Inheriting a tenancy

Who can inherit a tenancy when someone has died, and how to make a request for a tenancy to be transferred to you.

When a secure tenant dies, the tenancy can be passed on to someone else by succession.

The following people have the automatic right to inherit the tenancy when a tenant has died:

• joint tenants
• husbands, wives, civil partners or partners
• other family members who have lived at the property for 12 months or more

There can only be one succession per tenancy. This means that if the previous tenant inherited the tenancy through succession, you would not be able to succeed the tenancy.

To notify us when someone has died and claim your right to inherit the tenancy, contact us.

Where there is no one eligible to succeed the tenancy, we may grant a new tenancy to a person who lived with the tenant for at least 12 months but has no automatic right to remain at the property. We will take into account:

• whether the property is a suitable size for the occupier
• the demand from other people on the housing register for that type of property
• the behaviour of the person who wants to stay at the property

We will contact you in writing with our decision. If we decide not to offer a new tenancy at the property, we will explain why.