Case G – Death of a Tenant

The appropriate notice to terminate a tenancy governed by the AHA 1986, is a Case G notice to quit. This must be served by the landlord, following the death of the sole or sole surviving tenant and must be done within three months beginning with the date of any relevant notice.

The relevant notice includes written notification of the tenant’s death from an executor or administrator of the tenant’s estate or notice of an application for succession. The three-month period used to run from the date of death, however this produced an injustice where a landlord was absent. There have also been many situations in which the landlord is fully aware of the tenant’s death, in some cases thelLandlord has even attended the late tenant’s funeral, however this is not sufficient to start the three-month time period and as such written notice must be given.

A landlord does not have to wait to receive a relevant notice before a Case G notice to quit can be served. In practice a landlord will often look to establish whether an application for succession is going to be made before serving the Case G notice. An application for succession must be made within three months from the date of death of the late tenant.

The Case G notice should be served on the personal representatives of the tenant if they have obtained a grant of probate. In addition to this or alternatively service can be made on the person responsible for the management of the holding and thirdly if in doubt service on the Public Trustee can be made. In practice covering all avenues is advisable.

If the landlord fails to serve a Case G notice and no application for succession is made, the tenancy continues but is vested in the personal representatives.

There is no option for Arbitration to challenge a Case G notice, the only option or means of challenge is through the court.

Kathryn Williams of Davis Meade Property Consultants