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Some of our forms and systems will be offline between 7:00pm on Monday 18 March and 7:00am on Tuesday 19 March. Forms or payments submitted or made by phone after 8:30pm may not be received. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

Succeeding to a tenancy

If you lived with a council tenant for at least 12 months before they died, you may have the right to inherit their tenancy. This is called the "right of succession". This right only occurs once per tenancy.

There are laws that set out who can succeed to a tenancy. For example, your right to succeed to a council tenancy depends on your relationship with the person who died, what type of tenancy they had, and when it started.

If the tenant who dies was living alone, other family members or partners who do not live with them cannot succeed to the tenancy.

Succession applies to the tenancy, not to the actual property. If the property is deemed to be unsuitable, for example, if it is too large, or if the property was adapted or sheltered accommodation, the remaining tenants will have to move out of the property.

You may continue to live in the property while we are making our decision. You will be charged for the use and occupation of the property during this time. These charges are not rent.

We may decide to:

  • create a new tenancy for you in the same property
  • create a new tenancy for you in a different property, according to our allocations policy.
  • not offer you any alternative accommodation

We will let you know our decision as soon as possible.

To find out more about succeeding to a council tenancy, visit Shelter.


Page last updated: 29 May 2023

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