There are two types of circumstance where you can take over a tenancy from someone else - Succession and Assignment.
A Succession can take place when a tenant dies and a relative wants to live in the property and take over the tenancy. A spouse automatically succeeds a tenancy and does not have to be living at the property prior to the death.
A relative or partner of the deceased tenant can apply to succeed a tenancy in the event of a death, provided they can provide proof that they have been living at the property for at least 12 months immediately prior to the tenant’s death. Acceptable proof would be gas / electricity bills or bank statements sent to the address at least 12 months prior to the application.
An Assignment is where a living tenant gives you his or her tenancy. There are very clear guidelines about who a tenant can assign his or her tenancy to – it is essentially the person who would normally qualify to succeed the tenancy if the tenant had died (see above).
Please note that only one person can succeed or assign a tenancy - and only one succession or assignment can ever take place on a tenancy. A tenancy cannot be ‘taken over’ more than once.
