Council Tenancy - Succession

[Deb T]

Asking on behalf of a friend who by no fault of their own has been left to deal with a difficult situation.

 

In a nutshell, he has live in the same council house for over 40 years, his mother is the current tenant.

 

His mother is terminally ill and won't be around for more than a couple of months, she is deteriorating fast. She is in her 80's

 

In the mid 80's his father was the tenant and he passed it over to his wife (the terminally ill mother) via a divorce settlement.

 

When my friend contacted the council they were adamant that it was a succession from his Dad to his Ma and therefore no further successions could take place...as in my friend succeeding the tenancy from his mother.

 

Having no succession rights means that on the death of his mother my friend will be at the mercy of the council, they don't have any obligation to help him single man, no other family and no real priorty for housing. The council over the phone stated 'don't worry, we wont chuck you on the street' yeah right....

 

Armed with my new found confidence due to Cag I saddled up alongside my mate and requested a meeting with the council...

 

Meeting was arranged with the head honcho and during the conversation I requested that he pull the actual file up on my friends property (rather than just quoting from it) and check if it was a succession in the 80's or as I thought and it was actually an assignment......and lo and behold and beneath his furrowed brow he accepted that it was actually an assigment and not a succession...... which roughly translated means that my friend can now succeed the tenancy.....result so far.......the council accept he has full succession rights.....

 

But there is a catch, there is always a catch....succession is one thing, it means my friend has a home with the local authority, however what it doesn't mean is that he has the home he has lived in all his life as his home, the council can and does have the discretion to offer him another small home..something more fitting with his single person status....which ordinarily wouldn't be a problem...but he wants to stay in his own home and the likelihood of him being offered a small flat in a block of flats mainly propgated by younger generation...well it frightens the life out of him...he simply isn't equipped to live in such surrounds....and given he's lived with his mum all his life and she will soon be gone...well you can uinderstand how he must be feeling.....

 

In any case, the head honcho in a further and off the record conversation

told me that it may be better while his mother is alive to get the tenancy assigned to him..and then in the event of he death he will natually keep the property on...no further intervention from the council...he qualifies for the assignment having live in the house 12months prior to the assignment and is related to the current tenant etc etc....

 

This sounds too easy...., does anyone have any knowledge of this situation...and if by accepting an assignment from his mother to him whilse she is still alive gives him automatic right to his property he lives in as opposed to a succession by way of his mothers death and still giving him a home but not neccersarily the one he's living in (and which is what he wants?)

 

I'm not sure if the head honcho was trying to give help (off the record) or was actually in a round about way jeapoardising my friends tenancy even more....

 

Housing Act 1985 is what he is covered by and his mothers tenancy is classed as secured....I've read the literature on it but it's not overly clear where the above situation is concerned. He has sought a solcitors help but as usual they're slow in coming forward.

[Conniff]

You probably know this, but it is all I could find:

 

Succeeding to a council tenancy

 

If you live in a council property, the rules are broadly the same for all types of tenancy but there are some differences.

 

If you have a joint tenancy, the surviving tenant will automatically take over the whole tenancy. If you are not a joint tenant, you may be able to take over the tenancy by succession if you are:

• the tenant's spouse or registered civil partner, as long as you were living together at the time of their death (or, if the tenancy is a demoted tenancy, for at least a year beforehand), or
  
• another family member (this includes cohabiting partners, children, parents, siblings and most other close relatives) as long as there is no surviving spouse or civil partner and you were living with the deceased for at least a year before their death.
  

If you succeed to a council tenancy, you would have the same type of tenancy as the person who died had. So if they had an introductory tenancy or a demoted tenancy, it will remain introductory or demoted until the full trial/demotion period has passed. Remember to stick to the conditions of the tenancy agreement to avoid the risk of eviction.

If you succeed to any type of council tenancy, you also need to be aware that there is a chance that the council may try to evict you on the grounds that the home is now larger than you need. The council cannot do this if you are the spouse or registered civil partner of the person who died, but they can do so if you are related in any other way, including if you were cohabiting. If it does happen, the council must provide a suitable alternative home for you. Get in touch with an adviser immediately to find out whether you can challenge the eviction.

If you are living in temporary accommodation that was provided after you made a homelessness application, you do not have a council tenancy and therefore do not have succession rights. However, it may be possible to ask the council to grant a new agreement in your own name. Contact the council or a local advice centre urgently to discuss your situation.

 

It might be worth you having a look at this site and contacting them if you require more information or help.

 

Shelter England - The housing and homelessness charity

[living-in-a-box]

Hi i know this is a really old threa,d but i was wondering what happen in this case and im in a similar one now

thanks

[mika99]

Hi i am now in the same position after being a carer for my mother how died and now father

[stu007]

Hi mika99

 

Its best to start your own thread to get the best advice to help you