Situation Guide
Selling a Flat After the Death of a Partner or Co-Owner
When one joint owner of a flat dies, the survivor faces a mix of decisions: legal, financial and personal. This guide covers what changes automatically (the right of survivorship), what needs to be done with HM Land Registry, the freeholder and the lender, the tax position and the route options when you are ready to sell.
What Happens with the Flat
Few things take a person by surprise quite like the practical paperwork that follows a death. Among the things to deal with is the flat itself: how the title changes, what happens to the mortgage and the lease, when the decision to sell needs to be made and how the tax position works for the survivor.
For joint tenants (the most common form of co-ownership for spouses and civil partners), most of the legal work is automatic. The right of survivorship transfers the flat to the surviving co-owner by operation of law, with no probate needed for the flat itself. The paperwork to record the change at HM Land Registry is short, free and handled by post or online. For tenants in common (separate shares passing by will), the position is different and probate is usually required for the deceased's share.
This guide covers both, with the leasehold-specific bits flagged throughout: the lease keeps running, service charge and ground rent continue and the freeholder needs to be notified at some point. The framing is practical: what changes automatically, what needs your attention and the choices available when (and only when) you are ready to sell.
Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common
The first question to answer is which form of co-ownership applied to the flat. The label sounds technical but the practical difference is significant.
Joint tenants
Joint tenants own the whole flat together; neither has a defined share. When one joint tenant dies, the right of survivorship operates and the surviving joint tenant becomes the sole legal and beneficial owner automatically. The flat does not pass through the deceased's will: the survivorship rule overrides any will provision for the property. Most married couples and civil partners hold their home as joint tenants by default.
Tenants in common
Tenants in common each own a defined share of the flat (often 50/50, sometimes unequal). When a tenant in common dies, their share passes under their will (or by intestacy if there is no will). The surviving co-owner does not automatically inherit. Probate is needed to deal with the deceased's share. Unmarried co-owners often choose tenancy in common, as do couples in second marriages who want to pass their share to children from a previous relationship.
How to check which one applies
The title register from HM Land Registry confirms it. If the register shows a "Form A restriction" against the property, the flat is held as tenants in common. No restriction usually means joint tenancy. You can download the register for £7 from the Land Registry online portal.
The rest of this guide focuses on joint tenancy with survivorship, which is the most common case for spouses and civil partners. Tenants-in-common arrangements need a probate-based process for the deceased's share; the practical sale mechanics after probate has been granted are similar, but the timing is slower and a solicitor's involvement is needed from the start.
The Right of Survivorship
The right of survivorship is a rule of English and Welsh property law (different mechanisms apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland). For joint tenants, the moment one tenant dies, ownership of the property vests in the survivor by operation of law. There is no need to apply for probate, prove the will or pay any fee to transfer the property.
Three things to know about it:
- It overrides the will. If the deceased's will leaves their share of the flat to someone else, that bequest fails. The survivor still inherits the whole flat. This catches some families by surprise and is one reason why arranging ownership type carefully at purchase matters.
- It does not avoid Inheritance Tax. For IHT purposes the deceased's share of the flat is still part of their estate. Where the survivor is a spouse or civil partner, the spouse exemption normally covers it. Where the survivor is not a spouse (a sibling, friend or unmarried partner), IHT can be due on the deceased's estate (which includes their share of the flat) if the estate exceeds the nil-rate band.
- It only applies to the property. Survivorship does not extend to bank accounts, savings or other assets unless those are held in joint names with a "joint and several" rule. Probate may still be needed for those parts of the estate.
Survivorship is mechanically painless. The surviving owner does not have to do anything immediately for the property side of the inheritance to take effect. The Land Registry record can be updated when convenient, the lease and mortgage continue and the survivor can stay in the flat for as long as they want.
Updating HM Land Registry: the DJP Form
Although survivorship is automatic, the public register at HM Land Registry still shows both joint tenants as proprietors until it is told otherwise. Removing the deceased's name from the register is done via form DJP (Deceased Joint Proprietor).
What the form does
Form DJP, sent to HM Land Registry along with a certified copy of the death certificate, removes the deceased's name from the title register. After processing, the survivor is shown as the sole registered proprietor. There is no Land Registry fee for this form, and no solicitor is required (though many people use one anyway for the wider estate work).
