Ending council secured joint tenancy

Dee64

Hi,

Wondering if anyone out there could offer advise on this situation.

8 years ago I left my now, ex husband, and a year later I contacted the council to have my name removed from the secured tenancy. As per the advise from the housing estate officer, I wrote a letter to him, requesting that my name be removed from the joint tenancy, my ex husband then wrote a letter advising that he was ok for this to be done and he was willing to take over the tenancy. A house check was then carried out and as far as I was aware, this had all been done.

A year later, I was offered a house with a housing association, but through the council as is now the policy. The tenancy was taken out in joint names, myself and my boyfriend and we have been here since February 2006. Now due to ill health, I can not manage the 30 odd steps to the maisonette, so contacted the council to apply for a move. I saw an occupational therapist from the council who assessed me and advised that I required a house with ground level access, all was going well, and then a letter arrived from the council advising that they could not continue with the application due to the fact that my previous married name (I have since remarried) was still on the joint tenancy for the property that I shared with my ex husband (who never bothered to tell me I was still on the tenancy).

I have contacted the council who are no help at all and just keep advising me that I need to get legal advise.

I did contact the CAB who wrote to the council on my behlaf, but have received a letter basically advising the same, that I am to obtain legal advise.

Has anybody got any advise on this matter, if I have to contact a solicitor, then I have to, but not sure how much this will cost and why was I not advised of this when I contacted the council 7 years ago.

This is causing me so much stress, I was diagnosed with arthritis of the top and bottom of my spine 3 years ago, and the stairs to my maisonette are really starting to take their toll, but due to all this, my application is on hold until this is all sorted out. Also, I keep hitting brick walls with the council, offering my no information at all, except to get legal advise. I have since found out that my ex husband is in rent arrears and that he is working with the council as the house is in a bad state of repair, but none of this is down to me as I can prove to within a year when I moved out.

Please, if anyone can offer any advise I would be extremly grateful.

A desperate Dee64

BitterAndTwisted

Their reluctance to remove your name from the tenancy is directly related to the rent-arrears. Becuase they now have another person to pursue payment from if they have to.

You should never have liaised with your ex-husband an asked him to arrange a change in the names on the tenancy. You should have written to the council yourself and asked them to confirm in writing that they had done it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The only way out I can think of is for you to pay off the arrears yourself and ask the Council to agree to your removal from the tenancy in exchange. And have them confirm this IN WRITING.

jjlandlord

Don't know much about this type of tenancy, but I would think that nothing prevents OP from unilaterally ending the tenancy by serving the appropriate notice to quit to the council.

Arrears that have already accrued will remain due whether the tenancy ends or not, it's an unpaid debt.

BitterAndTwisted

Remaining due and being able to collect payment are two very different things. The OP wants one thing and the council want another. Who's got most of the power in this situation?

I'd tell the council that I have indeed taken legal advice and what is the council's proposal to being able to move forward with both party's interests being served satisfactorily.

jjlandlord

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Remaining due and being able to collect payment are two very different things.

True. But how does OP remaining a joint-tenant change this? It does not.

In any case, as per previous post, I think OP could just serve notice to quit and end the tenancy, whether the council (and the ex-husband) likes it or not.

Edit:
Googled a bit: http://www.housinglaw.org.uk/Sec%20Ten.htm

So indeed it seems that common law related to notice to quit applies.
So assuming the tenancy is periodic, OP can just end it by serving a valid notice to quit on the council.

Dee64

Thanks for all the replies.

The option of just "ending" the tenancy is not an option, as the children live there, although we do have 50/50 joint custody, but it was agreed in the divorce proceedings that the children would stay with their father due to schooling and the fact that I work full time and their father is medically retired and is at home 24hrs for them. So ending the tenancy would make my children homeless.

The advise on paying off the arrears, was an option I did think about, I will have to contact the council to see if this would be an option, would be cheaper than going to a solicitor. I will look into it.

Any more info would be appreciated, a few more ideas or options would be good.

squinty

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Their reluctance to remove your name from the tenancy is directly related to the rent-arrears. Becuase they now have another person to pursue payment from if they have to.

You should never have liaised with your ex-husband an asked him to arrange a change in the names on the tenancy. You should have written to the council yourself and asked them to confirm in writing that they had done it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The only way out I can think of is for you to pay off the arrears yourself and ask the Council to agree to your removal from the tenancy in exchange. And have them confirm this IN WRITING.

This is not correct.

The Council has no power to remove the name of one joint tenant from the tenancy agreement. As others have mentioned if the OP serves a NTQ on the landlord this will have the effect of ending the tenancy for all joint tenants. The OP has rejected this idea.

The situation is that the OP holds a secure joint tenancy. A secure tenancy cannot be assigned apart from in a few prescribed circumstances that are laid out in the legislation (1985 Housing Act)

The exceptions are—
(a)an assignment in accordance with section 92 (assignment by way of exchange);

(b)an assignment in pursuance of an order made under—
(i)section 24 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (property adjustment orders in connection with matrimonial proceedings),
(ii)section 17(1) of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 (property adjustment orders after overseas divorce, &c.), F223...
(iii)paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 (orders for financial relief against parents) [F224, or
(iv)Part 2 of Schedule 5, or paragraph 9(2) or (3) of Schedule 7, to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (property adjustment orders in connection with civil partnership proceedings or after overseas dissolution of civil partnership, etc.)]]

(c)an assignmment to a person who would be qualified to succeed the tenant if the tenant died immediately before the assignment.

The correct, and probably only way to do this correctly if fo rthe OP getting a court order under the legislation mentioned in section b(above)

Dee64

squinty wrote: »

The correct, and probably only way to do this correctly if fo rthe OP getting a court order under the legislation mentioned in section b(above)

Thank you for the advise

Is there anyway I can get this court order myself, or would I need to have a solicitor do it for me ?

Dee64
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Strapped

Get proper legal advice, as you have already been advised. Don't rely on random strangers on t'internet where your health & home, and your children's home, are concerned.

squinty

Strapped is correct.

You really do need specialist help - but you may get this through a law centre or CAB in the 1st instance. Also check your home insurance policy, you may be covered for legal advice.