Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I move amendment No. 11:

In page 19, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following:

"(4) A tenant of a local authority who whether before or after the commencement of this section purchases a fee simple from the authority may alienate the fee simple without the consent of the authority.".

This amendment might be more appropriate to a housing Bill but I have become aware, as a public representative and a solicitor, that a council tenant when purchasing a council house needs the consent of the local authority for the first sale or transfer. This also applies when tenants who have purchased a house wish to put it in the names of both spouses. I have often encountered former local authority tenants in these circumstances.

It was common practice in the 1960s and 1970s to put tenancy agreements in the name of the husband. As a result, when houses were purchased from local authorities in the 1980s, ownership transferred to the husband whereas nowadays it is taken for granted that a husband and wife will acquire or transfer property in both names.

Rectifying this problem requires a straightforward change. It is in the interest of everyone concerned that a house be in the names of both spouses. In many cases, couples fail to do this until they are about to make a will when they will seek to ensure that, in the event of the death of one spouse, the surviving spouse is not required to incur the expense involved in getting probate.

We discussed whether a property should be in joint ownership or tenancy in common. It is beneficial for a husband and wife to have their house in both names in order that a surviving spouse will keep the house when his or her spouse dies. In such circumstances, the surviving spouse need only bring to the Land Registry a declaration that his or her spouse died and a copy of the dead spouse's birth certificate. This process does not cost much whereas probate and transfers require the services of a solicitor which can involve substantial cost. The purpose of the amendment is to allow former tenant purchasers to transfer a house into the names of both spouses without first securing the consent of their local authority. I realise, however, that this legislation may not be the correct forum in which to address the issue because the relevant provision is in another Act.