Housing Benefit When the Tenant Dies: What the Executor and Landlord Should Know

Housing Benefit is administered by local councils, and the rules around what happens when a claimant dies involve both the council and, in some cases, the landlord. Getting this wrong can result in the estate facing an unexpected debt to the local authority or a private landlord being left out of pocket. This guide explains the position clearly for executors and landlords alike.

When does Housing Benefit stop?

Regulation 79(8) of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 provides that where a change of circumstances ends entitlement, it takes effect "on the first day of the benefit week following the benefit week in which that change actually occurs". Housing Benefit weeks run Monday to Sunday, so a death is effective from the Monday after the week in which it happened — including where the death itself was on a Monday, because that Monday is the first day of the benefit week in which the change occurred, not the day after it.

Any Housing Benefit paid for a period after that date is an overpayment the local authority is entitled to recover.

It is important to note that Housing Benefit is a legacy benefit — it is only available to people who are not required to claim Universal Credit. Most working-age people now claim Universal Credit for housing costs instead. Housing Benefit continues to be paid to those of pension age and to some protected legacy claimants.

What actually protects a surviving household member

There is no general four-week Housing Benefit bereavement run-on. The protection that does exist is narrower and much longer-lasting. Regulation 12D of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 — "protection on death" — applies where a maximum rent (local housing allowance) has to be redetermined because someone in the household has died and the claimant still occupies the same home. In that case the eligible rent is the one that applied the day before the death, and it continues until the first of these happens:

• 12 months from the date of death have passed
• the council works out an eligible rent that is the same or higher
• the claimant moves home, or a further death occurs

This is a local housing allowance rule, so it is about privately rented homes; the size criteria in the social rented sector work differently, and a council should be asked to confirm the position in writing.

It also only helps someone who was already a claimant. Where the person who died was the claimant, the surviving partner must claim in their own right — Universal Credit if they are working age, or Housing Benefit if they have reached State Pension age or live in supported or temporary accommodation. Do this promptly: Housing Benefit can normally only be backdated for a limited period.

Overpayments: how the local authority recovers them

Local authorities are entitled to recover Housing Benefit overpayments from the estate. The process typically works as follows:

• Once notified of the death, the local authority calculates the total overpayment — the difference between what was paid and what was properly due
• The local authority issues an overpayment notice to the estate — addressed to the executor or administrator if the estate is being administered, or to the personal representative of the deceased
• The overpayment is a debt of the estate and ranks alongside other unsecured debts — it must be settled before any distribution to beneficiaries
• If Housing Benefit was paid directly to the landlord (direct payment to landlord), the local authority may seek to recover the overpayment from the landlord rather than the estate, if the landlord received the payments

If you believe the overpayment calculation is incorrect, you have the right to request a reconsideration and to appeal to an independent tribunal. Appeals must generally be made within one month of the overpayment decision letter.

Notifying the local authority: what to do

You should notify the local authority's Housing Benefit team as soon as possible after the death. The steps:

• Contact the Housing Benefit team at the local council — this is typically a separate team from the council tax or general enquiries team
• Provide the deceased's full name, date of birth, National Insurance number, and date of death
• Provide a copy or certified copy of the death certificate — the local authority will usually ask for this
• If you are the executor, confirm your name and contact details and whether you have a grant of probate or letters of administration (though these are not usually required to notify the council)
• Ask the council for a written statement of any overpayment and the date from which they consider benefit should have ceased

Tell Us Once will also do this: GOV.UK lists cancelling Housing Benefit among the things the local council does when it is notified through the service. Contacting the benefits team directly is still worth doing, so that you have a named contact and a date on record.

Private renters and social housing: different considerations

The process differs slightly depending on whether the deceased was renting privately or in social housing:

Private renters:

• If Housing Benefit was paid directly to the tenant, the landlord may not be immediately aware of the death or the cessation of benefit — the estate should inform the landlord and discuss arrangements for the tenancy and any rent outstanding
• If Housing Benefit was paid directly to the landlord, the landlord will be the first to know when payments stop and may contact the estate about rent arrears
• The tenancy itself does not end automatically on death — the tenancy passes to the deceased's estate; the executor has the right to end the tenancy in the usual way by giving notice

Social housing tenants:

• Social landlords (housing associations and councils) are often notified quickly through their own systems, but the executor should still contact the landlord directly
• A secure or assured tenancy may be inheritable by a surviving spouse or civil partner — take separate advice on tenancy succession rights if relevant