Council Tenancy Succession

Cheeky_Monkey

weather83 wrote: »

I've done some work with a Local Gov council housing team before. I really recommend you call the council housing depts in your current council and the one you want to move to. My thoughts are below, but they're just a (semi-educated) guess.

I suspect if you transfer, you'll be given a new introductory tenancy so will lose your secure tenancy and your current right of succession.

It's also quite hard to transfer, especially if you're moving somewhere with a lot of demand. You'll basically be on the same housing waiting list as everyone else in your new council area. If you're both working age and able, without any additional needs, there are going to be a lot of people ahead of you. Possible exception if you're currently in a large house and are willing to downsize. A swap might be a better bet.

I think a joint tenancy will be very problematic. The council I worked with only really granted joint tenancies to married couples/civil partners, and were generally reluctant to do it because it often caused problems for tenants further down the line.

If your daughter is planning to live with you forever, a joint tenancy might be OK, but if, at some point, she wants to move out and rent/buy somewhere else, I'm not sure where that would leave your joint tenancy. If she ever decides she wants out of your joint tenancy, it will end the tenancy for both of you - you will lose your home.

Talk to the councils and get legal/CAB/Shelter advice.

Call me an old cynic but I think that's unlikely. I get the feeling it's more about getting RTB for the daughter - but I could be wrong :rotfl:

BlackBird75

weather83 wrote: »

I've done some work with a Local Gov council housing team before. I really recommend you call the council housing depts in your current council and the one you want to move to. My thoughts are below, but they're just a (semi-educated) guess.

If your daughter is planning to live with you forever, a joint tenancy might be OK, but if, at some point, she wants to move out and rent/buy somewhere else, I'm not sure where that would leave your joint tenancy. If she ever decides she wants out of your joint tenancy, it will end the tenancy for both of you - you will lose your home.

Talk to the councils and get legal/CAB/Shelter advice.

In my experience adult children living with their parents have been granted joint tenancy, then taken off the tenancy (when they leave to get married etc) without any problems.

Typical example;
Girl lives with her mum in a council house.
Reaches age 18. Granted joint tenancy with her mum.
A few years later, leaves to get married. Granted automatic joint tenancy of a MQ.
Mum reverts to being a sole tenant again.
(My understanding is that the girl could not retain joint tenancy on the council house, because her marriage granted her automatic joint tenancy of the MQ and you cannot have two joint social tenancies.)
If the girl got divorced, she'd have 90 days to leave her MQ and would probably move back in with her mum and be granted joint tenancy again after 2 years.

That's my memory of how things typically used to work. But this is going back a few years....

Definitely get it all confirmed IN WRITING from the council you are planning to move TO, before moving.

BlackBird75

From memory, another point was that succession could only happen once.

So if the mother died, her daughter could inherit the tenancy.

But the daughter's daughter (or son) could not inherit the tenancy again.

But I think if the daughter was granted succession and then got married, the automatic joint tenancy rule still applied. So the husband would become a joint tenant - but none of their children could inherit the tenancy. Whether the children could be granted joint tenancy, if still at home once 18 - I'm not sure...?

BlackBird75

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

Call me an old cynic, but I think that's highly unlikely. They're more likely thinking along the lines of RTB for the daughter.

The RTB would apply to the daughter, but only the daughter's years would count for the discount. To use the mother's years as discount, they'd need to buy together.

Also, I think the rules between Wales, England, Scotland and NI have all been changed now.
I think only England has RTB at present.

(All part of the government's plan to split up the UK gradually, without anyone noticing...)

AnnikaBengzon

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

Call me an old cynic but I think that's unlikely. I get the feeling it's more about getting RTB for the daughter - but I could be wrong :rotfl:

At this moment in time I am mostly concerned where my 20 year old student daughter is going to live if I am run over by the bus say.. tomorrow. In the long run do I wish for my child to have the RTB my council property? Yes, I do! Would you not?

AnnikaBengzon

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

So if your Council themselves are not sure, don't quite know why you think anyone on here would know.

You can never be sure where the next good advice can be coming from. Don't underestimate the people's knowledge and opinion. This is my way or researching. Don't believe everything the council tells you they are often incompetent.

Cheeky_Monkey

AnnikaBengzon wrote: »

At this moment in time I am mostly concerned where my 20 year old student daughter is going to live if I am run over by the bus say.. tomorrow. In the long run do I wish for my child to have the RTB my council property? Yes, I do! Would you not?

Thank you for confirming that my suspicion was right then :beer:

theartfullodger

When you 1st took tenancy were you sole tenant or was there joint tenancy or did you take over from someone else (mum, dad??)??


Which country are you in? (Wales, NI etc etc etc)??


RTB eh? Wow, so surprised!

Cakeguts

Why would you want to saddle your daughter with a bought excouncil property which in some areas are really difficult to sell and in terrible areas when you could be helping her to save for an open market property in a much better area and without the sale problems.

[Deleted User]

AnnikaBengzon wrote: »

At this moment in time I am mostly concerned where my 20 year old student daughter is going to live if I am run over by the bus say.. tomorrow. In the long run do I wish for my child to have the RTB my council property? Yes, I do! Would you not?

No, because I have this odd notion that there is an increased need of decreasing social housing numbers and that RTB is a BAD thing. I don't expect anyone to agree with me, but you did ask lol.