§ Lord Tebbitasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are satisfied that the statutory rights of two heterosexual brothers sharing a domicile are equal to those of two unrelated sodomite males similarly sharing a domicile.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Baroness Hayman)The rights of tenants, whether in the social or private rented sector, vary according to the nature of the tenancy. The majority of local authority tenancies are secure tenancies under the Housing Act 1985, the majority of housing association tenancies are assured tenancies under the Housing Act 1988 and in the private rented sector half the tenancies are assured shorthold tenancies. Generally both local authority and housing association tenants can stay in their homes for the rest of their lives provided they do not breach the terms of their tenancy agreement. Assured shorthold tenancies allow landlords to regain possession after six months unless a fixed term has been agreed. There is no differentiation between the way tenants are treated on the basis of their family relationship or sexual orientation.
The right of a non-tenant to succeed to a tenancy does vary, but in no case does the statute provide for anyone other than a spouse, a person living with the tenant as a spouse (not including couples of the same sex) or (in the case of a secure tenancy only) a close relative to succeed to a tenancy on the death of the tenant. This does not preclude landlords making provision in individual cases for those without such a right, but sharing a home with the tenant, to be given a tenancy on the death of the tenant. Government advice to local authorities is that they should do so where they are satisfied that it is a priority viewed in the context of other demands on the housing stock.