Death of a client
When a client dies how you treat their application for social housing will depend on whether they are a:
- single applicant
- sole parent
- joint applicant
Single applicant
When a single applicant dies, you will need to close their application and remove them from the register.
Sole parent
If the client was a sole parent you must close their application for social housing and send a letter to the client's surviving dependent children aged 16 and over, to invite them to apply for social housing if they have a housing need.
Joint applicants
If the client who died is part of a joint application, the application will need to be reviewed to determine the remaining applicant's eligibility for social housing and a new indicative rate of Income Related Rent calculated for that applicant. The application should be put on hold until the review has been completed. The remaining applicant will not be available for referral in the interim.
If the remaining applicants do not respond after reasonable attempts have been made to contact them, you should remove them from the register.
Removal from the register
For sole parent and joint applications, MSD will send a letter 10 working days after they receive notification of the death. If no contact is made by the next of kin or applicable persons the client will be removed from the register.
For more information see:
