Housing association assured succession - under occupying

[convexhedge]

I wondered if anyone had any advice on exemptions to the under occupation rule for HA assured tenancy succession.

My mother is in ill health, I believe i'll inherit the succession as I'm her son, it's in the tenancy agreement and i've lived here for 30 years of my life with all the documented proof required.

However I would be a single male occupying a 3 bed (2 bed and a very very small box room) also I'm in poor mental & physical health and for many more non legally binding reasons would be unable to uproot myself from the only home i've ever known.

So i've lived here all my life, out of my own pocket and hard work done most of the maintenance, DIY, decorating, gardening & finances over 30 years to keep the home to a very high standard, never had any complaints about behaviour or damage and have good rapport with all neighbours as i also maintain an easement alley at the back of the houses which i'm not obliged to so they love me for that.

Are there any techniques/exemptions to retain my under occupied house after succession is granted ? i've spent hours researching but i cant seem to find any definitive exemptions from the under occupying rule ?

Many Thanks for any help on the matter.

Briefing paper from the Commons covers how it works:

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01998/SN01998.pdf

They can serve notice on the grounds that you're under occupying at any time but obviously succession will focus their minds. You say your Mother is in ill health but don't detail her prognosis. If she's terminal then you might want to act sooner rather than later but it's not a real issue until she's dead - or at least so infirm she has to be moved into a Care Home.

The point would be whether any alternative home you are offered is 'suitable'. I don't think that's a particularly high bar but until you've actually seen what's offered it's impossible to say.

You need professional advice, or will come the day. Have you trued calling the housing charity Shelter? They're pretty good on this stuff.

If you are a joint tenant on the tenancy agreement then you will be given the tenancy so if you aren’t already one it’s worth your mum requesting to make you a joint tenant before she passes. Alternatively, if you are not, the succession request is likely to be refused and you will be rehoused to smaller accommodation (you can appeal this but no guarantees)

Surely it’s fair for the house to be used for a family that needs it though, rather than for one single man. Otherwise it’s not a good use of council housing. It’s not all about you.

@FrownedUpon hope OP remembers that and makes sure the state picks up ALL the care for his mum should she need it so he can concentrate on finding another place. Too many times the state want it both ways They want people to break themselves caring for their loved ones and then shit on them afterwards

It's a good thing you're not in charge. What does 'fair' mean in this instance? That a couple who decided to have kids should get first dibs on the home the OP grew up in. So if a woman meets a man and decides to have a kid or two then someone who's grown up in an area for their life should move out because it's "fair"? What does 'family' mean in this instance? Would a family of 3 adult sisters constitute a deserving family? What about a married couple with two adult children?

Social care and housing are completely separate bodies and both have to abide by strict legislation on how they provide services whether this is a care package or housing.

@DojaPhat The issue is that the country is desperately short of social housing. The rights and wrongs of how that came to be the case can be argued for ever but that's where we are.

It's not good utilisation of a three bed home for it to be occupied by a single person if he can reasonably be accommodated elsewhere. The issue for the OP will be the reasonableness of what he is offered based on his circumstances.

How the Housing Authority/Association scores other prospective users, and associated rights/wrongs is a different question.

My (extremely limited) understanding of this is that you won't have to move out if you are on the tenancy agreement.

However, you may be liable to pay bedroom tax on the spare room/s unless you need it for the purposes of a carer staying over to look after you.

Appreciate the responses, didn't want this devolving into a argument on what is fair or not, your opinions are your own. It was a question about legal exemption on a legal topic forum.

@Bromptotoo Thanks for the constructive response, looks like there are no legal "under occupying" exemptions for assured tenancy successions.

I would look at their website to see if you can find their policy re succession and downsizing. If the tenancy has always been in your Mum's sole name then you are likely to be able to succeed to the tenancy, but they are also highly likely to insist that you downsize to a one bedroom property within a set time period, eg one year.

The fact that the third bedroom is small would not be considered. You are underoccupying by 2 rooms.

You could ask permission for your Mum to assign the tenancy into your name prior to her death. That might work but they may not give permission.

Don’t you only have to pay bedroom tax if you’re having your rent paid by benefits?
Hope you can stay in your home OP x

I agree with @Dacadactyl, if it's general housing stock and you're on the tenancy agreement as the rightful successor then you should be fine. Has the tenancy already changed at all - eg from a joint tenancy (your father and mother) to a single tenancy (your mother)? If it has then you need to check if 2 successions are allowed. If you do stay in the property then you will be liable for bedroom tax unless you require a carer / medical equipment storing.
The only other thing could be is if your current property is specifically for over 55's - when i worked in housing then people under that age were not allowed to remain there.
You should have access to your tenancy agreement which should have it all listed and if not then your housing officer should be aware of it all. Best wishes to you and your mother.

