A woman who had been a joint tenant of a local authority tenancy and became a sole tenant before the introduction of secure tenancies by the Housing Act 1980 was not a successor, and her son was able to succeed to the tenancy, the House of Lords has ruled.
The words “he was a joint tenant and has become a sole tenant” in s 88(1)(b) Housing Act 1985, as amended, meant he was a joint tenant and had become the sole tenant under a secure tenancy, the Law Lords decided in Birmingham City Council v Walker.
