Following a death, the surviving spouse has the right to stay in the accommodation they had in common with the deceased, either permanently or temporarily, or, on the contrary, they are obliged to leave it. These different situations, which only concern the couple's main residence, depend on the status of the surviving spouse, i.e. whether they were married, in a civil partnership or in a common-law relationship with the deceased, and whether the couple were owners or tenants. of his accommodation.
Following the death of his or her husband or wife, the surviving spouse has the right to remain for life in the accommodation they occupied with the deceased. This right is automatic if the couple were married, and even if the surviving spouse remarries.
In this case, the surviving spouse can therefore continue to live indefinitely in the accommodation they owned with the deceased. And this, even if the couple owned jointly with one or more people. We speak of joint ownership to designate the state of a property that belongs to several people having rights of the same nature on the totality of this property.
The surviving spouse also has the option of remaining in the couple's home for life even if the deceased to whom they were married was the sole owner of their home.
On the other hand, if the deceased husband or wife owned the couple's home jointly with other people, the surviving spouse does not have the right to remain in the premises indefinitely. He can, in fact, stay in the accommodation only for one year after the death of his spouse.
The surviving spouse of a PACS couple who owns their home in joint ownership only has the right to stay in the common home they had with the deceased for one year after the death of the latter. This situation is possible only if the deceased did not provide for a contrary provision in a will, that is to say if he expressed his opposition in this way during his lifetime to this right of the surviving spouse to live in their housing during this period.
On the other hand, if the PACS couple were joint owners, the surviving spouse has the possibility of asking the notary in writing, at the time of the succession, to benefit from what is called the "preferential allocation" of the accommodation, c ie to have priority over the other heirs to have the right to remain in the accommodation following the death of one's spouse. The latter can also provide during his lifetime in his will that this preferential allocation is automatic.
In the case of a couple who was in a PACS, and where the deceased was the sole owner of the accommodation, the surviving spouse can also remain living in their common home for one year after the death of his PACS spouse, unless the latter provided otherwise in a will.
The surviving spouse of a couple who lived in a common-law union and who owned their home in joint ownership cannot continue to live there following the death of their partner.
In this case, the heirs of the deceased have priority. They can thus, for example, decide freely to sell the common dwelling during the succession. However, if the common-law couple in which one of the spouses is deceased have minor children together, the surviving spouse has the possibility of asking the judge to maintain joint ownership and thus be able to remain in the common dwelling, but always in a maximum period of one year from the date of the death of his partner.
It can also be provided by will that the cohabitants bequeath their share of the joint ownership to each other in the event of death. This "repurchase clause" can also be anticipated in a joint ownership agreement.
If only the deceased partner was the owner of the accommodation occupied in common, the surviving spouse has no right to be able to remain in this accommodation. It is nevertheless possible to make an exception to this rule if the deceased has planned in advance to bequeath the usufruct of the dwelling to the surviving partner by will, that is to say the possibility of occupying their dwelling but without have the right to sell it for example.
Another case that allows the surviving spouse of a common-law couple to remain living in the common home following the death of their partner:the couple can choose to become the owner of their home by buying it through a civil partnership real estate (SCI) and provide in the statutes of the SCI for this maintenance.
The surviving spouse of a married couple who occupied a dwelling as a tenant has the right to remain in the dwelling indefinitely even in the event that only the deceased was a signatory of the rental lease.
Note:in the year following the death, the surviving spouse has the possibility of requesting that the rents be reimbursed to them from the estate.
The surviving spouse of a PACS couple renting accommodation can freely dispose of the accommodation to stay and live there following the death of their spouse in the event that the two partners were co-holders of the lease.
If only the deceased was the holder of the rental lease, the surviving PACS spouse benefits from the transfer of the lease to his benefit. Nevertheless, the relatives of the deceased have the possibility of claiming the attribution of this lease.
The surviving partner of a common-law couple renting their accommodation has the exclusive right to the lease, and therefore to remain living in the accommodation, provided that the lease has been signed by both spouses.
If only the deceased was a signatory of the lease, the surviving partner benefits from the transfer of the rental lease if he had lived for at least one year with the deceased and if the cohabitation is recognized as "notorious", that is to say that the the couple's relationship was "continuous, stable and known".
In the case of living together for less than a year, the surviving partner must request the agreement of the lessor to be able to continue living in the accommodation and must sign a new lease.
However, if the deceased was the sole signatory of the lease and the couple lived in accommodation subject to the law of 1948 (dwellings built before September 1, 1948 located in municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants which allow them to benefit from a rent moderate), the surviving cohabitant does not have the right to stay in the accommodation unless he is disabled and the cohabitation is recognized as notorious.
