Government to strip children whose parents die of automatic right to stay in their family council home

The move is part of the Government's drive to phase out security of tenure

Tenancies will be converted into fixed-term (GETTY IMAGES)

Children whose parents die will be stripped of the right to stay indefinitely in their family council home under new Government plans.

A quietly-introduced amendment to the Government’s housing and planning bill will end security of tenure for all new council tenants – but also for people whose family members die.

Under existing rules, lifetime council tenancies can be passed to children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents and siblings upon the death of a tenant provided the property in question was their home at the time of the death.

Live-in aunts, uncles, and step-relatives are also covered by the current rules.

Under the changes, which were not included in the Government’s first publicised draft of the bill, tenants will instead be put onto a temporary fixed-term tenancy.

After that tenancy is over they will be forced to prove they meet the onerous requirements to get a newly-let council house.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said in an explanatory note to the amendment: “Certain people have the right to inherit a secure tenancy when the tenant dies. At the moment the successor could live in the property for life.

“This amendment [changes] the succession rules. Where a person other than a spouse or partner inherits a periodic tenancy, it will be converted into a 5 year fixed term.

“Where a person other than a spouse or partner inherits a fixed term tenancy, it will not automatically be renewed when it comes to an end.”

The current tenancy inheritance rules apply to all properties let before 2012 and most since, when the Coalition government made the rule at the discretion of councils.

A deceased tenant's child must be 18 in order to legally sign a tenancy agreement, though it is possible for tenancy agreements to be put into trust for minors.

New tenants are also losing security of tenure under Government plans, with lifetime council tenancies banned and tenancies of two to five years mandated. Councils have already been allowed to restrict the length of tenancies but have rarely used the power.

The decision to scrap security of tenure comes as the Conservatives campaign on the basis of "economic security".

The change is being mooted in light of the number of social homes built hitting a recent record low as the Government shifts to building more expensive “affordable” category homes to rent and “starter” home to buy, largely affordable by the top ten per cent of earners.

A spokesperson for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: “This is about ensuring we make the best use of our social housing, and that tenancies change as needs change.

“We want to support households to make the transition into home ownership where they can.”