Succession of a social tenancy when the tenant dies

If someone you live with dies and they have a Scottish secure tenancy with the council or housing association, you can sometimes inherit the tenancy. This is called succession. It means you can stay in the home.

To qualify, you must have been living with the tenant in the property as your main or only home. If you’re refused succession of a tenancy you may be able to appeal the decision.

Check if you can succeed the tenancy

You must be 16 or older.

You automatically take over the tenancy if you're a joint tenant. Otherwise you'll have to qualify to succeed.

Once you succeed you'll have a Scottish secure tenancy.

In some cases, you must have been living there for at least 12 months to succeed. The 12 months starts from when you or the tenant told the landlord that you had moved in.

If you've just moved in, tell the landlord in writing straight away to avoid any issues with succession later on.

There are 3 levels of priority for succeeding a tenancy. These are sometimes called first, second and third priority.

First priority for succession

You can succeed the tenancy if the tenant was your:

joint tenant
spouse or civil partner
co-habiting partner, including same-sex partners

If the tenant was your spouse, civil partner or joint tenant it does not matter how long you've lived there.

If you're a co-habiting partner, you must have been living there for at least 12 months, starting from when you or the tenant told the landlord that you had moved in.

Second priority for succession

If no one has first priority, you qualify if the tenant was your family member.

You must have been living there for at least 12 months, starting from when you or the tenant told the landlord that you had moved in.

Family members are:

parents, including step parents
children, including step children
grandparents
grandchildren
siblings
aunts and uncles
nieces and nephews

If you and the tenant had a parent-child relationship, but not by blood or through marriage or civil partnership, you still qualify if:

the tenant raised you as their child
you raised the tenant as your child

Third priority for succession

If you do not qualify through the first 2 groups, you could qualify if you gave up your home to care for the tenant.

You must have been living there for at least 12 months, starting from when you or the tenant told the landlord that you had moved in.

If more than 1 person qualifies to succeed

If there's more than 1 qualified person on the same level of priority, you must decide among yourselves who should succeed. If you cannot agree, the housing association or council will decide.

If nobody wants to succeed

If you qualify to succeed but you do not want to take on the tenancy, you must give the landlord 4 weeks' notice in writing. You must also leave the property within 3 months.

If the tenancy has been succeeded before

You cannot succeed a tenancy if it has already been passed on twice, unless you are a joint tenant. You can still ask the landlord to assign you your own tenancy under exceptional circumstances.

If the property is specially adapted

The rules for succession are different if the property was adapted for the needs of the tenant who died.

If the tenant was your spouse, civil partner, co-habiting partner or joint tenant, you can take on the tenancy.

If you’re a qualifying family member or carer, you can succeed if you can show that the property’s adaptations are suited to your own needs. If you do not need the adaptations, the landlord must offer you a suitable tenancy as an alternative.

If the tenancy is going through a second round of succession, you must always show you need the adaptations, no matter your relationship to the tenant.

If you're refused succession of a tenancy

This could happen if:

the landlord was not notified when you moved in
you do not qualify for any of the priority groups
the property has already been succeeded twice
the property has adaptations that you do not need

Appealing the decision

Most landlords will have an internal appeals process. Ask the council or housing association how to appeal.

You can also appeal the decision at the sheriff court. You'll usually need to show that the landlord made a factual error in their decision. You must apply within 21 days of the landlord’s decision.

Get help from a solicitor to appeal at court. Check our list of legal services that can help with housing issues.

You could get legal help for free or at a lower cost.

Exceptional circumstances

Landlords are not allowed to let you succeed a tenancy if you do not legally qualify. They can still agree to give you your own Scottish secure tenancy under exceptional circumstances, even if you do not qualify.

This could be a tenancy at your current home, or at another home that meets your needs.

Ask the landlord in writing to consider giving you your own tenancy. Tell them about your circumstances, including how you came to live in the property, and the effect it would have on you if you were evicted.

Give the landlord as much proof as possible that you've been living in the tenancy, for example:

electricity, water, gas, phone or internet bills
official letters addressed to you at your residence, such as NHS or benefits letters
a letter from your GP or CPN saying when you registered at that address
driver's licence or ID card that shows your address
bank statements that show your name and address
employment records, such as payslips that show your home address
home or contents insurance policies that list you as a policyholder
letters from your neighbours to confirm you've been living there

Having several of these documents could strengthen your case. Get both recent and older documents if you can, to show your history of living at the property.

Tell them if you gave up your last home to care for the person you lived with, even if it was less than 12 months ago.

Contact a Shelter Scotland adviser for help appealing a decision or submitting an exceptional circumstances request.

Paying for the tenancy

If you keep living in the property after the tenant has died, you will need to pay the landlord an occupancy charge or rent.

If you succeed the tenancy, the rent will be backdated to the date that the tenant died.

If you do not succeed the tenancy, you may need to pay an occupancy charge for the time that you live there.

Speak to a benefits adviser at Citizens Advice Scotland to find out if you can get help with these costs.

Finding a home if you're refused succession

If you're refused succession, there are a number of options for finding a home.

If you have nowhere to stay or you're at risk of homelessness, the council must help you. Check our advice on making a homeless application.

You could:

Last updated: 13 October 2025