Taking over council accommodation - anybody know the rules and regs?

[RhubarbaraWindsor]

Hi, I don't know anything about council housing allocation but I'm very about DH's cousing who has been able to move back to the UK from abroad (after 25+years) and is just about to take over the 2 bedroom council accommodation that his mother has lived in for 35+ years. His mother, who has dementia, was placed in a nursing home 10 months ago (my DH and FIL and paid for carers looked after her up to this point and organised the nursing home. This relative stayed well away when help was needed) and a couple of months later he returned to the UK, took up residence in her house and now says it is being signed over to him this week. How can a single man qualify for a 2 bedroom property and how can someone who has lived abroad for so long just arrive back and qualify for council accommodation? This man is a user, he has blagged his way through life and has no relationship with his children or grandchildren. When he has needed health care over the years he has returned to the UK, given his mother's address as his and been looked after like a king. I really don't know how he does it. How do some people manage to play the system so successfully while others with genuine need struggle so much?

When I volunteered for the CAB a few years ago, council tenants had the option to pass on their tenancy once to someone who lived there - so theoretically if he used to live with her and she did this while she had capacity, that may still go through if the council weren't aware he'd lived elsewhere.

Or it could be that he's chancing his arm and the council don't know any of this...

Sadly some people will always find a way to take the piss.

Thank you for your insight *Anchor". I would be very surprised if his mother had signed over the house when she had capacity as his last visit before moving back was several years ago. It all seems extremely dubious to me. I'm assuming he would have to pay the under-occupancy charge? On an unrelated matter I'm also concerned he has, out of the blue, double-barrelled his surname with our family name (this was his mother's maiden name). We don't know why but he's obviously up to something. He says it's because we have daughters and the family name will die out, but if life continues in its natural order he will die long before our DD's and women often keep their names these days anyway. Strange man.

I’d tip the council off and make sure they’re aware he has been out the country. He sounds like a complete user. I’m sure there’s several families in desperate need of a 2 bed family home.

I have a distant relative who emigrated and then moved back to the UK. I know there was a waiting period before he could claim for any help with housing etc so I doubt the council would offer him a secure tenancy if they knew he had only just returned.

I suspect he has been, on paper, registered as living at that address. Maybe had bank accounts set up using that address etc.