Succession. (She succeeded to your father's tenancy - be careful, was it a true FS? Did your mother live here with your father under a joint tenancy and then she passed away and it went to him? - if so your little sister has a second succession) There is no legal right to Second succession its discretionary but most LA's will agree to it if the circumstances warrant it.

 

You say your little sister has now entered a care home - is she able to deal with her affairs or do you have power of attorney? Hopefully she manages her own affairs, in which case, you should ask her if she would be willing to "assign" her tenancy in its entirety to yourself. If she is a true secure tenant then she has this right.

 

That said, I find it would be extremely harsh for the Council to evict you from what has been your home for years, only to put you through the trauma of going to a hostel or B & B and then into another Council house. Of course, this would have a very detrimental effect on your daughter, having had a settled home for some years, then to be torn out of her home in this way - Social Services will be interested in this.

 

You should first contact Shelter (because this is a complex case). They will get all the documents they need from the LA BEFORE any further enquiries are made. Then they can see what has happened here.

 

There will be people who will argue that "succession" and "assignment" are technically the same, but look at this like this - a "deceased tenant" cannot assign anything, (although a secure tenancy can be left in a will) and you cannot "succeed" where there is no "deceased" tenant to succeed from!

 

Shelter is the answer, and let them do all the work for you - as i said this is quite complex.

 

Should the worst happen, you cannot get sense out of your LA or they look likely to attempt to evict you - then write a letter to your local MP and also find out which Councillor chairs the Housing Committee - they'll be absolutely delighted to know the expense the Housing Department are costing by kicking you out of a suitable home, putting you in temporary accommodation and then providing you with accommodation again!

 

Good luck and let us know how you go on with this.

[rebekahstuck]

Hi Thank you,

My sister does not reach 18 until september and does not have the mental capability to hold the tenancy she has a mental age of around 10 years old. I went to court and was made her guardian and carer. I am her power of attorney also ...and look after all her affairs. She does return home on "weekend leave" from the unit she is in.