Process and Steps
Steps to Take When Selling a Probate Flat
A step-by-step guide for executors and administrators selling a leasehold flat as part of an estate, from establishing authority through to completion.
Why a Probate Sale Runs Differently
Selling a flat as part of an estate is the same conveyancing process as any other sale, with extra steps before and around it. The key difference is who the seller is. Not the deceased, but the executor (the person named in the will to administer the estate), or the administrator if there is no will. The executor's authority comes from the grant of probate, the document HM Courts and Tribunals Service issues confirming the will is valid and the executor can act. Without that grant, the flat cannot be transferred to a buyer.
The good news is that most of the sale can run in parallel with the grant application. The flat can be marketed, viewings can take place, an offer can be accepted, and a solicitor can be instructed all before the grant arrives. What cannot happen pre-grant is exchange or completion. Sellers who treat the probate application and the marketing as parallel tracks rather than sequential ones routinely complete weeks earlier than those who wait for the grant before listing.
Three other features make probate sales their own thing. The valuation has to satisfy HMRC for inheritance tax purposes as well as set the asking price. The flat is usually empty, with insurance and council tax consequences. And there are often multiple executors who all have to agree, sign and act jointly. Each is manageable, but each adds steps that a normal sale does not have.
Establishing Your Authority to Sell
Before any sale can complete, the executor needs the legal authority to transfer the flat to a buyer. That authority comes from the grant of probate (with a will) or letters of administration (without one). Both are forms of "grant of representation": the formal document confirming who can act for the estate.
Executor or administrator
If the deceased left a valid will, the executors named in the will apply for a grant of probate. If there is no will, the closest relative entitled under the intestacy rules applies for letters of administration; the person granted authority is called an administrator. The two documents do the same job for the purpose of selling a flat: a buyer's solicitor will accept either as evidence the seller can transfer ownership.
Multiple executors must act jointly
Most wills name two or more executors, often family members and sometimes a solicitor. They have to act together. All named executors must sign the contract on exchange and the TR1 (the transfer document HM Land Registry uses to record the change of ownership) on completion, even if only one is doing the day-to-day. If one executor is reluctant, abroad, or in dispute with the others, the sale stalls until the signature is in hand. Where one executor truly cannot act, they can apply to be removed or have probate granted to the others alone, but it is a step that takes time and legal cost.
The practical advice: confirm at the start, in writing, that all executors agree on the sale route (open market, auction, or direct cash buyer), the asking price, and who will lead the day-to-day. A short executor's note signed by all parties saves weeks of friction later when a decision needs to be made quickly.
What you can act on before the grant
Until the grant is issued, the executor's authority is incomplete: ownership cannot be transferred. What you can do is start everything that does not require the transfer itself: instruct a solicitor, secure the flat, confirm the empty-flat insurance position with the managing agent (and arrange specialist contents cover if needed), gather the lease and management paperwork, and (importantly) market the flat. Most estate agents will list a probate flat on a "subject to probate" basis; most buyers' solicitors will continue with searches and enquiries pending the grant.
The Probate Valuation
HMRC needs a value for the flat at the date of death. This figure is used for the inheritance tax calculation: on the IHT400 form for taxable estates, or, for non-taxable excepted estates, as part of the online probate application itself (since 1 January 2022, no separate paper IHT205 form is required). The valuation sits on the estate's records permanently and is separate from the asking price you set when marketing, although in practice the two figures are usually close.
HMRC expects an open-market value: the figure a willing buyer would pay a willing seller, with the property reasonably exposed to the market. There are two routes to that figure.
Estate agent appraisals
Free, fast and based on comparable local sales. Two or three appraisals from local agents give a sensible range. For estates well below the inheritance tax threshold (£325,000 nil-rate band per individual, plus an additional £175,000 residence nil-rate band where the deceased's home is left to direct descendants), an averaged agent figure is usually enough for HMRC purposes. Keep the appraisals on the estate's file as evidence.
RICS Red Book valuation
A formal valuation by a RICS-registered surveyor, prepared under the RICS Red Book, is the authoritative figure. Cost is typically £400 to £900 plus VAT for a flat. HMRC do not always insist on a Red Book valuation, but they are entitled to challenge an estate agent figure: a Red Book valuation is the document that resolves any later challenge, and is the right route for any estate where the IHT position is borderline, where co-owners need an objective figure, or where executors want to defend their decisions to beneficiaries later. For higher-value estates, a Red Book valuation is effectively standard.
