Change of tenancy arrangements

Your tenancy agreement is the document that you sign when you agree to become the tenant of your council home. It is a contract between you and the council, and records information such as your name, the date you became our tenant and the rent you have to pay. It may also list other conditions you must keep to as a tenant.

There are three ways in which you can apply to have your secure tenancy agreement changed – joint tenancy, succession to a tenancy, and transferring your tenancy.

Joint tenancy

You may want to share the responsibilities of your tenancy with someone who lives with you. Any secure tenant can request that a partner be included on their tenancy.

To apply for a joint tenancy:

1) You need to fill in an application form and send it to us. You can either contact your local housing office, and we will send you one by post, or you can download the form Changing to a joint (or sole) tenancy application (PDF, 45K).

2) We will look at your completed application form to make sure you meet all the relevant conditions.

3) Within 10 working days we will write to you and tell you our decision

Requests to include a partner on a tenancy may be refused if:

• you are in rent arrears
• there is a history of harassment or nuisance
• you or your partner have not lived at your property for at least one year
• your partner is not a spouse or co-habitant
• you are an existing joint tenant (the borough allows only a maximum of two people to sign a tenancy)
• you are a successor tenant (see below).

Succession to a tenancy

If you die, your partner or any adult permanently living in your home may be entitled to take over your tenancy. This is what we call a 'succession to tenancy'.

If the person who takes over your tenancy dies, no one living with them will have an automatic right to take over the secure tenancy in the same way. However, they can apply to have the tenancy transferred to them. Staff in your local housing office will be able to give you more advice about this.

Tower Hamlets was one of the first councils to allow same sex couples to succeed a tenancy (conditions apply). Because same sex couples are still not formally recognised by the law, this is not a legal right, which means that we have to grant a new tenancy to the surviving partner.

To apply for a succession to tenancy:

1) You need to fill in an application form and send it to us. You can either contact your local housing office, and we will send you one by post, or you can download the form Succession to tenancy request (PDF, 46K).

2) We will look at your completed application form to make sure you meet all the relevant conditions.

3) Within 20 working days we will write to you and tell you our decision.

Transferring your tenancy

In certain circumstances tenants can transfer their tenancy to another person. This is what we call ‘assigning a tenancy’. This can be done:

• by mutual exchange with the written consent of your landlord
• where divorce or custody of the children is being decided, a court may decide to transfer a tenancy from one spouse to the other, or
• assignment to a person who would be entitled to succeed if the tenant died immediately before the assignment.

Tenants should contact citizen advice bureau, a solicitor or law centre when assigning tenancies other than mutual exchanges.

Contact us & further information

For further information on the above, or any other issues you may have concerning your tenancy agreement, please contact your local housing office.

Pid No: 711