Ex-church tenants in successor row
Tenants in homes sold by the Church of England Commissioners have accused their new landlord of dropping a pledge about successor tenancies in the original tenants’ handbook.
The freeholds of 1,300 properties on the Octavia Hill estate, on sites in Walworth, Vauxhall and Waterloo, were sold by the Church of England Commissioners to Grainger Geninvest in 2006.
The original tenants’ handbook stated that a tenancy can be handed on to a wife, husband or long-term partner of the tenant. It also said the tenancy could be handed on one further time to a close family member, if they have lived there for more than two years.
A tenant on the Octavia Hill estate, who does not wish to be named, was his mother’s carer for many years before her death last November.
He applied to take over the property as the second successor but was last month issued with a notice to quit by the solicitors of Grainger Geninvest, a joint venture between private landlord Grainger PLC and Genesis Housing Group.
The tenant said: ‘I have shown that I have lived here for more than two years, so I should have the right to the tenancy.’
The tenant, supported by the Octavia Hill Residents’ Association, will challenge any attempt to evict by arguing that the handbook forms part of the tenancy agreement.
A Grainger Geninvest spokesperson said: ‘GG has always stated that if a tenant has a legal right to a succession then it will be granted. That legal right is defined in law rather than in a handbook produced by the previous owners.’
