Best guide to transfer ownership of a property after death in the UK

When a relative or friend dies, there may be a property that is part of the estate which has been left in the will to a beneficiary or needs to be sold The property’s ownership will need to be transferred to either the co-owner, usually a spouse or civil partner, if in both of their names, transferred to the new owner if being sold, or transferred to the beneficiary

Transferring ownership is changing the name of the owner on the property’sTitle Deeds. Different situations, such as whether there is a will or not, and whether the property is tenanted, require different documentation Here are the steps you need to take to transfer ownership of a property after death

When a joint owner dies

Whenajointownerofapropertydies,fillinformDJPtoremovetheirnamefromthe register.

SendthecompletedformtoHMLandRegistry,alongwithanofficialcopyofthedeath certificate.

When a sole owner dies

Whenthesoleownerofapropertyhasdied,thepropertyisnormallytransferredtoeither: thepersoninheritingtheproperty(knownas‘thebeneficiary’) athirdparty,forexamplesomeonebuyingtheproperty

Thereisnolawtosaythatyoumustremovethedeceased’snamefromthetitledeedsof inheritedproperty.However,itisrecommendedtokeeptheLandRegistryup-to-datewith anychangesofownershiptoensureanyfuturetransactionswiththatpropertyareaccurate; forexample,ifyouwantedtosellthepropertyatalaterdate,transferringownershiptothe buyerswillbeasimplerprocessfortheconveyancers.Itisalsoagoodwaytoavoidbeing thevictimofanyscamsorfraudulentactivityastheLandRegistrywillbeabletotrackthe accurateownershipoftheproperty