Secure tenants have the Right of Succession. This means that the tenancy may be passed from you to another member of the family if you pass away. Your partner will be first in line and then it would go to other members of the family. The latter would need to prove they have lived with you for 12 months and this could be by way of medical records or bank details, for example.
Succession can only happen once. This means that if you have already succeeded to the tenancy following the death of your partner, a member of your family could not succeed following your death.
For further details concerning this matter please contact your Area Housing Officer.
Upon succession, your partner will be allowed to stay in the property if they choose to. If your successor was a member of your family they may have to move if they were under-occupying the property or the property was no longer suitable for their needs, for example the property had adaptations for those with a disability.
If you live in a property where succession has already taken place, then you need to discuss the matter with your Area Housing Officer.
Secure tenants have the Right to assign their tenancy to someone else, similar to succession, during their lifetime, in the following circumstances:
If you are carrying out an exchange of properties with another tenant (see Mutual Exchanges)
There has been a court order as part of matrimonial proceedings (such as divorce)
You can assign it to someone who would succeed to the tenancy if you died.
Assignment has to be carried out by a legal document called a Deed which can be obtained from Eastbourne Homes Ltd or a local solicitor. You will always need written permission from us before you do so. Contact your Area Housing Officer for more information.
Once you have assigned your tenancy, it works like a succession. In other words, it can only happen once and the tenancy cannot later be passed on to anyone else.
This is a complicated area of Housing Law, please do not hesitate to contact your Area Housing Officer if you have any concerns at this time.
