What Needs to Happen if a Tenant Dies

The tenant's next of kin must tell us, and send us a copy of the death certificate.

They also need to remove the tenant's belongings and return the keys to us.

If there is no next of kin, a Public Trustee's Office oversees and administers the person's affairs. We will recover outstanding rent and the cost of clearing the property from the person's estate.

Housing Benefit stops from the date of a person's death. If the next of kin can clear the property within a week we will not charge rent for that period. If this is not possible rent will be charged to the estate until the keys are returned.

If a member of the tenant's family was living with the tenant at the time of their death they may have the right to succeed to the tenancy and should contact our Customer Service Centre on 0800 358 7767.