Here is a question to the blog clinic from Anna who is a landlord.
My property was occupied by a husband and wife (joint tenancy). The husband has now died and reading your blog I understand that the tenancy is transferred to the wife by means of survivorship.
Does the tenancy agreement remain as it is ie both names shown or do I have to amend it to show only the name of the wife?
Answer
You don’t need to do anything to the existing tenancy agreement. The ownership of the tenancy will transfer to the sole name of the wife automatically.
However, if you decide to renew the tenancy by granting a new fixed-term at the end of the current fixed term, the new tenancy should be in the sole name of the wife.
If in the meantime you need to refer to the tenancy, for example in court proceedings, you should make it clear that the tenancy had originally been granted to joint tenants but that one of them is now deceased.
I would like to see the authority for this although it’s not something I have come across. I would say that unless the lease specifically leaves the asset of the one to the other then it will depend on the terms of the will of the deceased.
The authority is the Law of Property Act 1925. I explain the rules here: https://landlordlawblog.co.uk/2018/05/30/owning-property-other-people-rules/