Succession rights in the United Kingdom is an area of housing law concerning the ability to pass on their tenancy when they die something known as a succession.[1]
A council house can only have one succession unless a tenancy document grants more.[2] If an inherited council house is too large for an individual's needs, then a tenant can also be evicted for under-occupation, although the council would have to provide suitable alternative accommodation.[2] The right of succession was granted by the Housing Act 1985.[3] The Localism Act 2011 amended the succession rights of tenancies created after this date and limits them to the spouse or partner of the deceased.[4]
If you are a housing association tenant, then the right to a succession depends upon whether you are an assured tenant, assured shorthold tenant or a secure tenant.[5]
The Housing and Planning Bill proposes that secure council tenancies will be replaced by tenancies lasting between two and five years. Under the proposals family members will not inherit a lifetime tenancy.