§ Ms. RichardsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward legislation to ensure that live-in carers have the right to succeed to a tenancy in the event of the death of the person they care for; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael Spicer[holding answer 16 July 1990]: No. If the carer is a spouse or is living with the tenant as a husband or wife, and the tenant is not already a "successor", he or she has the right of automatic succession to a secure tenancy (granted by local authorities and, before 15 January 1989, by housing associations) or an assured tenancy (new tenancies granted by housing associations and by some private landlords).
If the carer is a close relative and has lived with the tenant for at least a year, he or she has an automatic right to succeed to a secure tenancy and may be able to negotiate to succeed to an assured tenancy by agreement with the landlord.
In other cases it is open to these landlords to grant a joint tenancy, secure or assured as appropriate, to the live-in carer.