Timing
There is no deadline to file the DJP. The survivor can do it the week after the death or two years later; survivorship has already taken effect either way. The practical reason to do it sooner rather than later is that the title register needs to show the survivor as sole proprietor before any future sale can complete, and it takes HM Land Registry a few weeks (and sometimes longer) to process. If a sale is expected in the next 12 months, file the DJP early.
What you need
A certified copy of the death certificate (a copy stamped by the issuing registrar or another official authority), the completed DJP form (downloadable from gov.uk) and the title number for the flat. The form is short and self-explanatory. Submit by post to the Land Registry address shown on the form, or electronically via the gov.uk Land Registry portal.
Mortgage on the title
If the mortgage was in joint names and the deceased's name is still on the lender's charge entry, the lender needs to be notified. Most lenders update their own records on receipt of a death certificate and a short letter from the survivor; the charge stays in place against the property until the loan is repaid (typically on sale).
The Mortgage, Bank and Direct Debits
The financial admin around the flat continues whether or not the title has been updated. Several things are worth dealing with in the first weeks.
The mortgage
If the mortgage was in joint names, the survivor becomes solely liable for the remaining balance under the right of survivorship. The lender does not unilaterally take the deceased's name off; the survivor writes to them with a death certificate and asks them to update the records. Most joint mortgages have decreasing or level term life insurance that pays out on death and clears or reduces the mortgage; check the original mortgage paperwork or contact the lender to confirm. Where the survivor's sole income may not support the mortgage on its own, the lender will work with them: forbearance options under FCA rules include payment holidays, term extensions and switches to interest-only.
The bank account that pays the bills
Most couples set up direct debits for service charge, ground rent, council tax and utilities from a joint account. The bank will usually freeze the joint account on notification of the death until the survivor confirms what to do with it (in most cases, transfer the balance and ongoing payments to a sole account in the survivor's name). Get a list of every direct debit and standing order coming off the joint account, contact each provider and arrange a smooth handover. Tell Us Once (gov.uk) notifies many government services in one go but does not cover private providers.
Insurance
Buildings insurance is typically covered by the freeholder for a leasehold flat (paid via service charge), but contents insurance and any extended cover the leaseholder maintains will need updating with the insurer. Mention the bereavement and confirm the named insured on the policy.
The Lease and the Freeholder
For a leasehold flat, the lease keeps running and the freeholder keeps invoicing regardless of any change in the underlying ownership. Three practical things to manage.
Notifying the freeholder
Most leases require the leaseholder to notify the freeholder of any change in registered proprietor, including a death. Some freeholders charge a small administration fee for processing the notification (typically £30 to £100); some do not. A short letter from the survivor with a copy of the death certificate is usually all that is needed. Doing this early avoids a late-discovered breach during a future sale.
Service charge and ground rent continue
Service charge, ground rent and major works contributions remain due. Where they were paid from a joint account that has been frozen, set up a new payment route promptly to avoid arrears. Significant arrears can hold up the LPE1 management pack (the leasehold information pack a buyer's solicitor requests, also known as Leasehold Property Enquiries) if a future sale is in prospect.
Where the flat will be empty for a period
If the survivor will not be living in the flat (for example because they will move in with family or sell), several things matter: the buildings insurance vacancy rules (usually a 30 to 90 day limit on standard cover), the heating during winter, mail collection and the security of the property. The empty flat maintenance guide covers the practical detail.
Tax: the Survivor's Position
Tax rarely drives a survivor's decisions about the flat, but the position is worth knowing before any future sale.
Inheritance Tax
The deceased's share of the flat forms part of their estate for IHT purposes. Where the survivor is a spouse or civil partner, the spouse exemption normally covers the transfer in full (no IHT on the share). Where the survivor is not a spouse (a sibling or unmarried partner, for example), the deceased's share counts towards their estate and IHT can be due above the nil-rate band (currently £325,000 plus the residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 where the home passes to direct descendants, but the residence band does not apply to a non-direct-descendant survivor).
Capital Gains Tax
When the survivor eventually sells the flat, CGT applies to any gain since acquisition. For a joint tenant inheriting by survivorship, the inherited share is treated as acquired at its market value at the date of death (an "uplift" in base cost). The survivor's own share retains its original cost base. In practice this means the gain on the inherited half is measured from the date of death, not the original purchase.
