Council House query :)

happymother

Hi all.
I have been living in my house for over 11 years. Still have joint tenancy with my ex (he has never filled the form in to remove his name)
Anyway, I am thinking of giving up the tenancy and moving back up North to be near family. My BF however believes that he could move into the house once I have gone and claim protected tenancy.
I think this is tosh as
1, protected tenancy, from what I have read doesnt apply anymore and
2, we have only been together 8 months so it cant even be passed on to him as you have to be living together for 12 first.

He is in a bedsit at the mo and seems to think that if he 'sits' in my house then the council will have a duty to find him a place if they want to take the house back. I think they will just go for possesion.

Please help me prove him wrong as I love it when Im right x

poppysarah

Contct the council and ask them.

They might suggest he is taken off the tenancy or they might say he's right.

happymother

Sorry, wasnt totally clear. Hes not on the tenancy in the first place. Me and my ex are the joint tenants. This is the new BF x

poppysarah

happymother wrote: »

Sorry, wasnt totally clear. Hes not on the tenancy in the first place. Me and my ex are the joint tenants. This is the new BF x

Your new BF can't almost certainly.

Your ex probably can.

Ring the council about getting the ex off the tenancy though.

Pigletto

If you moved out and terminated the tenancy but left someone there then action would be taken to get them out - it wouldn't matter who they were or how long they have lived there.

If you wanted to pass a tenancy over to someone living with you such as an adult daughter or an ex partner then you would have to assign the tenancy to them. You would need to get a deed of assignment drawn up and signed and the assignment agreed by the Council. As you've said the person would have had to be living with you for at least 12 months and must be their main home. So as boyfriend rents his own place there is no way he could claim this even if you had been together for over a year.

Sometimes when someone has been left in the property it can be found that the Council has a duty to house them. But all this means is they are assessed and put on the housing register to wait their turn. Obviously depending on the points/banding assessment, type of property needed, number of properties available, number of people waiting, etc will affect the amount of waiting time. Even if temporary accommodation is given this could be a B&B, a hostel or a bedsit.

In his case if he still has a tenancy at the bedsit then he would not be found in housing need. If he had given up the tenancy then it's likely he would be found intentionally homeless and so housing would be refused.

squinty

Pigletto wrote: »

If you moved out and terminated the tenancy but left someone there then action would be taken to get them out - it wouldn't matter who they were or how long they have lived there.

Correct !

Pigletto wrote: »

If you wanted to pass a tenancy over to someone living with you such as an adult daughter or an ex partner then you would have to assign the tenancy to them. You would need to get a deed of assignment drawn up and signed and the assignment agreed by the Council. As you've said the person would have had to be living with you for at least 12 months and must be their main home. So as boyfriend rents his own place there is no way he could claim this even if you had been together for over a year..

Not quite correct !

It is not possible to assign a secure tenancy apart from a very few limited circumstances (1985 Housing Act). None of which seem to apply here. The only clause that may apply is that it can be possible to assign a tenancy to someone who is qualified to succeed to a tenancy. This must be a close family member who has lived with the tenant for at least a year. As you are unmarried, and it is less than 12 months, and he has his own place - hw would not qualift to suceed and therefore the tenancy cannot be assigned to him.

Also - you cannot just take your ex from the tenancy without a court order. However, if you do end the tenanact it will end the tenancy on behalf of all joint tenants.