Death of a tenant

Ending a tenancy when someone has died

In the difficult days after a loved one has died, we hope the following information gives you all the information you need related to their tenancy.

The first thing you’ll need to do if they lived alone is end their tenancy on their behalf – this will prevent arrears building up against their estate. If there are family member’s resident, it may be possible for them to succeed the tenancy. Check eligibility to succeed the tenancy.

Give Notice

You’ll need to write to us to let us know that you’d like to report the death of a tenant or complete the online form at the bottom of this page.

We need four weeks’ notice, so the tenancy will end four weeks from the first Monday after we receive these details. This will give you time to clear and clean the property before you hand back the keys.

Make sure the rent is up to date

We’ll keep charging the weekly rent during the four week notice period. Any arrears or money owed will need to be cleared before the tenancy ends. If any charges remain outstanding, they’ll be charged to the estate.

Returning the keys

Please make sure you lock all the doors and windows when you leave the property. We’ll fit a key safe before you move and let you know the code so that you can make sure the front door and communal keys are left in the key safe by 12.00 noon on the Monday after the tenancy ends. Please also bear in mind that we’ll have to continue to charge rent to the estate until these items are returned. There may also be additional charges if the keys aren’t returned.

Carelink and Aids and Adaptations

If there’s a Carelink in the property, please contact Carelink on 0161 253 6222 to let them know that the tenancy is ending and arrange to send the equipment back to them.

To find out if any equipment fitted in the property has been supplied by Adult Care Services, please contact them online or 0161 253 6858. They will arrange for this equipment to be removed.

Gas and Electric

Please leave the gas and electric cards or keys in the meters as they won’t work anywhere else. You should also make sure you don’t leave any money owed on the meters.

Who to else you might need to contact

Council Tax and Housing Benefit at Bury Council
DWP
Adult Services
Utility companies
Personal or Occupational pension scheme providers
Insurance companies
Banks and building societies
Employer
GP, dentist, optician and anyone else providing medical care
any charities, organisations or magazine subscriptions the deceased person made regular payments to.

You can register the name and address of the person who's died with the Bereavement Register. This removes their details from mailing lists and stops most advertising mail. You can either register over the phone by calling 0800 082 1230 (the 24-hour automated registration line) or online on their website.