Changing tenancy and home ownership after a death

This information applies to England and Wales.

If you live with someone and they die:

1. check the Government’s step-by-step guide
2. use the Tell Us Once service
3. contact your landlord or lender

You can apply for support from your local authority if you might become homeless within 8 weeks. You could also be eligible for free legal advice.

If someone in your household dies, this is a change in circumstances and could affect your benefits.

Contact your landlord or lender

You can do this by:

• email
• website contact form
• phone
• posting a letter or taking it to the bank or building society

If the owner has died, write to the lender. This would be a bank or building society.

If you live in a rented property and a tenant has died, write to the landlord or managing agent.

Contact your local authority for support

Find out which local authority you live in so you can make a homeless application.

Find your local authority (GOV.UK)

If you are eligible for support, your local authority must:

• give you advice on your rights
• try to stop you from becoming homeless

For example, they could:

• find you a council property to live in
• re-negotiate your private tenancy with your landlord

Who is eligible for support

To be eligible, you do not need to be homeless. But you must be at risk of becoming homeless within 8 weeks.

You also must be a British citizen, have permanent residency or show that you have 1 of the following:

• EU settled status
• indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
• refugee status or humanitarian protection
• leave to remain with recourse to public funds

How to apply for support

Ask your local authority how to apply online or in person.

Your local authority may ask you for your:

• tenancy agreement
• death certificate
• proof of British citizenship or permanent residency

If you are not a British Citizen, you may need evidence of your immigration status.

Homeless applications: immigration and residence (Shelter)

Disability and ‘priority need’

Your local authority must give you more support if you have a ‘priority need’.

Priority need (Shelter)

If your local authority decides that you do not have a priority need, you have 3 weeks to ask for a review.

Challenge a council decision (Shelter)

You have a ‘priority need’ if you would:

• be more likely to be harmed because of your condition
• suffer more than other people if you become homeless, for example if you do not know people who could support you

Medical evidence can help your application.

For example:

• a letter from your doctor describing your condition and access needs
• prescriptions for medication
• evidence that you receive disability benefits, like Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Evidence from social services can also help. You can ask your social authority for a social care needs assessment, which can include housing. Local authorities must look at all of your needs as a whole.

Getting a social care needs assessment

A social care needs assessment can also look at the relationship between your condition and other things that affect your needs. For example, autism or using illegal drugs.

Support finding an accessible home

If your local authority considers you to be ‘vulnerable’, they must help you find housing that meets your needs. This could include an occupational therapist who can assess properties. Your local authority does not have to find you a council home, it could be privately rented.

Getting support from your local authority this support is easier if you have evidence of your condition and needs. For example, a social care needs assessment.

Getting a social care needs assessment

There are housing associations for accessible homes. They usually ask you to apply for their waiting list.

• Habinteg Housing Association: search for accessible homes in 86 local authorities and apply to waiting lists
• Ability Housing Association locations: usually provides housing to people who have been referred by their local authority

Free legal advice and Legal Aid

If you might lose your home, you might be able to get free legal advice.

Legal aid and free legal advice (Shelter)

Council housing and your rights

Contact your local authority if someone in your household dies.

Ask for a copy of the tenancy agreement if you do not have it. If you cannot get the tenancy agreement, ask for the local authority’s ‘succession policy’.

Find your local authority (GOV.UK)

The rules for council houses are:

• Joint tenancies pass to the other joint tenant on the agreement, even if they do not live in the home.
• If there is 1 tenant on the tenancy agreement and they die, you may be able to inherit the tenancy.
• The law will only allow a tenancy to be inherited once.
• A tenancy can only be inherited more than once if the tenancy agreement says it can.

The person who inherits a tenancy is sometimes called ‘next of kin’.

You can only inherit a tenancy if it’s your main home when your partner or relative dies. There is a set priority order for who can inherit:

1. a married or civil partner or unmarried partner when the tenancy started on or after 1 April 2012
2. unmarried partners who lived there for 1 year or longer if the tenancy started before 1 April 2012
3. ‘close relatives’ including parents, children and adopted children

If there’s more than 1 child, they need to decide who will inherit the tenancy. If they cannot agree, the local authority will decide who should inherit the tenancy.

Foster children and cousins cannot inherit a tenancy. The law does not count them as ‘close relatives’.

Can you inherit a council tenancy? (Shelter)

Children under 18

You can still inherit a tenancy if you are 16 or 17. An adult would need to “hold the tenancy in trust” until you turn 18. For example:

• another family member
• a social worker

If you are under 16, you can still inherit a tenancy if someone with parental responsibility also moves in with you.

Moving to a smaller property

The local authority cannot make you move to a smaller property if you inherited the tenancy from your partner. But if you are inheriting the tenancy from someone else, the local authority may ask you to move to a smaller property.

Notice periods if you inherit the tenancy

The earliest the local authority could ask you to move to a smaller property is 6 months after they learn about the death.

The local authority has a maximum of 12 months to move you to a smaller property.

If it’s longer than 12 months, they do not have the right to make you move because the person died.

Notice periods if you do not inherit the tenancy

If no one has the right to inherit the tenancy, the local authority could give anyone living there a ‘notice to quit’. This will give you 4 weeks’ notice. After this, they can apply to court.

Housing associations and your rights

Tenancy agreements with housing associations can pass to:

1. another joint tenant
2. a married, civil or unmarried partner

Nobody else can inherit the tenancy unless the tenancy agreement says that they can.

For example, a close relative can only inherit the housing association tenancy if the tenancy agreement says they can. If the tenancy agreement does not say they can, then the relative does not have the right to inherit the tenancy.

If you cannot find the paperwork, ask for a copy of the tenancy agreement or the housing association’s succession policy.