Where the flat has been the survivor's main home throughout, Principal Private Residence Relief (PPR) usually covers any gain on sale, so no CGT is due. For spouse and civil partner survivors, the deceased's period of occupation can be inherited for PPR purposes, which helps in the relatively rare cases where the flat was not always the main home.
The 60-day reporting rule
For a future sale where CGT is due, UK-resident sellers must report and pay the tax within 60 days of completion via HMRC's CGT on UK property online account. Where PPR covers the gain in full, no report is required (for residents). Most survivor sales fall in the PPR category and have no reporting obligation.
When You Are Ready to Sell: Route Options
There is no rush. The survivor can stay in the flat for as long as they want, sell after a few months or wait several years. Most surviving spouses take six to twelve months before deciding, which is sensible. When the decision to sell is made, the three usual routes apply.
Open market via estate agent
Typical time from offer to completion is 8 to 14 weeks for a leasehold flat, plus four to eight weeks of marketing before an offer is normally agreed. Highest potential price, widest buyer pool. Works well where there is no time pressure and the flat is in good condition.
Pros: best price, widest buyer pool, viewings can be handled by the agent.
Cons: slowest route, multiple decision points, chain risk and fall-through risk apply as usual.
Auction
Typical time is 6 to 10 weeks end to end. The fall of the hammer at an unconditional auction creates a legally binding sale, with completion typically 28 days later. Useful where the flat is difficult to sell on the open market (short lease, EWS1 concerns, dated condition) and the survivor wants a fixed completion date.
Pros: binding sale on a known date; investor-led buyer pool comfortable with leasehold complications.
Cons: achieved prices typically 10 to 25 percent below open-market value, no guarantee of reaching reserve, fees apply whether or not the lot sells.
Specialist cash buyer
Typical time from offer to completion is 3 to 6 weeks for a leasehold flat, depending on how quickly the management pack issues. No chain, no buyer mortgage condition. Particularly suited to a survivor who wants a clean break and a known completion date, often where the flat holds difficult memories or where the survivor is moving in with family.
Pros: fastest route, certain completion, no chain, completion date can be set to suit the survivor.
Cons: price is below open-market value (typically 15 to 25 percent below for a standard flat; less of a gap for short-lease or otherwise difficult flats).
The choice is personal: each route fits different priorities. For most survivor sales there is no objectively wrong answer, only the answer that fits the survivor's preferences for price, time and emotional energy. See selling to a cash buyer and selling a flat at auction for the full picture.
Practical First Steps
The first few weeks have a small number of things that genuinely need doing for the flat side. Most of the rest can wait until the survivor is ready.
- Use Tell Us Once. The gov.uk Tell Us Once service notifies multiple government departments (HMRC, DWP, council, DVLA, passport office and others) at once when registering the death. It saves time and avoids overlooked notifications.
- Confirm the ownership type. Download the title register from gov.uk (£7) and check for a Form A restriction. No restriction usually means joint tenancy; restriction means tenants in common.
- Order a few extra certified copies of the death certificate. Most institutions (lender, freeholder, insurers, banks) want a certified copy. Ordering 5 or 6 from the register office at the start avoids reordering later.
- Notify the lender and the freeholder. A short letter with a death certificate copy to each. The lender will update its records; the freeholder will update its proprietor list and may charge a small fee.
- Sort the joint account direct debits. List everything coming off the joint account and arrange to move it. The bank will guide you through the process when you notify them.
- File the DJP form when you have a moment. No deadline, but file it within the first few months unless a sale is years away. Free, by post or online to HM Land Registry.
- Take advice if the position is unusual. Tenants in common, no will, complex estate or an unmarried co-owner: a probate solicitor can help. Where the survivor is a non-spouse (an unmarried partner or sibling), the IHT position needs a careful look.
- Decide about the flat when you are ready. Most survivors find it useful to wait six months or more before deciding. There is rarely a financial reason to hurry.
Further Reading
Two related guides cover the practical issues this page touches on: keeping the flat in good order while you decide what to do, and the fastest route to a known completion when you are ready to sell.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually not, where you owned the flat as joint tenants (the most common arrangement for spouses and civil partners). The right of survivorship transfers the flat to you automatically on your partner's death, and no probate is needed for the property itself. You file the DJP form with HM Land Registry (free, no solicitor required) to remove the deceased's name from the title. Where you owned as tenants in common, the position is different: the deceased's share passes by will (or by intestacy) and probate is normally needed for that share before a sale can complete. Probate may also still be needed for other assets in the estate even where the flat itself is exempt.
