The question this week is:

"A property owner wants to sell their house, but there was another property owner who has died.  What do we have to do to sign an agency agreement, and then what do we have to do to sign a contract ?".

--- Signing the agency agreement ---

You need to sign the agency agreement with all the persons who are owners, or entitled to be owners of the property.

Where one owner has died, there are two possibilities: 

1. If deceased person's share was held as a "joint tenant" ... then (almost without exception) the agency agreement just has to include all remaining property owners.

2. If the deceased person's share was held as a "tenant in common" ... it will not be possible to work out who has to sign the agency ageement without examining the Will (or Wills) and making further investigations into the family arrangements.  In this case, the seller must get a lawyer's advice before proceeding.

--- Registration of the Death ---

The remaining property owners must take steps to register the death on the title deed.  This does not happen automatically.

Although it is theoretically possible for this to be done without lawyers, it is a tricky process, and sellers will normally need to consult with a lawyer to complete this process.

A settlement of a sale cannot happen until the registration has gone through ... although it is possible to enter into a sale contract before registration (see below).

--- Sale contract before registration of Death ---

It is possible for a sale contract to be made before registration of the death of one of the owners is complete, provided:

1. The correct persons sign the contract (see notes above), and

2. The contract is made conditional on the registration happening.

The wording for the special condition will depend on the ownership of the property, and on the Will or other family arrangments of the deceased person.  For this reason, it is not wise to use a pre-prepared special condition, and the seller should be asked to obtain a special condition from their lawyer (or - if they are scared of their lawyer or don't want to contact them ... then from a lawyer suggested by you).