What to do if a tenant dies
If you’re acting on behalf of a tenant who has died then there are certain steps you need to follow. For more information go to our page on ending a tenancy.
If you were granted this tenancy on the transfer of your home from Bolton Council to us, we will not take into account of any successions before the date of the transfer.
Rights of succession – sole tenancy
If you live with a tenant, then you may only remain in a council home after that tenant dies or moves out of the property if we have agreed that there is a right of succession.
When a sole tenant dies, provided s/he was not her/himself a successor tenant, the tenancy may be passed to:
- The spouse, if the spouse occupied the property at the time of the tenant's death
- A member of the family, if the member of the family has lived in the property as their main home no less than 12 months
If we believe that a tenant has moved away or died and had left you in occupation, we’ll visit you to investigate, establish the facts, and decide if you can stay.
If there is a right to succession, we let you succeed to the tenancy; we do not grant a new tenancy because it already exists and continues.
If there is no right to succession and you don’t have a right to stay in the property, then a Notice to Quit will be served to terminate the deceased/departed person’s tenancy. If you continue to remain at the property, we’d obtain a court order for possession and evict you under our squatters procedure and you may need to pay back any legal costs.
Rights of succession - joint tenancy
Upon the death of a joint tenant, where there has been no previous succession, the remaining joint tenant automatically succeeds to the tenancy and a sole tenancy is created. There can normally be no further successions or assignments to this tenancy.
If you wish to apply to have the parties to your tenancy agreement changed, for example from a sole to a joint tenancy, just contact your local neighbourhood office and make an appointment with you Tenancy Management Officer.