A note on conservative valuations
Executors sometimes face pressure to value the flat low, either from beneficiaries hoping to reduce the IHT bill or from a sense that a cautious figure is "safer". HMRC can re-open the valuation within 4 years (or longer in some cases) if the property later sells significantly above the probate figure, and they can recover the IHT difference plus interest. The principle is straightforward: value at the open-market figure as of the date of death, document how it was arrived at, and keep the supporting paperwork. The right valuation is the defensible one, not the lowest one.
Inheritance Tax and the Timing Constraint
For estates above the nil-rate band, inheritance tax is the largest financial item executors deal with. It also creates an awkward timing constraint: IHT must be calculated and at least partly paid before the grant of probate is issued, but the flat (often the estate's biggest asset) cannot be sold until after the grant.
The thresholds
Each individual has a nil-rate band of £325,000. Estates pay 40 per cent IHT on value above this. Where the family home is left to direct descendants (children, grandchildren, stepchildren), an additional residence nil-rate band of £175,000 applies, tapering for estates above £2 million. A surviving spouse can inherit any unused nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band from the first death, doubling the available threshold (potentially £650,000 plus £350,000 for a surviving spouse on the second death). Both bands are frozen until 5 April 2030 under current Treasury policy.
Paying IHT before the grant
The most common route is HMRC's Direct Payment Scheme (form IHT423): banks and building societies pay the IHT directly to HMRC from the deceased's accounts on the executors' instruction, without waiting for the grant. Beyond that, executors can pay the IHT from their own funds and reimburse themselves from the estate after grant, or use a short-term probate loan from a specialist lender (interest applies, but can be cheaper than the alternative if the timeline is short).
The instalment option for property
IHT on land and buildings can be paid in 10 annual instalments rather than in a single lump sum, with interest charged on the outstanding balance. This is the practical route where the estate's value is largely tied up in the flat itself: the instalment option lets the grant be issued without executors having to find the IHT immediately. Once the flat sells, the outstanding IHT becomes payable from the proceeds. The interest rate is set by HMRC and changes; take advice on whether the saved cash flow outweighs the interest cost for your situation.
Where to get advice
For estates above the nil-rate band, paying for a probate solicitor or specialist accountant to handle the IHT400 is usually money well spent. The form is detailed, the rules around lifetime gifts and trusts are technical, and the cost of getting it wrong (penalties, interest, an HMRC enquiry) is much higher than the cost of getting it right. For estates well below the threshold, applying directly via the gov.uk online probate service is a reasonable option.
Marketing Before the Grant Arrives
The single biggest time-saver in a probate sale is marketing the flat in parallel with the probate application, not after it. Treating the two as parallel tracks routinely saves 8 to 12 weeks compared with waiting for the grant before instructing an agent.
What can happen pre-grant
- The flat can be listed (most agents accept "subject to probate" wording in the listing).
- Viewings can take place.
- An offer can be accepted in principle.
- A solicitor can be instructed and the contract pack can be drafted.
- The lease and title can be obtained from HM Land Registry, the management pack ordered, and TA forms drafted.
- The buyer's solicitor can run searches and raise initial enquiries.
What cannot happen pre-grant
Exchange of contracts is not possible until the grant is in the executors' hands: the executors do not have the authority to commit the estate to a binding sale until then. Completion follows exchange and is also blocked. In practice, most pre-grant work is preparation for an exchange and completion that happen back-to-back, or close together, once the grant arrives.
Buyers and the wait
Some buyers will wait for a probate timetable; others will not. Cash buyers and seasoned property investors usually expect probate timing and accept it. First-time buyers and chain-dependent buyers often need a faster path and may walk away if a grant is months out. Make the probate position clear from the listing onwards, so buyers self-select. An agent who tries to soft-pedal the probate status to keep buyers on the hook will usually find the offer falls through later.
How long the grant takes
HM Courts and Tribunals Service publishes a 16-week target for online probate applications without complications, although in practice 8 to 14 weeks is common for straightforward estates. With an IHT400 form (required for taxable estates and some others), the timeline is longer: HMRC must first process the return and confirm the position to HMCTS via the IHT421 before the grant can be issued. Will disputes, foreign assets, missing documents and trust complications stretch the process further. A 12-week working assumption is usually realistic; update the agent and the buyer as the application firms up.
