If you or someone else was living with the tenant when they died you may be entitled to succeed or inherit the tenancy. Read our information about tenancy succession to find out who may be eligible to take on the tenancy.
If no one was living with the tenant and you wish to return the property there are a number of things you need to be aware of to end the tenancy.
Surrendering a tenancy on behalf of a loved one or a friend can be an upsetting time. Please contact our team who can talk you through the process and signpost you to any support you may need.
Once you have registered the death with our Registrar, we will require a copy of the death certificate. You can email this to us or call us.
The tenancy does not end when the tenant dies. The only people who can end it are:
A next of kin, who is not the executor or administrator, cannot end the tenancy.
If there is no executor or administrator, by law Brent Council must serve a 'notice to quit' on the public trustee. (Tenancies are transferred temporarily to this public office if a tenant dies without a will, or with a will but without an executor.)
The tenancy will end four weeks after this is served.
Rent will continue to be charged until the tenancy has ended and the keys to the property have been returned. Any arrears that accrue should be paid from the deceased tenant’s estate.
If the deceased tenant was receiving Housing Benefit, this ends immediately on the date of their death.
If no one has keys to the deceased tenant’s property, we can give a set of keys to the Executor or Administrator.
Once a disclaimer form is signed and the keys are returned, Brent Council will dispose of any goods not required. We reserve the right to charge this back to the estate.
If a tenant has died, and there is a credit remaining on their rent account, the executor or representative of the deceased tenant can apply to have this credit.
The executor (person given authority in the tenant’s will to deal with their affairs) or the administrator (person who has been given Grant of Probate for the tenant) can apply to have any credit remaining in the deceased tenant’s account, minus any outstanding debts.
This request may come in to colleagues in Tenancy Services, when handling the death of the tenant, or the Rent Income team.
The executor or the administrator should email the Rent Accounting team, to request a copy of the Credit Refund Form. This will need to be completed and submitted to the Rent Accounting team.
Only the executor of the will or administrator can apply to access credit on the rent account. The Council will need to be provided with a copy of the letter of administration or Grant of Probate. In addition, the Council has the right to request proof of identity when processing this request.
After the death of the tenant, the tenancy needs to have legally ended and the rent account closed, before a refund payment can be issued.
Rent will continue to be charged at the full rate until the tenancy has legally ended. Any rent arrears that accrue should be paid from the deceased tenant’s estate.
If there is credit on the rent account and the deceased tenant has debts on their account or owes any other debt to the council, the credit may be used to pay this off.
If the credit is not claimed after two years following the death of the tenant, the Council will refer the matter to the Government Legal Department via the bono vacantia referral route.
The estate and/or assets of a deceased person who died without leaving a will or any known relatives are known as ‘bona vacantia’. This means ‘vacant goods’ and is the name of ownerless property, which by law must be passed to the Crown. These assets must be passed to the Government Legal Department by completing the ‘Estates referral form’
Following the referral, the Government Legal Department has a responsibility to administer those assets and distribute them to any relative who might come forward. Brent Council cannot keep and spend any money it holds in these circumstances, other than to discharge rent and/or other costs properly and lawfully incurred on behalf of the deceased tenant.