Assigning a council or housing association tenancy
Passing your tenancy to a partner or family member
Some people have succession rights. This means they could take over your tenancy.
You can pass a secure or introductory tenancy on to someone with succession rights.
Assured housing association tenants cannot always do this.
Check your agreement to see if it says you can pass your tenancy on.
Reasons you might want to assign
You might want to sign your tenancy to a partner or family member so that:
your partner or relative has somewhere to live in the future
your relative cannot be forced to move to a smaller home
you can choose who gets the tenancy if more than one person could succeed
Unless you are giving your tenancy to your husband, wife or civil partner, you cannot assign your tenancy if you move out for good.
For example, if you move into a residential care home. But you could assign your tenancy before you move out.
You give up your rights if you give your tenancy to someone else.
You can live there but your partner or family member could ask you to leave. Talk about this with your family before you decide.
Things to check
You cannot always pass your tenancy on even if your partner or relative has lived in the property for a long time.
You need to check:
if it's a joint tenancy
if it's been passed on before
what type of tenancy it is
when the tenancy started
Joint tenancies
You cannot usually give a joint tenancy to someone who is not already on the tenancy, even if the other joint tenant has moved out.
Find out what happens to a joint council or housing association tenancy:
Most tenancies can only be passed on once
You might not be able to pass your tenancy on if:
you inherited it from your parent or partner
the tenancy was signed over to you by the original tenant before they died
it was a joint tenancy that carried on in your name when the other tenant died
Assured housing association tenancies
You can only sign your tenancy over if your agreement says you can.
Speak to your housing association if:
your tenancy agreement does not let you sign your tenancy over
you're worried about your family member or partner having to leave if you die
Council tenancies: Assigning to a married or civil partner
You can sign a secure or introductory tenancy over to your husband, wife or civil partner if they live with you.
The rights of married and civil partners come before other family members who live in your home.
Example: Rights of married or civil partners
Flo is a council tenant. She lives with her husband Roger and her adult son Ben.
Ben has a learning disability. He has lived in the tenancy his whole life.
Flo wants to sign the tenancy over to Ben. She wants to make sure that Ben has somewhere to live if she dies or moves into a care home.
Unfortunately, Flo has no automatic right to sign the tenancy over to Ben.
This is because if Flo dies, her husband's right to the tenancy comes first.
Council tenancies: Assigning to a partner if you're not married
You can sign a secure or introductory tenancy over to your unmarried partner.
You need to show you live together like married or civil partners in your home.
Your partner's rights usually come before other family members who live in your home.
How to show your partner lives there
Make sure that:
you claim any benefits as a couple
your partner is registered to vote at your address
This helps to show that it is your partner's main home and how long you have lived together.
When your partner must live there for at least a year
Your partner must live with you for at least a year if either:
you have an introductory tenancy
your secure tenancy started before 1 April 2012
Your partner has the same rights as any other close relatives who live in your home.
You can choose who to sign the tenancy over to if more than one person has succession rights.
Example: When an unmarried partner moves in
Nia and Karen have been a couple for a long time but do not live together.
Karen has lived in her council home since 2004. Nia rents privately.
Karen has a bad fall at home. When she leaves hospital, they decide that Nia will move in with Karen.
They start to claim benefits as a couple. Nia also registers to vote from her new address.
Nia has to live there for a year before Karen could sign the tenancy over to her. This is because they are not married and Karen's tenancy started before April 2012.
If they get married or become civil partners, then Nia has succession rights.
Karen can sign the tenancy over to Nia as soon as they are married or civil partners if she wants to.
Council tenancies: Assigning to a close relative
You can sometimes sign your tenancy over to another family member if:
your family member counts as a close relative
they have lived with you for at least 1 year
the tenancy agreement says other close relatives can have succession rights
Who counts as your close relative
These family members all count if they live with you for at least a year:
adult children or grandchildren
parents or grandparents
brother or sisters
nieces, nephews, aunts or uncles
An unmarried partner counts as a close relative if your tenancy started before 1 April 2012. They have to live with you for at least a year.
Check your tenancy agreement
If your tenancy started on or after 1 April 2012, you can only sign it over to another family member if:
you do not live with a husband, wife or civil or unmarried partner
your agreement says other close relatives can take over the tenancy after your death
If more than one person has succession rights
You can only sign your tenancy over to one person.
Assigning your tenancy before your death means you choose who gets the tenancy.
If you decide not to assign, your family members can decide who gets the tenancy after your death.
If they cannot decide, the council chooses.
Last updated: 2 July 2024