Looking After an Empty Flat
Most probate sales involve an empty flat. The practical and financial consequences catch executors out routinely: the managing agent needs to be told (with knock-on effects for buildings insurance), council tax exposure rises sharply if the sale runs past six months from the grant, and several smaller administrative tasks need attention while the flat sits empty.
First, find out who manages the building
Many executors do not know the building's management arrangements. The deceased may have lived there for decades, the freeholder may have changed hands, and the managing agent's contact details may not be in any obvious place. Start with the most recent service charge demand or ground rent demand among the deceased's papers; both will name the managing agent and usually the freeholder. If those are not to hand, the leasehold title register and the freehold title register can be ordered online from HM Land Registry for £7 each, and the freeholder's contact details should be on the freehold register.
Where the freeholder genuinely cannot be found, the sale becomes more complicated. A separate guide on this site covers selling a leasehold flat with a missing freeholder in detail. This is rare but real, particularly for older converted houses where the freehold has fallen out of active management.
Tell the managing agent (or freeholder)
A leasehold flat is administered by a managing agent, or by the freeholder directly in smaller buildings. Notifying them of the death is one of the first practical steps. Service charge and ground rent demands will have been going to the deceased and now need to come to the executors. The managing agent also needs to know the flat is unoccupied so the block buildings insurance position can be confirmed (covered next), and so that any communal correspondence (Section 20 major works notices, AGM papers, lift or service outage updates) reaches someone who can act on it. A short letter or email confirming the date of death, the executors' contact details and a copy of the death certificate is usually enough to update the records.
Buildings insurance and the block policy
For a leasehold flat, the building (structure, roof, communal areas) is insured under a single block policy taken out by the freeholder or managing agent, with the cost recouped through the service charge. Executors do not need to arrange separate buildings cover. What they do need to check is whether the block policy continues to cover the flat while it sits unoccupied. Most block policies have unoccupancy clauses that reduce or exclude cover for individual flats empty for more than 30 to 90 days, with escape of water, malicious damage and theft the most commonly affected risks. Some insurers continue full cover once notified; others require the executors to take out additional unoccupied-flat cover alongside the block policy. Ask the managing agent in writing what the block policy says about unoccupied flats, what they need from the executors, and request a copy of the policy or the relevant extract for the estate's records.
Contents cover
Contents are not part of the block buildings policy. The deceased's home contents insurer will typically lapse cover after 30 to 60 days unoccupied. If valuable items remain in the flat (or even just the white goods and furniture that may be sold with it), specialist empty-property contents cover is worth taking. If the flat will be cleared promptly and there is little of value left inside, the question is less pressing.
Council tax
While probate is being applied for and granted, the property is exempt from council tax under Class F (the deceased's estate exemption). After the grant is issued, the exemption continues for a further 6 months as long as the property remains empty, unsold and ownership has not transferred. After that period ends, full council tax becomes payable, and most local authorities apply an empty property premium: typically an additional 100 per cent (so double the normal bill), rising further for properties empty for more than 1, 5 or 10 years. The premium varies by council, so check with the local authority early.
This is a real financial consideration. A sale that drags past the 6-month post-grant exemption can produce a council tax bill running into thousands of pounds, eating directly into the estate.
Securing the flat
Review standing orders and direct debits. Service charge and ground rent payments to the managing agent should continue from the estate's funds; standing orders the deceased no longer needs (subscriptions, charity donations, magazine deliveries) can be cancelled. Redirect post (Royal Mail's redirection service runs from £36 for 3 months at the time of writing). Set lights on a timer if the area is one where empty properties are visible from the street. Check the locks and account for any spare keys held by family, cleaners or neighbours.
Final meter readings and utilities
Take meter readings at the date of death for the estate's records, and again at completion for the buyer. Most utility companies will hold an account in the deceased's name pending the sale, although some require closing the account and reopening it in the executors' name. Keep written records: utility disputes are a common cause of small but distracting late-stage friction.
Conveyancing and Completion as an Executor
When it comes time to exchange and complete, the conveyancing runs the same as any leasehold sale, with several differences: who signs, the grant being a hard precondition, plus several leasehold mechanics around notices, apportionment and pending major works that often catch executors out.
The contract is signed by the executors
The executors are the legal sellers. All named executors must sign the contract on exchange and the TR1 on completion. If one executor lives abroad, signing arrangements need to be made early (signed and witnessed copies couriered, or a power of attorney executed in advance). The buyer's solicitor will check the original or a certified copy of the grant, and will verify the executors' identities under the same anti-money-laundering checks any solicitor runs.