Can you inherit a housing association tenancy? (Shelter)

If you inherit the tenancy

The housing association can still take you to court if they want you to leave.

The housing association has 12 months to tell you that they are starting court proceedings.

If the housing association does not start court proceedings within 12 months, you can keep the tenancy.

If the court decides you must leave, you should have at least 10 weeks after the tenant dies. This is because:

• the housing association must give you 2 months’ notice if they are taking you to court
• going to court usually takes at least 2 weeks

You can ask the housing association if they can support you to find another place to live to stop you becoming homeless. They may support you but they do not have to.

You may be able to claim that because you are disabled, being made to leave is discrimination. Get legal advice.

Legal aid and free legal advice (Shelter)

If you do not inherit the tenancy

You have 4 weeks to leave. Legally, the housing association does not have to give you notice.

Make a homeless application with your local authority.

Private renting

Contact the landlord or agent if someone in your household dies.

Your tenancy rights

Joint tenancies pass to a joint tenant on the agreement, even if they do not live in the home.

The rules are different for inheriting a:

• fixed tenancy, usually for 1 year
• rolling ‘periodic’ tenancy

A fixed tenancy can pass via a will. If there is no will, it goes to ‘next of kin’ under intestacy laws. The next of kin does not have to be living in the property to inherit the tenancy.

Intestacy - who inherits if someone dies without a will? (GOV.UK)

If you inherit a fixed tenancy, you would usually be able to stay for the rest of the agreement term.

A rolling ‘periodic’ tenancy can only pass to a married, civil or unmarried partner. 

Notice periods

Check your tenancy agreement.

If you inherit a tenancy, your landlord still can choose to evict you with a Section 21 notice. Legally, they must give you at least 2 months’ notice.

Section 21 eviction (Shelter)

You lived with the owner who died

If you lived with the owner and they die, you may need to contact more than 1 person depending on your circumstances.

• If there’s still a mortgage, contact the mortgage lender. There may be mortgage insurance.
• If there’s a will, contact the executor of the will.
• Check if there is life insurance.

If there is no will, it goes to ‘next of kin’ under intestacy laws. The next of kin does not have to be living in the property to inherit it.

Intestacy - who inherits if someone dies without a will? (GOV.UK)

If you inherit the home

If you inherit the home and become the owner, find out how much inheritance tax you need to pay. You have 6 months to pay this.

Pay your Inheritance Tax bill (GOV.UK)

If you inherit a home and there’s still a mortgage, you will need to get a new mortgage. Contact the lender and get financial advice.

Mortgage affordability and benefits

Sorting out what should happen to property that belonged to the person who died is called probate. You can carry on living in the home in this period.

The people who can apply for probate are:

• the executor of a will
• the ‘next of kin’ who will inherit the home under intestacy laws (if there is no will)

Intestacy - who inherits if someone dies without a will? (GOV.UK)

Applying for probate (GOV.UK)

If you do not inherit the home

If you do not inherit the home, the new owner can ask you to move out. The time this takes varies.

If the new owner decides to rent the property to you, you may be eligible for housing benefit. Make sure that you have a written tenancy agreement.

You may also be eligible for benefits. 

If you think you will have to leave

Make a homeless application to your local authority as soon as you can. You do not need to be homeless to do this.

Contact your local authority for support

Notice periods

The lender should find out about your circumstances before repossessing your home. How long you have before they repossess your home depends on the lender. This can take up to 6 months. Get legal advice.

Legal aid and free legal advice (Shelter)

Going to court for possession

You must have at least 4 weeks’ notice to quit all tenancies, including:

• council houses
• housing associations
• private renting

You should get a letter sent to the home address. You might get a warning from the mortgage lender before the notice about court action.

Council houses

For a council house, the local authority can try to make you move if they consider there are ‘too many’ bedrooms. The notice would mention ‘Ground 15a: under-occupation after succession’.

The local authority must show that the alternative home is suitable. This includes a disabled person’s needs in a social care needs assessment.

How to get social care services

Legal aid and free legal advice (Shelter)

Housing associations

The housing association can use Ground 7 (death of an assured tenant) to evict you, even if you inherit the tenancy.

But the local authority must do this within 1 year of finding out that the original tenant died. If it has been more than 1 year since you inherited the tenancy, you can stay. Your housing association cannot use Ground 7.

Assured tenancy mandatory grounds for possession: Ground 7 – Death of assured tenant (Shelter)

Benefits

Calculate your benefits to find out what you are entitled to.

Calculate your benefits (Turn2us)

You may be able to get help with rent through Universal Credit or housing benefit even if you are not named on the tenancy agreement. You need to show that you are being treated as 'liable for rent'.

Tell the DWP if you’re receiving benefits

A person dying in your household is a change in circumstances. If you are receiving benefits, make sure that DWP knows about your change in circumstances.

Contact the DWP as soon as you can to avoid getting benefit overpayments. This is because you may have to pay it back. If you are asked to pay benefits back, get advice.

For a limited time, you might be able to carry on receiving some benefits at your existing rate. For example, Universal Credit.

Scope helpline

Benefit overpayments: Repayments when someone has died (GOV.UK)

The Government Tell Us Once service will also tell the DWP and your local authority that you have had a change in circumstances.

After this, your benefits may increase or decrease depending on your circumstances.

Financial support after somebody dies

If your rent is more than your benefit

Apply to your local authority for a discretionary housing payment.

Discretionary Housing Payments

Bedroom tax

Someone in your home dying may mean you’re eligible for less housing benefit even if your rent is the same. The rules apply if you’re under State Pension age and receive:

• Housing Benefit or
• the housing costs element of Universal Credit

Bedroom tax and housing benefits