Do you always need probate to sell a house?

No. If the property was owned as joint tenants, it passes automatically to the surviving owner and can be sold without a grant. If it was in the deceased's sole name, or held as tenants in common, you need a grant of probate or letters of administration before the sale can complete.

What if there is no will?

Then the equivalent document is letters of administration, applied for by the next of kin under the rules of intestacy. The process and the timescale are broadly the same as probate, and the property still cannot complete until the grant is issued.

Can you accept an offer before the grant is issued?

Yes. You can market the house, agree a price and instruct a solicitor at any point. Only completion has to wait for the grant.

How do you prove to a buyer's solicitor that you can sell?

The buyer's solicitor will ask to see the grant of probate or letters of administration naming you as personal representative, along with the death certificate and the title. Until the grant exists, the sale can be agreed but not exchanged in most cases.

Do you need probate to sell a house?

Name: The Quick House Buyers — London
Address: Level 6, Design Centre East, Chelsea Harbour, London, England, SW10 0XF, GB
Telephone: 020 3744 0249

Written and reviewed by Kris McClory, Head of PurchasesLast reviewed 6 August 2026

It depends on how the house was owned. Held as joint tenants with someone still living, it passes straight to the survivor and can be sold with a death certificate alone. Held in the deceased's sole name, or as tenants in common, the sale cannot complete until a grant of probate or letters of administration has been issued.

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We buy probate properties as they are, contents left in place, and we'll work to the date the executors need.

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Work out which situation you are in

Whether a grant is needed to sell, by ownership type

Whether a grant is needed to sell, by ownership type
How the house was owned	Grant needed to sell?
Joint tenants with a surviving co-owner	No. The share passes to the survivor by survivorship
Tenants in common	Yes, for the deceased's share
Sole name, with a will	Yes, a grant of probate
Sole name, no will	Yes, letters of administration
Held in a trust	No grant, but the trustees must have power to sell

If you are not sure which applies, the Land Registry title register for the property will show the owners and, where there is a restriction on the title, whether it was held as tenants in common. A copy costs a few pounds and settles the question in minutes.

What you can do before the grant arrives

Clear the property and put unoccupied insurance in place.
Get a probate valuation for the inheritance tax account.
Market the house and agree a sale price.
Instruct a solicitor and get the paperwork prepared.

What you cannot do is complete. Legal title has to pass to the personal representative first, and a buyer's solicitor will insist on seeing the grant before releasing money.

Why the wait breaks ordinary sales

A buyer on the open market with a mortgage offer and a chain behind them rarely wants to sit for months while a court processes an application. Mortgage offers expire, chains collapse, and the property goes back to square one. That is the single most common reason probate sales fall through.

We buy with our own funds, so there is no mortgage offer to expire and no chain to collapse. We agree a price, hold it, and complete on the date you choose once the grant is in your hands.

Common questions

Do you always need probate to sell a house?: No. If the property was owned as joint tenants, it passes automatically to the surviving owner and can be sold without a grant. If it was in the deceased's sole name, or held as tenants in common, you need a grant of probate or letters of administration before the sale can complete.
What if there is no will?: Then the equivalent document is letters of administration, applied for by the next of kin under the rules of intestacy. The process and the timescale are broadly the same as probate, and the property still cannot complete until the grant is issued.
Can you accept an offer before the grant is issued?: Yes. You can market the house, agree a price and instruct a solicitor at any point. Only completion has to wait for the grant.
How do you prove to a buyer's solicitor that you can sell?: The buyer's solicitor will ask to see the grant of probate or letters of administration naming you as personal representative, along with the death certificate and the title. Until the grant exists, the sale can be agreed but not exchanged in most cases.