Your Tenancy

Tenancy Services

Death of a Tenant

If you are the next of kin or acting on behalf of an Islington tenant who has died please inform the local area housing office in person or by letter or telephone as soon as you can.

If you have a copy of the tenant’s death certificate please provide a copy for your local area office.

If you or someone else was living with the tenant when they died you should refer to succession of a tenancy for information on who may be eligible to take on the tenancy.

If no one was living with the tenant and you wish to return the proeprty to Homes for Islington there are a number of things you need to be aware of:

Ending the tenancy
Rent and housing benefit
Accessing the property
Returning the keys
Further help and support

Ending the tenancy
Following the death of the tenant only 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 legally end the tenancy on behalf of the tenant. You can find out more information about this on the Directgov website and should seek independent legal advice.

The Executor or Administrator can complete the Termination of tenancy form (available from the local area housing office) to end the tenancy. We will need to see proof that the person is the Executor or Administrator.

If there is no Executor or Administrator Homes for Islington will service a Notice to Quit on the Public Trustee in order to end the tenancy.

Rent and housing benefit
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.

Please note:

• If the deceased tenant was claiming housing benefit this ends immediately on their death.

Accessing the property
If no one has keys to the deceased tenant’s property, Homes for Islington can only issue a set of keys to the Executor or Administrator.

You should make arrangements to clear the property of all the deceased tenant’s furniture and personal belongings before returning the keys.

There is a fact sheet available on services that can help dispose of bulky items.

If the property is cleared you may be eligible for our Just Rewards payment.

If there are items left behind Homes for Islington will dispose of them and will charge the tenant’s estate £290 for the cost of removal. This is called a recharge.

Returning the keys
You must return all keys to the property to the area housing office.

The receptionist will give you a receipt for the keys. Make sure it has the date and time on it and keep it safe as it is proof you have handed in your keys.

The keys you hand in should include all door and window keys to the property, any fob or communal keys and any store cupboard or garage keys.

If you have any gas or electricity keys or cards please leave these behind in the property.

Please note:

• Your keys must be handed into reception before 12pm on the Monday following the end of your tenancy. If your keys are received any time after this you will be charged another full week’s rent.
• If you do not return your keys when you move out you will not be eligible to your Just Rewards payment.

Further help and support
We recognise that this may be a difficult time and you may need additional advice and support to help you sort out the deceased persons affairs. The London Borough of Islington has some useful information about support services available in the area on its website.

For more information about ending a tenancy after the tenant has died please speak to the New Tenant Liaison Officer at your local area housing office. These officers deal with people ending their tenancies as well as new tenants.