Tenant has died

[kerbut]

Unfortunately one of our tenants died yesterday , it is something I have not had to deal with before , he was a single gent of 62 and his very active 85 year old mother is dealing with things. His rent is paid up to the 17 th of April and she has indicated she will not be able to get everything cleared by then , so I will let her have another month and deduct it from his deposit , is it ok legally to do this or is  his deposit part of his estate ? , if so I must return it and charge his mother until the property is cleared . Is this the correct way to do it ?

[Richlist]

Fortunately this is something very few of us have to deal with and I have no direct experience.

I assume you have protected the deposit in one of the approved schemes and had issued the prescribed information ?

I'm afraid what you are planning to do is not allowed. There are very specific rules about tenancies when someone dies.

Check out this for details :

www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2014/05/21/what-happens-to-a-tenancy-when-the-tenant-dies/

 

[kerbut]

Thanks for the link RL,Yes, Deposit protected , and re-protected after 6 months and PI given at time of signing Tenancy agreement (  I get tenants to pay deposit a couple of days before signing agreement so we can do all the paperwork in one go ) I have spoken with the mother this afternoon and we have agreed that I will take April /May out of the deposit and she will have the property empty when we return from a month in Spain mid May.

 

Edit to add : I think I am doing it the way the final paragraph of the blog says :

In conclusion

I suspect in most cases, the landlord just takes the property back, in agreement with the tenants family.  In most cases this will be the most sensible way to proceed.

[Richlist]

My comments:

My understanding from the web link is that the tenancy does not end when the tenant dies. It either passes to a joint tenant or next of kin.......next of kin in your case. The deposit and any money or assets of the deceased form part of the deceased estate. So, be carefull. Only the official person handling the deceased estate has authority to discharge debts or deal with his assets. It might be his mother who is handling his affairs but does she not need to obtain probate first ?......i did when my mother died.

 

[Melboy]

When my Mother in Law died Bexleyheath Council gave us 2 weeks grace to clear the house. It would appear that is standard practice. If you think about it there cannot be an open ended agreement unless rent is being paid on the property. Clearing a property by relatives takes but a few hours and as there are no other persons living with the deceased to consider this should be a quick process.   Deed of Probate can take weeks, months, years in fact so be aware of that.

Normally a sensible discussion and a fixed termination date and property hand back is normally sufficient.

As sad as this may be for the family you, as the landlord, are not part of social services.

[kerbut]

Thanks RL and Melboy , I am going with the option of the tenants mother clearing the property for mid May as this suits me better as I will be getting rent for the property and it will not be standing empty whilst we are in Spain, then when we get back I will get one of Mr Howdens landlord kitchens  ,fit that and re-let.