How to leave your home to a disabled family member 

Inheriting a council or housing association tenancy when somebody dies is called ‘succession’. The rules for succession depend on: 

• what type of tenancy you have 
• when your tenancy started 
• your tenancy agreement 

To find out what type of tenancy you have and when it started, ask the council or housing association you rent from. 

Find your local council (GOV.UK) 

Secure council tenancy 

Most council tenants have a secure tenancy. It is usually a lifetime tenancy. 

Secure council tenancies (Shelter)

Your child or relative could have the right to inherit (succeed) the tenancy if: 

• you have a secure tenancy 
• your tenancy started before 1 April 2012 
• you do not have a husband, wife or civil partner living with you 
• you did not inherit the tenancy from someone else 
• it is not a joint tenancy with someone else 

If all these things are true, the tenancy can pass to a child or close relative who has lived with you for at least a year.  

Only one person can inherit the tenancy. If more than one family member could be eligible to inherit the tenancy, the family can decide who gets the tenancy after you die.  

If you want to choose who gets the tenancy, you can sign the tenancy over before you die. 

Sign over a council or housing association tenancy before you die 

Other council or housing association tenancies 

The rules for succession might be different if you: 

• rent from a housing association 
• rent from a council and your tenancy started before 1 April 2012 

Secure tenancies granted before 1 April 2012 can be only transferred or passed on once.  

If your secure and flexible tenancy was granted from 1 April 2012, you may be able to transfer or pass on your tenancy more than once. 

Check your tenancy agreement. Look for anything about ‘succession’ or ‘inheriting’. This will explain what happens when the tenant dies. 

If you do not have a copy of your tenancy agreement, ask your council or housing association. You can also ask to see their succession policy. 

Find your local council (GOV.UK) 

Joint tenancies 

If you have a joint tenancy and one of you dies, the tenancy automatically goes to the remaining joint tenant or tenants. 

If the other joint tenant has moved out, this can be complicated. For example, if parents of a disabled child are joint tenants and their relationship ends.  

If one parent moved out, the council or housing association would contact them if the other parent died.  

If the parent who moved out agrees to move back in and care for the disabled child, they can continue the tenancy. If the parent who moved out does not agree to move back in, the council or housing association could end the tenancy.  

If you have a joint tenancy, talk to the other tenants about what would happen when you die. You can ask to change your tenancy so that your relative will be secure. 

Number of bedrooms 

Sometimes the succession policy will say that the disabled person cannot stay in the home after someone dies if there is an empty bedroom. Having an empty bedroom is called ‘under-occupation’.  

The disabled person might be able to stay in the home if: 

• they have a carer who stays with them overnight who uses the spare bedroom 
• or someone else moves in 

If a disabled person cannot stay in the home because of under-occupation, the council or housing association has a duty to find them a suitable home. This could be a one-bedroom home. 

Children and young people 

The rules for inheriting (succeeding) a council or housing association tenancy are the same if the disabled person is under or over 18.  

If a child is under 18, the tenancy would be in the child’s name, but a trustee would be responsible. A trustee could be: 

• another family member 
• a guardian 
• the council or housing association 

The trustee would be responsible for paying rent until the child is 18. The trustee will usually be able to claim benefits for the child to cover the rent and other costs. 

If the disabled person is 16 or 17 years old, they might be able to stay in the home alone or with a carer.  

Social services will do a needs assessment to see what kind of support the child or young person needs. They might recommend moving to a different home or supported living. 

Options for supported living 

If the home is not suitable and the disabled person is under 18, the council has a duty to find different housing for them.  

If your relative does not have the right to inherit the tenancy, you can talk to the council or housing association. Ask them what would happen to your relative when you die. You could: 

• add your relative as a joint tenant 
• ask your landlord to add a clause to your tenancy agreement that says your relative will inherit the tenancy when you die 
• sign over the tenancy to your relative before you die 

Make them a joint tenant 

Joint tenancy overrides all the other rules. If you make your relative a joint tenant, they will have the right to stay in the home after you die. 

