Renting Homes: The Final Report - Law Commission

7.5 Thus, subject to the point made in the following paragraph, it is a fundamental
term of all occupation contracts that whenever a joint contract-holder ceases to
be a party to the contract, the remaining joint contract-holder(s) automatically
become fully entitled to all the rights under the contract, and liable to perform fully
all the obligations under the contract. 3 The departed joint contract-holder is not
entitled to any right nor liable to any obligation once they have left the contract. 4
They neither lose any right nor waive any liability accruing before they left the
contract. 5
7.6 These principles do not apply where the rights and obligations of a joint contractholder
under an occupation contract are transferred, following death or indeed
while the joint contract-holder is still alive. 6
7.7 In many cases, therefore, spouses and partners can take advantage of the
contract to pass their rights in the contract to their survivor. Rights of survivorship
take precedence over any statutory scheme for succession.
SUCCESSION RIGHTS 7
Introduction
7.8 Succession rights have long been an integral feature of housing law, but they
have become very complex. Complexity has arisen:
(1) through the proliferation of statutory schemes, each with different
succession rights;
(2) through the interface of contract, property and statutory provisions which
provide for different consequences on the death of an occupier; and
(3) as the result of statutory silence on a number of issues which are
significant in practice, the obvious example (until recently when the Civil
Partnership Act 2004 came into force) being the application of the current
rules to same sex couples.
The Bill provides a single statement of succession rights that applies to all
occupation contracts. 8
7.9 We recommend measures which reflect the contemporary social reality of the
family in a manner that is consistent with the Human Rights Act 1998 and the
Civil Partnership Act 2004.
3
Cl 111(1). Cls 131 to 139 provide for transfers: see paras 6.36 to 6.60 and 6.74 to 6.76
above.
4 Cl 111(2).
5 Cl 111(3).
6 Cl 111(4).
7 Succession rights are discussed in Part 14 of Renting Homes (2003) Law Com No 284.
8 Save fixed term standard contracts with their own terms allowing the transfer of the
contract on death: see below, at paras 7.31 to 7.33.
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