If a council tenant dies, we may be able to transfer their tenancy to another person. This is called succession.
This page explains who may be able to take over a tenancy, the conditions that apply and what happens if no one is eligible.
Eligibility
You may be able to take over a tenancy if you were living with the tenant when they died.
Whether you can do this depends on:
- when the tenancy started
- whether anyone has already succeeded to the tenancy
- your relationship to the tenant
If the tenancy started on or after 15 September 2014
If the tenancy started on or after this date, the tenancy can pass to:
- the tenant's husband, wife or civil partner
- the tenant's partner, if they lived together as if they were married or in a civil partnership
They must have been living in the property as their only or main home when the tenant died.
If the tenancy started before 15 September 2014
If the tenancy started before this date, and there has been no previous succession, the tenancy will pass to the tenant's husband, wife or civil partner if they were living with the tenant when they died.
If there is no surviving husband, wife or civil partner, the tenancy may pass to another family member who lived with the tenant for at least 12 months before their death.
For succession purposes, family members include blood relatives and step-relatives, but not cousins.
If a family member succeeds to the tenancy and the property is larger than they reasonably need, we may ask them to move to a more suitable home. For example, if property is too large, they may be offered alternative accommodation, such as a one-bedroom flat for someone living alone.
Other conditions
If the tenancy was held jointly and one joint tenant dies, the tenancy automatically passes to the surviving joint tenant. This counts as a statutory succession.
If the tenancy has already passed to someone following the previous tenant's death, no one else has a legal right to succeed to that tenancy. Only one statutory succession is allowed.
Other important conditions include:
- only one person can succeed a tenancy
- spouses or civil partners usually have priority over other family members
- you cannot succeed a tenancy if the previous tenant was already a successor
If no one is eligible to succeed
If no one has the legal right to succeed, the tenancy ends.
In some circumstances, a relative who would have succeeded if it were not for a prior succession may be provided with additional priority for alternative housing in their own right.
If someone living in the property is not eligible for either succession or a new tenancy, they will need to leave the property. We will provide advice about their housing options where appropriate.
What to do next
If you think you may be eligible to succeed a tenancy, contact us as soon as possible to discuss your circumstances.
Contact the Tenancy Management Team
Speak to customer services
If you need to speak to someone about this topic, you can ring or visit our customer service centre.
