If a contract holder is not married and there is no partner living with the contract holder at the time of death, a ‘reserve successor’ (family member, or person living with the contract holder who was providing care) can apply to succeed via the Succession application form, providing they can prove they were living with the contract holder 12 continuous months prior to the date of their death.
On considering an application, you should check:
- Relationship to deceased contract holder
(Family members that are considered include parent, grandparent, child, step-child, grandchild, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, nephew, niece or carer)
- Proposed Successor meets property criteria as per the Homeseeker matrix
One this basis, the applicant should at this stage be treated as a joint contract holder. The account will continue to run, until a decision is made as to whether the applicant is successful. *PLEASE NOTE* Existing arrears cannot be taken into consideration for succession. Despite the ‘potential successor’ being treated as a joint contract holder, they wouldn’t become liable for the arrears as a JCH only becomes liable for the obligations of the contract from the date they were added.
A ‘Letter confirming Investigation for Succession’ should be issued to the applicant, detailed the current rent amount being charged that they are liable to pay which should commence from notification of the deceased’s date of death. These payments will then be transferred to any new rent account, should the succession be successful.
An investigation should be completed with the applicant to establish if they will be a priority or reserve successor, and it is important to investigate any factors that may be raised following the investigation before a decision on succession is provided e.g., declaration of a conviction, vulnerabilities of the applicant.
This letter and a request for further information must be issued within 14 days of the deceased notification being received. If this is not completed, then you will be unable to seek further information passed this timeframe. If no further information is required, but you also fail to provide a decision / outcome in writing within 1 month of receiving the application, then assumed consent will be allocated and the applicant will automatically become a contract holder.
Please be aware that there is no timescale on when the proposed successor should provide this information under Renting Homes Guidelines. Therefore, it is important to continue contact with them throughout the investigation period to ensure they are providing this as early as possible.
If payments are received during a 2 month period from the deceased’s date of death (this could be just 1 payment during this time), and the applicant has not provided the information requested by the CHO by week 6/7 of the investigation, then it is advisable at this stage to treat the applicant as a trespasser until further evidence is received.
A ‘Trespass’ Account should be created in order to capture relevant payments and any court costs incurred. You can then apply to court to start possession proceedings to recover the property.
This will safeguard Bron Afon from the applicant inadvertently becoming an occupation contact holder and will mean Bron Afon can continue to accept payments until a decision is made on the succession status.
If no contact is made and payments are received from an applicant for 8 weeks or more with no action started by Bron Afon, then there is risk of the individual becoming a contract holder in their own right after the 8th week, as Bron Afon will have been aware that they are residing at the property and are accepting payments from them. Under Renting Homes, you are considered to ‘ought to reasonably know who is residing at the property’.
Once the information is received and you are satisfied the individual meets succession criteria, you can cancel your claim with the court. If the information is not received, or does meet eligibility status, then the possession claim can continue to run on, and you will continue to seek possession of the property on the grounds of that the individual is a trespasser.
If the outcome of the investigation is for Succession to be granted, a letter confirming the outcome will need to be issued to the successor detailing that they are a reserve successor and that no further successions can be issued moving forward, with a copy of the original contract holders’ contract, along with an RHW2 form and a copy of the most recent gas and electrical certs.
- The TMI will need to be updated with the relevant details.
- The existing rent account should be closed. The date in which this is actioned depends on when notification of death was received and when succession status was determined.
Example 1: If we are notified of a potential succession ‘two days’ after the CH’s date of death, and the succession investigation is completed by day 21, then the succession will take effect from the date we were notified. A new rent account should be set up on YODA, and the old rent account will be closed down. However, if the investigation process takes Approx 6 weeks, then the original account will remain active during this time and will then be backdated once the succession investigation is complete.
Example 2: If we are notified on day ‘37’ of a potential succession, and succession is granted following investigation, then the new account start date will be one month from date of death. Again, a new account would be set up on YODA for the new successor and will commence one month from date of death.
A new rent payment card should be issued.