Do I need probate to sell a house after someone dies?
If the house was in the deceased's sole name, or held as tenants in common, yes: you can put it on the market now, but the sale cannot complete until the grant is issued. If it was held as joint tenants, no.
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The short answer
- Sole name: a grant is needed. The personal representative sells as seller, and the buyer's solicitor will not exchange contracts until the grant exists.
- You can market the property and accept an offer before the grant. Most executors do. Tell the agent and the buyer that completion depends on probate.
- Joint tenants: no grant. The survivor becomes sole owner and can sell after registering the death with the Land Registry on form DJP.
- Tenants in common: a grant is needed for the deceased's share.
- Transferring the house to a beneficiary rather than selling also needs the grant: the executor signs an assent (form AS1).
A house in the deceased's sole name
Land can only be transferred by its registered owner or someone with legal authority over their estate. After a death that means a personal representative holding a grant. The Land Registry will not register a transfer from the deceased's name without one, and any competent buyer's solicitor will refuse to exchange contracts until the seller can prove title.
What you can do before the grant is everything up to exchange: instruct an agent, obtain an energy performance certificate, market the property, take viewings, accept an offer and let the conveyancing start. A named executor has authority to do this from the date of death. An administrator (where there is no will) technically has none until the grant is issued, but agents will usually take instructions from the family on the understanding that the contract is signed later.
Be candid with buyers. A sale that is "subject to probate" is normal and most buyers accept it, but they need to know that completion may be two or three months away. With digital applications currently taking about five weeks, and the estate needing to be valued before you can apply, a realistic timeline from death to exchange is three to four months at best.
A house held jointly
If the deceased owned the home with someone else as joint tenants, it passed to the survivor at the moment of death. The survivor sends the Land Registry form DJP with a certified copy of the death certificate (no fee), becomes the sole registered proprietor, and can sell as any owner would. No grant.
If they owned as tenants in common, the deceased's share is part of the estate and a grant is needed to sell or transfer it. See tenants in common. The Land Registry title tells you which: a Form A restriction means tenants in common.
The sale, step by step
- Secure and insure the property. Standard home insurance often lapses or reduces cover once a property is unoccupied; tell the insurer and expect conditions (regular inspections, water turned off in winter).
- Get a date-of-death valuation. This is the figure that goes in the probate application and, if relevant, the inheritance tax account. Written valuations from two or three agents are usually enough; larger estates may need a surveyor.
- Apply for the grant as soon as the whole estate is valued.
- Market the property in parallel. Accept an offer; instruct a conveyancer; have the buyer's enquiries answered.
- Exchange and complete once the grant is issued. The conveyancer will need the original grant or an official copy (order extra copies with the application, £2 each).
- Deal with any capital gains tax. If the property sells for more than its probate value, the estate may owe CGT on the gain. Selling within the first year or two rarely produces a large gain, but the figures should be checked.
The empty house meanwhile
A property left empty because the owner has died is exempt from council tax until the grant is issued and for six months afterwards (Class F exemption). Tell the council; Tell Us Once does this if you registered the death with it. After six months the full charge, and in many areas an empty-homes premium, applies.
Utilities should be moved into the executor's name as an estate account, or capped off, and the meter readings taken at the date of death. Post should be redirected. Clearing the house before the sale is usually done after the grant, but it can be done sooner; keep a note of anything of value for the estate accounts.
Common questions
Can you put a house on the market before probate is granted?
Yes. You can instruct an agent, market the property, take viewings and accept an offer before the grant. What you cannot do is exchange contracts: the buyer's solicitor will require the grant first. Tell the agent and any buyer that the sale is subject to probate.
How long after probate can you sell a house?
Immediately. The grant is the document that lets the personal representative sign the contract. If the sale was already agreed and the conveyancing done in parallel, exchange and completion can follow within days of the grant arriving.
Do you need probate to sell a house if it was jointly owned?
Not if it was held as joint tenants: it passed to the surviving owner, who registers the death on form DJP and sells as sole owner. If it was held as tenants in common, the deceased's share is part of the estate and a grant is needed. Check the Land Registry title for a Form A restriction.
Do I need probate to sell my late mother's house?
If the house was in her sole name, yes: a grant is needed before the sale can complete. If she owned it jointly with someone still living as joint tenants, no. Most people selling a parent's home are in the first situation, because by the second parent's death the property is usually in one name.
Do I need probate to transfer a house to a beneficiary instead of selling it?
Yes, if the property was in the deceased's sole name or held as tenants in common. The personal representative transfers it by an assent (Land Registry form AS1), which the Land Registry will only register against a grant. A joint-tenant property passes to the survivor without a grant.
Who pays council tax on an empty house after a death?
Nobody, at first. A property left empty because the owner died is exempt from council tax (Class F) until the grant is issued and for six months after that. Once the exemption ends, the estate pays, and an empty-homes premium may apply.
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Important
Solace is not a firm of solicitors and does not provide legal, tax or financial advice. We are an estate administration service and we are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Financial Conduct Authority or any equivalent body. Nothing in this guide constitutes legal, tax or financial advice, and no solicitor–client relationship is created by reading it.
This article is general information only. It reflects the position in England and Wales at the date shown above; the law and the figures change, and Scotland and Northern Ireland differ in important respects. It may not apply to your circumstances. Whether a particular estate needs a grant is ultimately decided by the organisations holding the assets, and their limits change. Administering an estate carries personal legal responsibility, and you should obtain advice from a qualified solicitor, accountant or other regulated professional where appropriate. Always check current rates, fees and deadlines against GOV.UK before acting.