It was never a joint tenancy so no successions have taken place, the HA will not allow me to join the tenancy as per their policy. There have been no successions before, i am her child and have living in the property all my life (which the agreement states i will qualify for succession as long as i provide corroborating documents for 1 year) so likely I will be offered the succession, it's just there is no guarantee to stay in the under occupied house which was my query as to how to solve that problem. Thanks again.

It will come down to your specific lease and the rules of your housing association. They vary a lot so none of us can assure you that you will get succession rights not state you wonder. Locally to me you cannot automatically stay in properties but instead they look at your specific circumstances - and they also can provide appropriate assistance as needed if you are given a smaller place, it's very area dependent

Op, most HA and councils have succession policies and procedures and they usually include over or under occupation rules. I’m not aware of any exceptions to this however there are statutory rights to succession and again these are about rights to tenancies NOT rights to stay in a particular home/place.

you don’t have a right to a 3 bed, but It’s likely you do have the rights to a 1 bed.

is there a reason you want a 3 bed?

if you had medical reasons for needing a 2 bed eg carers 24/7, hospital bed not fitting in a small bedroom, hoists etc this may be considered. But policies are there to treat people fairly, not to make exceptions.

you also need to know if the tenancy has been succeeded before.

there is usually a process that involves explaining the reasons and management decisions do there is always room for you to explain. But no statutory right to stay in a place that is too big for you if they have a suitable alternative.

You will need to quote what it says in your mum's tenancy re succession so you can get proper advice. Most assured tenancies only give succession "rights" to a spouse or partner; its discretionary for other family members. Potential under occupation of 2 bedrooms would probably mean they would not grant it but MAY offer you a one bed somewhere else.

What is your income? If you are on benefits only then even if they give you the 3 bed as some sort of medical (mental health) exemption (which is what I think you would like?) then you would find it impossible to pay the 25% bedroom tax.
I've never heard of an exemption of this type being made.

You can dig your heels in and wait for a nice one bed locally. That is what I would do. (But then I don't know the full details of why you cannot move)

I'm sorry to hear about your mums ill health and hope you have some support in real life x

From what you say and from the length of time your mother has held the tenancy then it sounds like you have (on paper) absolute rights to succeed the tenancy.
However, depending on the demand for properties in your area then your housing association may have introduced new rules. The association that I worked for did do this and after 2012 unfortunately wouldn't allow a single person to occupy a property that was bigger than they required. They were obliged to let the person remain in the property until a suitable (one bedroom property for a single person with no need for a carer) and were required to fund removal costs too. This was purely because of the demand for 3 / 4 / 5 bed properties.
If this is the case with your housing association then I recommend getting supporting evidence from your GP as to why a move from your family home would be detrimental to your health.

I don't think you can assume definitively that 25% charge for under occupying two or more rooms is unaffordable.

Some people manage, if they're on PIP for example they could use some of that.

Universal Credit, if you're unable to work or do work related activity, is £390/month more than the basic rate.

Not saying that makes the 'bedroom tax' right but that's where we are.

OP even if there are under-occupancy rules what are the conditions? I recall that some HA have to move you on within a specific period of time, and to an unoccupied property. They can't force you to put your house up for a swap.
You need to check the rules properly you may get lucky if, say they have to move you on to a 1/2 bed but none are available.

I highly doubt that you can get a medical reason to stay in your current home. I get that it's difficult and the 'only home you've ever known' but most people have to leave their childhood homes. If you have, say autism and find change difficult a GP can write only that. They cannot directly say that a change of home would cause X, Y and Z problems. Equally for physical health unless the home has been specially adapted for you there is no reason for you to stay.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/renting/succession/council_tenancy_succession

"Ground 15A: property too large for successorGround 15A is available to a landlord when a successor to a secure or flexible tenancy under-occupies the property. For example, where the property has three bedrooms but the successor only needs one.
The landlord cannot use this ground if the successor is the tenant's spouse or civil partner, or where the tenant is the survivor to a joint tenancy.
The ground is discretionary. The court must be satisfied suitable alternative accommodation is available to the successor and it is reasonable to order possession.
The landlord must serve notice, or start possession proceedings where no notice is served, more than six months but less than 12 months after the relevant date.[38] This is either:[39]

• the date of the tenant's death, or
• the date on which the court decides the landlord became aware of the tenant's death

If the court awards possession and the tenant accepts the offer of alternative accommodation, the tenant is a successor in their new property.[40] Find out more about grounds for possession."

You would need to show that it wasn't reasonable to rehome you, or that the home offered wasn't suitable.

It's not about who is deserving and who isn't.

Once the succession is awarded it may be best to look at a house swap to give you the best chance of securing a home with fewer bedrooms where you will be happy and in an area you like.

This is something else to see whether it will be possible.