Completion is conditional on the grant
Until the grant is in your hands, exchange is not possible. If a buyer is in a hurry, the solicitor can prepare everything in advance so that exchange and completion happen within days of the grant arriving. The grant remains the binding constraint, however.
Notices to the freeholder under the lease
Most modern leases require formal written notices to the freeholder (or their managing agent) when the lease changes hands. Three are common:
- Notice of Transmission (sometimes called Notice of Death of Leaseholder), served by the executors after the grant is issued, confirming that legal title has passed to them. The lease usually specifies a deadline of 28 days or 1 month.
- Notice of Transfer on completion, when the flat is assigned to the buyer.
- Notice of Charge on completion, if the buyer has a mortgage, identifying the new lender.
Each notice typically attracts a fee of £50 to £300 plus VAT, set by the lease or by the freeholder under a "reasonable charge" clause. Some freeholders combine the fees, others charge separately. The buyer's solicitor handles the Transfer and Charge notices at completion; the Notice of Transmission is the executors' responsibility, although in practice it is often served alongside the others if not done sooner. Budget for these as part of the estate's selling costs and ask the managing agent for the freeholder's notice-fee schedule when you first contact them.
Pending major works (Section 20 notices)
If the freeholder has notified any qualifying major works under Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the cost will fall on the leaseholders by service charge. The position at completion depends on when each tranche of works is invoiced: works invoiced before completion are usually the seller's responsibility, works invoiced after are usually the buyer's. The lease and the actual notice wording determine where the cut-off falls, and the buyer's solicitor will negotiate this if the dates are close.
Executors often do not know what is in the pipeline. The management pack will list any pending Section 20 notices, but if you suspect a major works programme is coming (a new roof, lift replacement, external decoration cycle), ask the managing agent in writing before going to market. A £15,000 contribution heading the flat's way will affect what a buyer offers; trying to hide it will surface in conveyancing and kill the sale. Honest disclosure with the figures, where known, is the better path.
Service charge apportionment and the reserve fund
Two leasehold-specific completion mechanics catch executors out.
First, on completion the service charge and ground rent are apportioned between seller and buyer based on the dates: any service charge the deceased had paid for the period after completion is credited back to the estate, and any unpaid amount up to completion is deducted from the proceeds. The buyer's solicitor will draft the apportionment statement; check it against the management pack figures.
Second, contributions the deceased made over the years to a reserve or sinking fund stay with the flat. They do not refund to the executors. People often hear that "the deceased paid £8,000 into the reserve fund" and expect that money back; it does not work that way. The reserve fund belongs to the building, not the leaseholder, and it transfers with the flat to the buyer.
If the building's service charge year-end accounts have not yet been issued at the time of completion, the buyer's solicitor will often ask for a small retention (typically 5 to 10 per cent of the annual service charge) held by one of the solicitors until the accounts are finalised, in case there is a balancing demand. The retention is reasonable and standard, and is released to the estate once the accounts confirm no further amount is owed.
Share of freehold or RMC membership
If the building is a share of freehold (the leaseholders collectively own the freehold company) or has a Resident Management Company or Right to Manage company, the deceased held a share or membership alongside the lease. These transfer separately:
- A stock transfer form is signed by the executors, transferring the share to the buyer.
- The company's directors (or company secretary) approve the transfer and update the register of members.
- If the deceased was a director of the company, the executors arrange for the resignation to be filed at Companies House.
The buyer's solicitor will require the share transfer to be dealt with by completion. There is sometimes a small fee charged by the company for the transfer paperwork (typically £25 to £75 plus VAT, occasionally more for larger companies).
Can my probate solicitor also do the conveyancing?
This is a question we are asked often. The short answer is: it depends on whether the firm has both specialisms in-house.
Probate and conveyancing are different bodies of law and different bodies of work. A probate solicitor handles the will, the grant application, IHT, and the distribution of the estate. A conveyancer handles the property sale: lease enquiries, the management pack, building safety, the contract, exchange and completion. Within a larger firm, both departments commonly exist side by side, and using the same firm for both is straightforward and often efficient. The probate team handles the estate, the property team handles the sale, and the two teams talk to each other about the timing of the grant.
The trap to avoid is a solicitor who is a probate specialist but takes on the leasehold conveyancing as a sideline. Leasehold conveyancing is its own discipline: dozens of specific enquiries on the lease, the freeholder, the management pack, EWS1 status, building safety. A probate-led solicitor doing the conveyancing infrequently can take longer, miss issues, or struggle with leasehold-specific items in a way that delays the sale. Three questions to ask before instructing a single firm for both:
- How many leasehold flat sales does the property team complete in a typical month?
