We understand that losing a loved one can be a difficult time. Trying to deal with their affairs can be upsetting and unnecessarily complicated.
That's why we want to make it as easy as possible for you to understand what to do next and the support available. The guidance below is aimed to help you understand the steps you need to take when dealing with their tenancy.
You'll need to let us know as soon as possible if you're:
- Living with a tenant who has died
- Dealing with a tenant's home, belongings and money, known as their estate.
Your options
Your options are to end the tenancy, or check if you're eligible to take over the tenancy.
Ending the tenancy
Get in touch with us to let us know that you would like to end the tenancy.
Once you've been in touch, a housing services co-ordinator will arrange to visit you in person to help discuss your options, explain what happens with the rent account and any outstanding charges, and next steps.
This will include when the tenancy can be ended, depending on individual circumstances.
Please note we can’t end the tenancy until the keys are returned to us and the property is empty. Rent may continue to be charged to the estate of the deceased until that happens.
If you’re a joint tenant and you no longer wish to continue living in the home, you can request for the tenancy to end.
For a sole tenancy (meaning the tenancy was under the name of the tenant who died only) you will need to be the executor of the Will, or the administrator of the estate to end the tenancy. This person is called the ‘Personal Representative’.
We understand that every circumstance may be different, so we will talk through this with you when we visit you.
Steps to take
- Contact us to confirm what you wish to do with the tenancy
- Share a copy of the death certificate with us
- Clear out personal belongings and furniture within the agreed timescale
- Hand the keys over to Thirteen once both of the above steps are complete.
Rent will continue to be charged until the keys are handed over. If the tenant was receiving Housing Benefit, this will automatically be cancelled on the Sunday following their death.
The executor, administrator or family members who aren't joint tenants aren't responsible for paying the rent, or any rent arrears of the deceased tenant, it will be paid from the tenant’s estate.
Taking over the tenancy
The process for taking over the tenancy is different, depending on whether you're an existing joint tenant, or if you're a family member who wishes to continue to live the home.
Joint tenant
If you have a joint tenancy and the joint tenant has passed away, the tenancy will automatically transfer into your sole name. You'd be responsible for the tenancy, including rent or any arrears due on the joint rent account.
Living in the home, but not a joint tenant
If you're living at the home at the time of the tenant's death, you may be eligible to take over the tenancy through ‘succession’. We'll investigate if this is possible, depending on the tenancy agreement, and will discuss your options when you get in touch.
Further information on this can be found in our tenancy policy.