It is a rule of English property law that says, for joint tenants, ownership passes automatically to the surviving co-owner(s) when one joint tenant dies. The transfer happens by operation of law at the moment of death; no will provision, probate or paperwork is required for it to take effect. The Land Registry record needs to be updated separately (via form DJP), but the legal position is unchanged from the moment of death. Survivorship overrides any will: even if the deceased left their share to someone else, that bequest fails and the survivor inherits the whole.
Joint tenants own the whole flat together with no defined shares; the right of survivorship applies. Tenants in common each own a defined share (often 50/50, sometimes unequal); their share passes by will or intestacy when they die, not by survivorship. Most spouses and civil partners hold their home as joint tenants by default. Unmarried co-owners, second marriages and family co-ownership arrangements often use tenancy in common to keep separate inheritance lines. The title register from HM Land Registry shows which applies: a Form A restriction means tenants in common; no restriction usually means joint tenancy.
Form DJP (Deceased Joint Proprietor), available from gov.uk, plus a certified copy of the death certificate, sent to HM Land Registry. There is no fee. You do not need a solicitor; the form is short and the Land Registry helpline can guide you through any uncertainty. Processing typically takes a few weeks. Once complete, the title register shows you as the sole proprietor. There is no deadline to file the form, but doing it in the first few months avoids delays when you eventually come to sell.
If the mortgage was in joint names, the survivor becomes solely liable. Notify the lender with a copy of the death certificate; they will update their records. Many joint mortgages have life insurance attached (decreasing or level term) that pays out on death and clears or reduces the loan. Check the original mortgage paperwork or call the lender to confirm. Where the survivor's sole income cannot support the mortgage, the lender will work with them under FCA forbearance rules: payment holidays, term extensions, switch to interest-only or transfer to a smaller property. The charge on the title is unchanged by the death; it remains until the loan is repaid.
Usually not, where the flat has been your main home throughout. Principal Private Residence Relief (PPR) normally covers any gain on sale. For an inherited half of a jointly owned flat, the base cost is "uplifted" to the market value at the date of death, which usually reduces or eliminates the taxable gain on that half. The survivor also inherits the deceased's period of occupation for PPR purposes. Where the flat was not the survivor's main home throughout (for example because it was let at some point, or the survivor moved elsewhere), an accountant's review is worth the modest cost.
The lease, and the obligation to pay service charge and ground rent, continues without interruption. Most direct debits come from a joint bank account; on notification of the death the bank usually freezes the joint account until the survivor confirms arrangements. The practical risk is missed payments while the account changes hands. Notify the bank early, get the joint account converted to a sole account or its balance transferred and check every direct debit has a working payment route. Significant arrears can hold up the LPE1 management pack on a future sale, so it is worth taking care of promptly.
There is rarely a financial reason to hurry. Most survivors take six to twelve months before deciding, which is sensible: practical and emotional decisions are easier with some distance. The flat does not have to be sold to clear inheritance affairs (survivorship sees to that); there is no clock running on the title; and the survivor can stay in the flat for as long as they want. The exceptions are where the survivor cannot afford the mortgage on their own (where lender forbearance or downsizing helps) or where the flat is going to be empty and unmaintained for an extended period. For most other situations, waiting is a valid choice.
Yes. A specialist cash buyer typically completes in 3 to 6 weeks for a leasehold flat with the LPE1 management pack from the managing agent being the limiting factor. The completion date can be set to suit the survivor (often aligned with a move to family, downsizing or a new home). The trade-off is a price below open-market value, typically 15 to 25 percent below for a standard flat; less of a gap for short-lease or otherwise difficult flats. For survivors whose priority is a clean break and a known completion date rather than maximum price, a cash sale often fits well. For survivors who can afford to wait and want best price, the open market remains the higher-value route.
The position is different from joint tenancy. The deceased's share passes under their will, or under intestacy if there is no will, not automatically to the surviving co-owner. Probate is normally needed for the deceased's share before the flat can be sold (typically 6 to 12 months from death to grant of probate). Where the will leaves the deceased's share to the surviving co-owner, the practical outcome may end up similar to joint tenancy, just slower. Where the will leaves the share to someone else (children from a previous marriage, for example), the surviving co-owner is now jointly selling with a different co-owner. A probate solicitor's involvement from the start is usually sensible.