- Will the firm's property department handle the sale, or will my probate solicitor handle it personally?
- Who specifically will be the named conveyancer on the file?
If the answers are clear and the property department is genuinely active in leasehold work, one firm for both is efficient. If the answers are vague, or it becomes clear the probate solicitor will handle the conveyancing themselves without leasehold experience, separate the work: keep the probate solicitor for the estate side, and instruct a leasehold-experienced conveyancer for the sale.
Choosing Your Sale Route
Three main routes are open to executors: open market through an estate agent, traditional unconditional auction, or direct sale to a specialist cash buyer. Each has a place. The right answer depends on the flat, the timetable, and the executors' priorities.
Open market
Highest gross sale price in most cases, especially for flats in good condition with clean leases. The cost is time and uncertainty: viewings, marketing run-up, longer timeline, fall-through risk. For executors managing the sale from a distance, or with limited capacity to handle viewings and the back-and-forth, this is the heaviest of the three routes. Agent fees are typically 1 to 1.5 per cent plus VAT on sole agency.
Traditional unconditional auction
An unconditional auction (where the contract exchanges at the fall of the hammer with completion fixed at 28 days) suits flats in poor condition, with short leases, with structural issues, or where speed and certainty matter more than top price. Buyers know what they are committing to; sellers know exactly when the money lands. Auction works particularly well where the estate has limited time or appetite for an extended marketing campaign, or where the flat would struggle on the open market.
The Modern Method of Auction (MMoA), also called conditional auction, is structurally different and we recommend approaching it with caution. Despite the name, an MMoA sale is not legally binding on the fall of the hammer: the buyer pays a non-refundable reservation fee, but exchange happens later (typically within 28 to 56 days), with conditions attached. The certainty advantage of an unconditional auction does not hold in the same way, so weigh carefully whether the route fits the estate's situation.
Direct sale to a cash buyer
A direct sale to a specialist cash buyer is the fastest and most certain route. Offers in days, completion typically within 4 to 8 weeks (or aligned with the grant if it is still pending), no viewings, no chain. The price is below open-market value (commonly 75 to 85 per cent of the open-market figure) in exchange for speed and certainty. For executors, this route also works as a benchmark: even if you take the open-market route, the cash offer figure tells you the floor below which you would not accept an open-market negotiation.
How to choose
There is no single best route. For a 2-bedroom flat in good order, with a long lease and a cooperative managing agent, the open market usually nets the most. For a short-lease flat or one in poor condition, the auction or cash buyer routes can net more after factoring in agent fees, refurbishment costs, and the holding cost of an empty flat over many months. For executors based abroad or unable to handle viewings, the cash buyer route trades price for ease. Get figures from all three routes, compare honestly, and decide as a group of executors.
A Note on Legislation in Motion
Two legislative threads worth knowing if your sale runs into 2026 or beyond.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LAFRA) abolished the two-year qualifying period for statutory lease extension on 31 January 2025. Before this, a leaseholder had to own the lease for two years before being able to make a statutory extension claim, which meant probate flats relied on the personal representatives extending under the deceased's qualifying period (a route with its own time limit). That rule is gone: anyone now qualifies from day one. For probate flats with short leases (below 80 years remaining), this matters: the executors, or a beneficiary who inherits the flat, can extend immediately rather than wait. Whether to extend before sale or sell the lease as-is is the same calculation as for any short-lease flat, but the timing constraint is no longer in the way.
LAFRA also contains pending provisions to abolish marriage value (the additional cost on extensions where the lease is below 80 years) and to increase the standard extension term from 90 to 990 years. These provisions are not yet in force; a judicial review heard in July 2025 has held them back, and the government has indicated commencement during 2026 but the timetable is not confirmed. For a short-lease probate flat where extension is being considered, take current legal advice before serving any notice: the sums may move significantly if and when the pending provisions commence.
