Is adding a family member as a joint tennant possible in Social Housing?

KTBFFH

My mother (widowed) has lived in Social Housing provided by the Local Authority for a number of years.



I have been living here again for over a year, have no plans to move out, so was wondering if it could be possible to be added as a joint tenant.



Does anyone have experience with this? Does it matter that I am her child (over 18)?


Thanks

Your mother can apply to the local authority to have you included on the tenancy list - in fact she should have done so as soon as you moved in.

Any income you have will be assessed and included as part of the rent (and will be backdated to when you moved in).

But just to note, being accepted on the tenancy list will not make you a joint tenant.

Your mother remains the tenant and if she were to pass away, you could then make an application to have the tenancy transferred to you, and that is not guaranteed or automatic .

You would need to meet all the qualifying criteria (e.g. minimum time on tenancy list, income limits, # of dependants) for social housing in your own right for that to happen.

Xterminator

i think the process can vary a little between the different county councils. When you moved in, assuming she notified the council - you were added as a named resident, and her rent adjusted accordingly.

If this didnt happen, it needs to. Any rent arrears dealt with, as no tenancy changes will be made when rent is not up to date.

Assuming you are living there and the council know about you; you can follow the procedure below page 11 (its the fingal process - call your council to get their procedure) to get the tenancy transferred into your name.

https://www.fingal.ie/sites/default/files/2019-04/Tenants%20Hand%20Book%202016.pdf

Family circumstances like if you are your mothers carer etc are assessed as are suitability of accommodation EG size of house vs no of people living there etc. When you are at this stage id recommend you chat with the best local councillor in your area as help navigating this whole area may be needed. your local councillor will probably be invaluable with advice on how to proceed.

The above poster is incorrect when he says you cannot be added to / replaced as the joint tenant. It can be done, but the CC may have certain criteria that you may not meet. They dont give 3 bedroom houses to smaller households, or one bedroom flats to larger families etc. It is well worth looking into.

Sometimes you may find purchasing the house from the council may be the only way forward if you are not successful with tenancy change.

I never said they cannot become a joint tenant, just that being added to the tenancy list (ie. the list of people residing in the house) does not make them a joint tenant.

Xterminator

ah, your absolutely right, i misread. in my defense it was before i had my coffee!

rizzla

When I looked into this, your just down as an occupant and being made a joint tenant while in situ is very rare.

Nothing stopping you applying though and if you have a valid reason to be made a joint tenant. For example, current tenant in arrears and you being named as joint tenant so the arrears don't all fall to the single tenant.

If you just want to be named a joint tenant in case family member passes and you have a claim to the house then they will see that.

KTBFFH

Xterminator wrote: »

i think the process can vary a little between the different county councils. When you moved in, assuming she notified the council - you were added as a named resident, and her rent adjusted accordingly.

If this didnt happen, it needs to. Any rent arrears dealt with, as no tenancy changes will be made when rent is not up to date.

Assuming you are living there and the council know about you; you can follow the procedure below page 11 (its the fingal process - call your council to get their procedure) to get the tenancy transferred into your name.

https://www.fingal.ie/sites/default/files/2019-04/Tenants%20Hand%20Book%202016.pdf

Family circumstances like if you are your mothers carer etc are assessed as are suitability of accommodation EG size of house vs no of people living there etc. When you are at this stage id recommend you chat with the best local councillor in your area as help navigating this whole area may be needed. your local councillor will probably be invaluable with advice on how to proceed.

The above poster is incorrect when he says you cannot be added to / replaced as the joint tenant. It can be done, but the CC may have certain criteria that you may not meet. They dont give 3 bedroom houses to smaller households, or one bedroom flats to larger families etc. It is well worth looking into.

Sometimes you may find purchasing the house from the council may be the only way forward if you are not successful with tenancy change.

Exactly the kind of information I am looking for, thank you. There is definitely a variance in policies between CCs.

I would have been mentioned, named, added or something years ago when first moving in as I was under 18. The rent is fairly priced so quite certain my mother never asked for a change or mentioned my move. I was back every weekend and some summers, the move was for university.



Calling my CC and finding a Councillor knowledgable on this are the next big steps.
The aim of getting a joint tenancy would be with the goal of purchasing the house from LA in time.

Since the Tenant Purchase 2016 Scheme we've been left in a catch 22. Between us we would have enough savings to eventually buy out the house, but my mother does not earn over the required €15,000 to be allowed use this scheme.
I understand this is in place so a buyer can prove their ability to pay,but it feels like we are punished because my father is dead and we can no longer meet the income bracket.

It is a 3 bed with 2 of us so that may be a factor, but its also a rural housing estate in a tiny village, not exactly people flocking here.

Mrs OBumble

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I never said they cannot become a joint tenant, just that being added to the tenancy list (ie. the list of people residing in the house) does not make them a joint tenant.

The OP did not ask about being added to the tenancy.

They specifically asked about becoming a joint tenant.

rizzla

KTBFFH wrote: »

I would have been mentioned, named, added or something years ago when first moving in as I was under 18. The rent is fairly priced so quite certain my mother never asked for a change or mentioned my move. I was back every weekend and some summers, the move was for university.

Calling my CC and finding a Councillor knowledgable on this are the next big steps.
The aim of getting a joint tenancy would be with the goal of purchasing the house from LA in time.

Since the Tenant Purchase 2016 Scheme we've been left in a catch 22. Between us we would have enough savings to eventually buy out the house, but my mother does not earn over the required €15,000 to be allowed use this scheme.
I understand this is in place so a buyer can prove their ability to pay,but it feels like we are punished because my father is dead and we can no longer meet the income bracket.

It is a 3 bed with 2 of us so that may be a factor, but its also a rural housing estate in a tiny village, not exactly people flocking here.

No doubt if you are looking to purchase too they will conduct a rent assessment and if you said the rent hasn't been adjusted since you were a student then you will owe arrears.

KTBFFH

rizzla wrote: »

No doubt if you are looking to purchase too they will conduct a rent assessment and if you said the rent hasn't been adjusted since you were a student then you will owe arrears.

It is not that rent has not adjusted at all, it just was not adjusted because of me moving out for 9 months of a year. That is not considered moving out,not a factor, just off the phone with the council and I am/always was considered an occupant. There are no arrears due, always paid on time or early with account credited. If anything, we would have been paying less because I was not there.


I was informed that since the Tenant Purchase Scheme 2016 many many people have taken the joint occupancy route with parents/children and it is very possible to do. The main thing is that I now have to apply for tenancy in writing, be assessed as an adult and then agreed by the current tennant (mother) to be added as a joint tenant.

Mrs OBumble

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

The OP did not ask about being added to the tenancy.

They specifically asked about becoming a joint tenant.

Many assume that being included on the tenancy list is the same as being made a joint tenant. I clarified that it is not.

Do you have any useful information to add yourself, or are you just here to nit-pick, as usual?