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?

Under the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006, a Housing Benefit award terminates from the Monday following the date of death of the claimant. If the claimant dies on a Monday, the benefit stops from that Monday itself.

There is one important exception to this: the bereavement run-on (see below). Subject to the run-on rules, any Housing Benefit paid after the Monday following the date of death is an overpayment that 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.

The 4-week bereavement run-on

Where a Housing Benefit claimant dies and there is a surviving partner or other person remaining in the property, a four-week bereavement run-on may apply. Under this provision:

• Housing Benefit continues to be paid at the same rate for up to four weeks after the death
• The run-on is available to a surviving partner or, in some circumstances, another family member who was living in the property and receiving Housing Benefit as part of the same household
• If the surviving person needs to make a new Housing Benefit claim or a Universal Credit claim, they should do so during the run-on period to ensure continuity

The run-on is intended to give the surviving household member time to adjust their financial arrangements, not to be treated as income or spent freely. The local authority may reassess the position once the run-on ends and request repayment of any amounts that were not properly due.

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

You can also notify DWP Housing Benefit teams through the Tell Us Once service at the register office when registering the death, though direct contact with the local authority is advisable to ensure the correct team receives the notification.

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