Inheritance tax thresholds are frozen until 5 April 2030 under current Treasury policy: the £325,000 nil-rate band and the £175,000 residence nil-rate band have not changed since 2009 and 2017 respectively. Estates that were below the threshold a decade ago routinely cross it now as house prices have risen against a frozen band. The practical effect is that more probate sales involve IHT calculations than was the case 10 years ago; budget for advice if the estate is anywhere near the threshold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The flat can be listed, viewings can take place, an offer can be accepted, a solicitor can be instructed, the management pack can be ordered, and the buyer's solicitor can run searches and raise enquiries. What cannot happen until the grant is in your hands is exchange of contracts and completion: the executors do not have authority to commit the estate to sell until the grant is issued. Most estate agents will market a probate flat on a "subject to probate" basis. The pre-grant work is exactly what saves weeks at the back end.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service targets 16 weeks for online probate applications without complications, although in practice 8 to 14 weeks is more typical for straightforward estates. Where an IHT400 form is required (taxable estates and some others), HMRC must first process the return and confirm the position to HMCTS via the IHT421 before the grant can be issued, and that adds time. Will disputes, foreign assets, missing documents or trust complications extend the process further. A 12-week working assumption is usually realistic; update the buyer as the application firms up.
It depends on the value of the estate and the inheritance tax position. For estates well below the nil-rate band, two or three estate agent appraisals are usually enough for HMRC purposes. For estates that are taxable, on the threshold, or where executors expect HMRC to scrutinise the figure, a RICS Red Book valuation (typically £400 to £900 plus VAT for a flat) is the authoritative number and the document that resolves any later challenge. For higher-value estates, a Red Book valuation is effectively standard.
All named executors must sign the contract on exchange and the transfer document on completion. The sale cannot proceed without unanimous agreement on the route, the asking price and the offer accepted. Where executors disagree, mediation through the probate solicitor often resolves the deadlock; in genuinely intractable cases, an executor can apply to court to be removed or to have probate granted to the others alone. Take legal advice early if a disagreement looks likely, and consider agreeing the headline decisions in writing at the start to head off friction later.
The estate pays. In practice, IHT must be paid (in part or in full) before the grant of probate is issued, which creates a timing problem since the flat cannot be sold until after the grant. HMRC's Direct Payment Scheme (form IHT423) lets banks pay IHT directly from the deceased's accounts on the executors' instruction. The instalment option lets executors pay IHT on the property in 10 annual instalments rather than upfront, with interest, until the flat sells and the balance can be cleared from the proceeds.
The mortgage is a debt of the estate. It is repaid out of the sale proceeds at completion, with the lender's redemption statement obtained by the executors' solicitor in the usual way. If the mortgage payments fall due before completion, the executors should keep them up to date from the estate's funds, or arrange a payment holiday with the lender, to avoid the property being repossessed. Mortgage life insurance, if the deceased had it, may settle the loan separately. Notify the lender of the death promptly so they can flag the account.
Yes if the firm has a property department alongside the probate team. Probate and conveyancing are different specialisms, and a larger firm where both teams sit side by side handles the two strands together efficiently. The trap to avoid is a probate solicitor who takes on the leasehold conveyancing as a sideline. Leasehold sales involve specific enquiries the probate team will not see often, and a probate-led conveyance can take longer or miss issues. Ask how many leasehold flat sales the property department completes in a typical month, and who specifically will handle the file. If the answers are vague, instruct a leasehold-experienced conveyancer separately for the sale.
Insurance for a leasehold flat splits in two. The building itself (structure, roof, communal areas) is covered by the freeholder's block policy, paid through the service charge. The executors do not arrange this, but they should ask the managing agent whether the block policy continues to cover the flat while it sits unoccupied: most policies reduce or exclude cover after 30 to 90 days unless the insurer is notified, and some require additional unoccupied-flat cover alongside the block policy. Contents (the deceased's belongings inside the flat) are separate; the existing contents policy will typically lapse on a similar 30 to 60 day basis, so specialist empty-property contents cover may be needed if valuable items remain.
For a straightforward estate with a leasehold flat in good order, 4 to 6 months is realistic: 8 to 14 weeks for the grant of probate plus 8 to 14 weeks for the sale, running in parallel where possible. Complex estates, taxable estates needing IHT400, short-lease flats, building safety issues or chains can push the total to 9 to 12 months or more. Cash buyers can typically align completion with the grant arriving, removing the conveyancing tail and bringing the total closer to 4 months even where the estate itself is not simple.
The estate is administered under the intestacy rules. The closest relative entitled (usually the surviving spouse or civil partner, then children, then other relatives in a defined order) applies for letters of administration rather than a grant of probate. The two documents do similar things; the person granted authority is called an administrator rather than an executor, but the practical sale process is the same. Intestacy can complicate distribution where there are competing claims between potential beneficiaries, so take legal advice early in the process.