Probate property sale: what executors can do before and after the grant

Selling in probate at a glance

Before and after the grant: seven steps from five official sources

The same facts as the planner above, as a table (checked 29 October 2026).

A home owned as joint tenants is different: it passes to the surviving owner without a grant. See the section on owning with someone else.

Can the house go on the market before probate is granted?

GOV.UK’s advice to executors is to wait: “You should not make any financial plans or put property on the market until you’ve got probate.” The reason is practical. Until the grant is issued, you cannot complete, so a buyer could be left waiting for weeks. GOV.UK says the grant usually arrives within 12 weeks of the application, and can take longer if the probate office needs more information.

Before you can apply, the estate’s value has to be worked out and, where needed, reported to HMRC on form IHT400. HMRC then sends a code you need for the application. GOV.UK: applying for probate.

What you can do now is instruct us. We get the title from HM Land Registry and send you the property forms, so the contract pack is ready when the grant arrives and you accept an offer. Executors often know little about the home’s history. On the forms, say so, and answer from what you have seen and the papers you have found.

Who signs the contract when there are several executors?

Everyone named on the grant as an executor or administrator signs. The law says that where there are two or more personal representatives, the contract and the transfer “shall not … be made without the concurrence therein of all such representatives”, unless a court orders otherwise.

There is one exception. If a will names several executors but only some of them apply for probate, the ones on the grant can sell on their own. The others do not sign.

We check the identity of each person who signs. Your quote shows this as “Verification of Identity and AML Checks”, charged per person.

The deceased’s power of attorney does not help here. GOV.UK says a lasting power of attorney “will end automatically” on death, and from then the executors look after the person’s affairs, not the attorney.

What if the person who died owned the home with someone else?

First, find out how they owned it. We check the title register for you.

• Joint tenants. The home belongs to the surviving owner from the moment of death. It does not pass under the will, so no grant is needed to sell it. HM Land Registry takes the deceased’s name off with form DJP and the death certificate, with no fee. The surviving owner then sells as the only owner. The deceased’s share may still count for Inheritance Tax.
• Tenants in common. The register usually carries a “Form A” restriction. A surviving owner cannot sell alone with that restriction in place. A second trustee is appointed to act with them. That can be the deceased’s executor, but it does not have to be.

The difference between the two kinds of ownership is explained in what happens when a joint owner dies.

There is no will: who can sell the house?

Without a will, there are no executors. The person most entitled to the estate applies to be the administrator. GOV.UK says this is normally the closest living relative: a husband, wife or civil partner first, then children aged 18 or over. A partner who was not married to the person, or in a civil partnership with them, cannot apply.

The administrator’s grant is called letters of administration. If there is a will but no executor able to act, it is “letters of administration with will annexed”. Either one lets the administrator sell, in the same way as a grant of probate.

Which taxes come out of the sale money?

Inheritance Tax. If tax is due, you usually have to pay some of it before the grant is issued. GOV.UK says it must be paid “by the end of the sixth month after the person died”, and HMRC charges interest after that. Tax on a house can be paid in yearly instalments over 10 years, but “you must pay the tax in full when you’ve sold the deceased’s assets, such as their house or shares”. GOV.UK: paying Inheritance Tax.

Capital Gains Tax. The estate is treated as getting the home at its market value on the date of death. If you sell for more, the gain may be taxed, and on a UK home any tax is reported and paid within 60 days of completion. If the person who died lived abroad, HMRC needs the sale reported within 60 days even when there is no tax to pay. Our guide to Capital Gains Tax when you sell a property is linked at the end of this page.

Stamp Duty is the buyer’s tax, not the estate’s.

Does council tax stop while the house stands empty?

In England, a home left empty since the owner died is exempt from council tax while the estate waits for the grant. The exemption carries on until six months after the grant, as long as the home stays empty and still belongs to the estate. After that the council charges the estate. If someone moves in, the exemption ends.

Tell the council about the death and send them a copy of the grant when you have it. In Wales the rules are different: see the Wales section.

Selling it yourselves, or passing it to a beneficiary first?

There are two routes.

• The executors sell. The buyer’s transfer is signed by the executors, and the money goes into the estate. The executors do not have to register themselves as owners first.
• The executors pass the home to a beneficiary, who then owns it and can keep it, let it or sell it later. This is done with an assent, HM Land Registry form AS1 for a whole title.

Which route suits you is for the executors and beneficiaries to decide. Tell us at the start which one you have chosen.

Is a probate sale in Wales any different?

The probate system is the same in England and Wales, and HM Land Registry registers homes in both. The rules on who signs apply in both. You can apply for probate in Welsh: GOV.UK runs the service in Cymraeg too.

Two things differ. The buyer pays Land Transaction Tax to the Welsh Revenue Authority instead of Stamp Duty, which does not change what the estate pays. Council tax exemptions in Wales have followed Welsh rules since 1 April 2026, so ask the council for the home what applies.

What do we do on an executor’s sale, and what does it cost?

We do the same work as on any sale: we get the title, prepare the contract, answer the buyer’s solicitor, pay off any mortgage on completion and send the balance to the estate’s account. You have a named contact, and Shah Ali, our Senior Partner, supervises every conveyancing matter.

If a relative or friend is buying the home from the estate, they need their own solicitor. We never act for the buyer and the seller in the same deal.

Our fee for the sale is in the box below. The probate court fee is set by HM Courts and Tribunals Service: see GOV.UK probate fees. It is never added to our fees. We give you a written, itemised quote before you instruct us.

What happens next

• Capital Gains Tax when you sell a property
• Paying off a mortgage when the home is sold
• Conveyancing for selling a house
• Conveyancing cost calculator
• More guides, explained