What Happens If My Landlord Dies?

• Your Tenancy continues, becoming part of your landlord’s estate.
• Following probate, your landlord’s beneficiary becomes the new landlord.

If your landlord dies, your tenancy does not end automatically – instead, it becomes part of your landlord’s estate. As with the landlord’s remaining assets, and once probate has been granted, it passes over to the landlord’s chosen beneficiary who will then be your new landlord(s).

For the tenant, nothing changes and the tenancy continues until the end of its term as it would do under normal circumstances. The tenant cannot be evicted early as long as they keep paying the rent. Granting probate can take time, in some instances it can take weeks and often months and therefore even if the new landlord doesn’t wish to renew the tenancy agreement in due course, the tenant will have plenty of time to decide what to do next.

If you are a Tenant whose property was in need of repair, you in effect have two options for the repair works to be carried out:

1. The Tenant can await for the probate to be sorted and then at this point the Solicitors dealing with the estate will be in a position to distribute the money for the works/repairs to be finished. However, this could be a lengthy process and if the Tenant requires the works to be carried out urgently this may not be the best option.
   
2. The Tenant can pay the money for the repairs themselves but must ensure they have an agreement in place with the estate that the money will be reimbursed. This could be reimbursed in full once probate is received or the money could be credited towards their rent – (using the money to credit towards their rent would ultimately depend upon what the monthly rent is, for example, if the rent was £1,000 per month and the cost of repairs was £5,000 the Tenant would then effectively not pay any rent for 5 months once the probate has been dealt with).

If the Tenant wants the repairs carried out urgently, then option 2 may be the better choice. In this case, the Tenant should liaise with the Solicitors dealing with the estate to ensure there will be enough money within the estate to reimburse them for their money/loss incurred before they pay for the repairs themselves. They should ask for this to be confirmed in writing.

If you have any further questions regarding your tenancy agreement following the death of a landlord, feel free to get in touch with our team by calling 01782 652300 or sending an email to lawyers@tinsdills.co.uk today.

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