If your landlord is a local authority (council), a housing association or registered social landlord, your tenancy agreement is likely to be a secure tenancy or an assured tenancy. Social landlords normally ask for a court order before transferring this type of tenancy, even if both parties agree.
A transfer of tenancy is a type of order the court can make that will change the names of the tenants on the tenancy agreement. It means that after a couple separates, it is possible for the court to order that the person that remains living in the family home has the tenancy in their sole name.
It ensures that the person no longer living in the property is not responsible for the rent or other obligations under the tenancy agreement.
Applications for transfer of tenancy can be done under Part VII of the Family Law Act 1996.
If you were married or in a civil partnership you will need to have started either divorce, dissolution, nullity or judicial separation proceedings before you can apply for a transfer of tenancy under the Family Law Act. An order to transfer a tenancy from your spouse’s name or joint names into your name can be made any time after the court has given the conditional order as part of divorce, dissolution, or nullity proceedings, or once the court has made a decree of judicial separation.
If you live with your partner and the tenancy is in your joint names, or only in your partner’s name, then you can apply to transfer the tenancy to your name under the Family Law Act. ‘
If you are applying for a non-molestation order and occupation order at the same time as applying to transfer the tenancy, you can apply for everything in one form, the FL401. Otherwise, you will need to complete a form d50b and write a witness statement which supports your application.
You can download the form d50b from the government website. Your statement must include the following information:
• What type of tenancy it is and who the landlord is
• That both you and the other party, or just the other party, is entitled to occupy the property because the tenancy names both of you, or just the other party as the tenant
• The circumstances in which the tenancy was granted to both of you, or to the other party, or how he or both of you became tenants under the tenancy
• That you and the other party lived in the property as spouses (if you are married) or civil partners (if you are in a civil partnership) or cohabitees, and for how long
• Both of your housing needs (for example, you have two children and need a property with at least two bedrooms near their school, the respondent has no dependents and needs one bedroom near his place of work)
• Both of your housing resources (for example, both of your financial resources, ability to rent elsewhere, other properties either of you own or rent)
• The effect that making an order, or not making an order, will have on you, the other party and any children If you and your ex-partner were not married, but cohabiting, and your ex-partner is the only named tenant on the tenancy then your statements should also include information on:
• The nature of your relationship (in particular, the level of commitment to each other)
• How long you lived together
• Whether you or your ex-partner have any children (either together or from other relationships) or whether either of you have parental responsibility for any children
• The length of time since you and your ex-partner stopped living together
• Your suitability as a tenant, for example, if the rent and bills have always been paid by your partner, how will you afford to pay them
• Your ex-partner’s suitability as a tenant
The court must consider these issues when deciding whether to make an order to transfer the tenancy. Once you have completed the form and the witness statement you should take them to court to issue them, or send them to the court by post. A court fee is payable. You may be able to claim an exemption from having to pay this fee if you are on benefits or your income is low by completing a form EX160.
The court will process the application and contact you with a date for the hearing of the application. The court will also send a copy of your application form and statement to your ex-partner (who will be called the respondent) and the landlord for the property. Sometimes the court may ask you to send the documents to the respondent and landlord and if so you will be provided with further information by the court.