Succession rights in a council or housing association tenancy

Succession rights mean the right to take over the tenancy or inherit it when someone dies.

Joint tenancies always pass to the other tenant named on the agreement.

If there is no joint tenant, you can sometimes take over the tenancy if you're:

• the tenant's partner

• a close family member who lives there

When the tenancy passes to you in this way it is called succession.

Secure tenants can assign your tenancy to someone with succession rights before you die.

You must live with the tenant

Your rights depend on:

• how you are related to the tenant

• your tenancy type and when it started

The tenancy must be your main home when your partner or relative dies.

Close relatives and some unmarried partners must live with the tenant for at least 1 year.

See our checklist of things you might have to show to prove your rights.

Only one person can take over the tenancy

This is usually the tenant's partner if they have one.

If more than one family member has succession rights, you can decide as a family who should get the tenancy. If you cannot decide, the council or a court chooses.

Many tenancies can only be passed on once

It might not be possible for the tenancy to pass to you if, for example:

• your partner or relative inherited it from their parent or a former partner

• your parents had a joint tenancy that continued when one parent died

• a secure tenancy was signed over to your partner or relative by the original tenant before they died

Find the landlord's succession policy

Search for it on the landlord's website or ask them to send you a copy. Some policies allow:

• the tenancy to be passed on again in certain situations

• carers or friends who have lived with the tenant for a long time to get a new tenancy

If you're offered a new tenancy, it could be in the same home or a different home.

The tenant's partner

You could succeed to the tenancy if you're:

• married or civil partners

• unmarried partners who lived together as a couple

You need to show that it's your main home when your partner dies.

Your succession rights usually come first before other family members.

If you're not married

With some tenancies you need to show you lived with the tenant for at least 1 year. This only applies to:

• secure tenancies that started before 1 April 2012

• introductory council tenancies

With an introductory tenancy, time living together in another home counts.

In these tenancies other family members may also have succession rights. You can decide as a family who should get the tenancy.

Close family members

You can sometimes take over the tenancy if your relative does not have a partner with succession rights.

The tenant must be your:

• parent or grandparent

• aunt or uncle

• brother or sister

• child, grandchild, niece or nephew

Step-relations, half-relations and in-laws also count.

Council tenancies that started before 1 April 2012

You could take over the secure tenancy if:

• you live with your relative for at least 1 year just before they die

• they do not have a married or civil partner who lives in your home

Introductory council tenancies

You could take over the introductory tenancy if:

• you live with your relative for at least 1 year just before they die

• they do not have a married or civil partner who lives in your home

Time living together in another home counts.

All other tenancies

Check what the tenancy agreement says about succession.

You could take over the tenancy if:

• the agreement lets a close relative succeed

• you meet the conditions in the agreement

For example, a condition that says you have to live with the tenant for at least 1 year.

This applies to:

• assured periodic tenancies - most housing association tenants have these

• secure tenancies that started on after 1 April 2012

• assured shorthold tenancies with a fixed term of at least 2 years

• flexible council tenancies with a fixed term

What if you cannot take over the tenancy?

You do not have to leave straight away.

If nobody has succession rights, the landlord can end the tenancy.

The council or housing association must:

• give you a legal notice to leave

• apply to court if you do not leave

The landlord should be sympathetic. They should give you some time to find somewhere else to live. For example, they could help you apply to the housing register.