Taking over council house tenancy

Wesker

Hi all, can anyone give me some advice on this situation. My parents have lived in the same council house for 40 years. I moved out when i got married and am now buying a small flat with my husband. My dad died 3 years ago leaving mum on her own in the house. Shortly after she got cancer and has been unwell since, but still manages to look after herself with a little help from me and her friends.

Anyway she is now getting considerably worse, and after a very bad night recently, i have decided to sleep over at nights incase she is taken ill again.
My husband and i are considering moving in with her permanantly to give her the care she needs. This would really mean that we'd have to sell our flat, but what i want to know is if we did this, when she eventually passes away would we automatically take over the tenancy on the house, as if we'd sold our flat we would have nowhere else to go.

Its hard to say how long she has left to live. Could be weeks, months or maybe even a year or more. Would we have to have been living there for a certain time before we were classed as tenants?

Going to make an appointment to see someone at the local council next week but would like to have a rough idea of what to expect. Thanks.

skylight

Each council has its own policy, round here (Slough) you would not be entitled to take on the tennancy.

The only solution in this area would be to take advantage of the discount and buy it now after selling up the flat and whilst your Mum is still able to live there.

Hope it works out OK for you

Bossyboots

A similar question to this came up recently and from some research, it became clear that a tenancy can only be passed on once. The issue would be whether the council class your mum's single tenancy as a succession from a joint one with your dad. If they do, it cannot be passed a second time. If anyone suggests otherwise to you, please make sure you get it in writing as well. Do not take the chance that subsequently they will stick to what you were told.

I would certainly look at the option of buying her home with the discount but you may not have time to sell your flat and buy her property (which she would have to do as the tenant).

Just because you are living with her does not make you a tenant. In fact, you should check the position in relation to that as well because the council may not be happy with you moving in and thus creating a problem for them having to evict you if they decide you cannot stay.

Wesker

Thanks for the advice. We have thought about trying to buy the house but dont think we could afford it even with the discount. And as you say there may not be enough time to sell our flat, and buy the house anyway as i believe it would have to be bought in her name first then transferred to us.

It just seems such a waste that she has lived there for so long and paid rent for all those years, then when she dies she'll have nothing to show for it.
I will make enquiries with the council this week but as you say i must get things in writing incase they change their minds later.

cattie

In the area I used to live & still have friends living, if you as a family membe r have been living with the tenant for 12 months then you are able to succeed the tenancy. In the situation where a wife and/ or husband were the original tenants, the passing of one of them would not count as a tenancy succession.

When you go to see the council it would be better for you to tell them you've had no option but to move back with your mother to care for her, which as you are sleeping over nights is a truth. I don't believe you need permission from the council to move back into what has been your family home, but the length of time you have been back there could be the factor on which the decision is made.

chugalug

'When you go to see the council it would be better for you to tell them you've had no option but to move back with your mother to care for her, which as you are sleeping over nights is a truth. I don't believe you need permission from the council to move back into what has been your family home, but the length of time you have been back there could be the factor on which the decision is made'. Originally posted by Cattie.

If you still have your property, even if you move in with your mother you would not be classed as qualifying to succeed anyway. Your mothers house would have to be your only or principal home for at least 12 months before she died. So you would have to factor in the length of time it would take for you to sell your property. Still, as has already been said, you won't be able to succeed to the tenancy if your mother already succeeded from your father. HTH