Selling or transferring a house

Alternatively, if a property was owned as joint tenants and there is a surviving joint owner, the Land Registry should be informed.

Selling the house

You may wish to place the deceased's house and other properties on the market, probably with the assistance of an estate agent. This may be done before the grant of representation has been received.

A grant is invariably required if the deceased owned property which is to be sold or transferred

Once the grant has been received, the property may be sold. We recommend instructing a solicitor or other professional conveyancer to assist with the conveyancing.

It is possible to sell a property before receiving the grant of representation, but for a variety of reasons this should never be attempted.

Transferring the house to a beneficiary

Perhaps the house is not going to be sold, but will instead be transferred to a beneficiary in accordance with a will or intestacy.

In this case, the legal title to the property must be transferred to the beneficiary. We recommend instructing a solicitor or other professional conveyancer to assist with the conveyancing.

Property with a surviving joint tenant

See our guide “Dealing with a house owned as joint tenants”.