Add a clause to your tenancy agreement 

You can also ask the council or housing association to add a clause to your tenancy agreement to say that your relative will inherit the tenancy. They do not have to agree to this. 

Sign over the tenancy before you die 

You can also sign over the tenancy to your relative before you die. This is sometimes called ‘assigning the tenancy’. Shelter has more information on how to do this. 

Assigning a council or housing association tenancy (Shelter) 

Get free advice and support with changing your tenancy from Citizen’s Advice 

If you rent from a private landlord, there is no automatic right for a child to inherit the tenancy when someone dies. 

Check the tenancy agreement. Usually, there is nothing about inheriting the tenancy when someone dies. But look for any clauses about ‘succession’ or ‘inheriting’.  

You can ask your landlord for a copy of the tenancy agreement. 

Securing a private tenancy before you die 

You can ask your landlord if they would let your relative inherit the tenancy when you die. It can be risky to talk to your landlord about this. They do not have to agree.  

If they think that you or your relative will not be able to pay rent, they could try to evict you. If they do try to evict you, you do not have to leave straight away. You can challenge the eviction and get support from the council. 

If you inherit a tenancy, you will be responsible for paying rent. You might also have to pay for other things like insurance, maintenance and repairs. You can apply for benefits to help cover housing costs. 

How to afford rent 

Bedroom tax 

If there is a spare bedroom in the home, you might not get enough money from benefits to cover the rent. This is called the bedroom tax. 

Check your bedroom entitlement 

Shelter has a tool to check your rights to inherit a tenancy. 

Can you stay in your home when a council tenant dies? (Shelter) 

Even if you do not have a right to inherit the tenancy, you always have the right to stay in the home in the short term. You cannot be evicted straight away. Your landlord must go through a legal process before they can evict you. This is the same if you live in a home rented from a council, housing association or private landlord. 

If you own your home, you can choose who will inherit it when you die. Make a will to make your wishes clear. 

If you do not make a will, the home will pass to your closest relatives (next of kin) when you die. This can be complicated for some people.  

For example, if you have 3 children and you do not have a will, the home might be split between them.  

If you want to make sure your disabled child can stay in the home, make this clear in your will. 

Making a will 

You can set up a trust as part of your will. This is a way to support your disabled relative by protecting money or property for them. It is not counted as income or savings for benefits purposes. 

Trusts to support a disabled person 

Life insurance 

Life insurance can pay off your mortgage when you die. It is sometimes called: 

• life assurance 
• decreasing cover 
• mortgage protection insurance 

What is mortgage protection insurance and do I need it? (Unbiased) 

Life insurance means your relative would not have to pay the mortgage repayments when you die.  

You can get advice on mortgage insurance from a mortgage adviser. Find a local independent mortgage adviser from: 

• Unbiased 
• Personal Finance Society 

Most mortgage advisers give advice for free. They charge a fee if you choose to take financial products they have found for you. 

Paying a mortgage 

If you inherit a home that has a mortgage, you will be responsible for paying the mortgage.  

We have more information on how to afford a mortgage. 

Mortgages and benefits 

If you cannot afford to pay the mortgage 

If you cannot afford to pay the mortgage, the mortgage lender (bank or building society) could seek possession of the home. This means they can sell the home, and you must leave. This is sometimes called repossession. 

If the mortgage lender sells the home, they would take the money that is left on the mortgage. They would pay any money that is left from the sale to people named in the will. 

They cannot make you leave without going through a legal process. You do not have to leave the home straight away. Get advice from a solicitor. 

Find a solicitor 

The Law Society website has a tool where you can search for different types of lawyers near you. Select ‘Wills, trusts and probate’. 

You can also refine the results based on whether they: 

• have induction loops 
• provide British Sign Language interpreters 
• have step-free access 
• accept Legal Aid 

Find a solicitor on The Law Society website 

If you cannot get help from a lawyer, you can still get information and support from: 

• Scope helpline 
• Citizens Advice