× Search rightsnet
Search options

Where

Benefit

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

From

to

Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Housing costs  →  Thread

Death of landlord

 < 1 2

ClairemHodgson
forum member

Solicitor, SC Law, Harrow

Send message

Total Posts: 1221

Joined: 13 April 2016

the person in the landlord role will be the PR’s for the estate.  it won’t “vest” until probate is taken out, but, nonetheless, there is a legal tenancy.

HB Anorak
forum member

Benefits consultant/trainer - hbanorak.co.uk, East London

Send message

Total Posts: 2895

Joined: 12 March 2013

The Council was clearly wrong to view this as an event that ends the HB award, and even more wrong to decide there has been an overpayment.  But what happens instead is more difficult.

The problem here is that the OP says HB was being paid direct to the landlord and assuming that’s how it’s going to stay the LA at this stage has not the first idea whom to pay.  The deceased’s bank account is probably no longer active so until someone steps forward with a credible claim to be the appropriate payee they are a bit stuck.  They could pay the claimant, but there might be good reasons not to.  Suspending HB in the meantime is safe enough.  That’s what they should have done.

The only other thing that occurred to me is that you do sometimes come across cases where the tenant will be an executor/administrator, or beneficiary, or both.  That then raises genuine questions about commerciality or even the existence of any realistic liability at all: “I will evict myself if I don’t pay myself rent, because I am starving the estate of the funds that I am going to inherit anyway” sort of thing.  OP - any reason to think that might be the case here?

Brian Fletcher
forum member

Welfare Rights, Wigan & Leigh Carers Centre, Wigan

Send message

Total Posts: 101

Joined: 1 April 2015

It is usual that the bank will prevent any withdrawals from the bank account of the deceased (apart from paying for the funeral), but that generally doesn’t prevent money being paid into the account, and particularly for reasons like this.

I can’t comment on whether the tenant is a beneficiary other than I wouldn’t bet on the possibility. This is mainly due the fact that people do tend to leave their estate to very very close relatives, and if the tenant is a very close relative, then there would have been a devil of a job to get HB in payment in the first place because of the presumption that there isn’t a valid contract between close relatives. I would think in those circumstances that the LA would be well aware of the relationship between LL and tenant

That apart, if the tenant is a beneficiary of the estate,  they have a vested interest in possession, they are already living there, and they would have a right to occupy under s.12 TOLATA 1996. - ergo no need to pay rent at all, and no need to complain about not having HB

 

 

Elliot Kent
forum member

Shelter

Send message

Total Posts: 3117

Joined: 14 July 2014

Surely paying into the deceased landlord’s account is only a safe option if the council is sure that (a) the landlord was not a joint tenant who has been survived and (b) if he wasn’t, that his interest has not already been conveyed onwards by the PR?

If either of these things has happened, there is going to be a lot of trouble both in persuading the new landlord that the rental liability has been met and in extracting the money already paid from the estate’s pockets. Safer to hold the money separately and wait to see who emerges as the owner.

You would be very cautious before advising a tenant to keep paying the deceased’s account in these circumstances (at least per this solicitor: http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2014/12/11/what-should-you-do-if-your-landlord-dies-intestate/) and I would have thought the same would apply to the council.

 

Brian Fletcher
forum member

Welfare Rights, Wigan & Leigh Carers Centre, Wigan

Send message

Total Posts: 101

Joined: 1 April 2015

I can see that situation Elliot.

In that event though, and in my opinion, the person entitled to receive the rent would have no claim against a tenant;

X rents A’s property and pays the rent directly into his bank account.
A dies, and B as a beneficial joint tenant takes the property under survivorship rules. C is gifted the contents of A’s bank account under the terms of A’s will. The PR empties the account and gives it to C, and B who is entitled to income from the property doesn’t get the rent that has been paid into A’s account by X subsequent to his death.

B has no claim against X who has paid the rent according to the tenancy agreement. B does have a claim against the PR who as the trustee failed to distribute the estate correctly, and C who is holding property belonging B