NovAsia

The Owner Has Died but the Apartment Is Still Rented: Who Manages It Before the Heirs Are Registered?

NovAsia · updated July 19, 2026

Prepared by the NovAsia Editorial Team

An apartment owner dies abroad. A tenant in Phnom Penh must pay rent in five days. The property manager has the keys and an old power of attorney. A transfer to the deceased owner's bank account might still go through, but the family cannot access the account. The service charge falls due in two weeks, and an air-conditioning unit has started leaking.

The potential heirs have not yet obtained the necessary documents and disagree about who should receive the property.

The apartment cannot remain unmanaged until the succession process is complete. Someone must preserve the tenancy, receive rent lawfully, pay essential expenses, deal with emergencies, protect the security deposit, notify the building management and insurer, identify the authorised decision-maker, and prepare the eventual title registration.

At the same time, a potential heir must avoid taking steps that could prejudice the right to renounce the succession or limit liability for the deceased's debts. An ordinary power of attorney granted by the owner does not solve this interim period. Cambodian succession law instead recognises roles such as executor, successor in possession and court-appointed temporary manager.

Succession begins at the moment of death

Article 1145 of the Cambodian Civil Code provides that succession commences when the deceased dies. From that point, both assets and liabilities form part of the succession property.

For a rented condominium unit, this can include:

Cambodia's Law on Providing Foreigners with Ownership Rights in Private Units of Co-Owned Buildings permits acquisition by succession. It also provides that successors assume the rights and obligations of the deceased special co-owner.

The cadastral certificate may still show the deceased person's name, but the succession has already begun. The delay in registration does not make the unit ownerless or suspend its financial obligations.

The title does not change automatically on the date of death

The succession rules and the registration rules must be read together. A death certificate alone does not produce a new ownership certificate in an heir's name.

The process normally requires some combination of:

Article 1277 of the Civil Code restricts changes to the registered owner's name during the period for acceptance or renunciation, except where a necessary transfer is made to pay the deceased's debts. The practical result is an unavoidable interval in which the estate must operate the apartment before the title is updated.

A potential successor has a three-month decision period

Under Article 1248, a successor generally has three months from becoming aware that the succession has commenced in their favour to choose between absolute acceptance, qualified acceptance and renunciation.

Actions taken during this period can matter. Article 1255 treats certain dispositions of succession property as statutory absolute acceptance, while preservation and ordinary management are treated differently.

A potential heir should therefore be cautious before:

Paying an urgent service charge, stopping a water leak and preserving insurance are fundamentally different from disposing of the property. Cambodian succession counsel should guide any step that goes beyond necessary management.

An ordinary power of attorney generally ends on death

Article 367 of the Civil Code identifies the principal's death as a ground for extinguishing contractual agency authority. A mandate also generally terminates on death, subject to the agreement and limited duties to take urgent action after termination.

A manager should not continue relying on the deceased owner's ordinary power of attorney to:

A document stating that it remains valid after death is not necessarily an effective substitute for Cambodian succession rules, executor authority or a court appointment.

There may still be a narrow need for urgent preservation. A manager who already controls the property may have to stop a leak, secure the keys or protect tenant records before a successor can act. Such steps should be documented and limited to what is reasonably necessary.

The management agreement and the power of attorney are separate

A property manager may hold several different legal and operational instruments:

The owner's death may end agency authority while leaving certain contractual duties relating to preservation, reporting and handover to be analysed separately.

A prudent manager should:

Holding the keys does not make the manager an executor.

The executor can manage succession property

Where a valid will appoints an executor and that person assumes office, Articles 1219 and 1220 require an inventory and give the executor the right and duty to manage succession property and perform acts necessary to carry out the will. Article 1263 also places management of the succession property, or the specified property covered by the will, with the executor.

For a rented apartment, an executor may be able to:

Banks, tenants, building management and cadastral authorities will still need evidence. Relevant documents may include the will, proof that the executor has accepted office, a court or notarial instrument where required, identity documents, translations and authentication.

A person described as an executor in a foreign will may need Cambodian recognition or additional procedure before local institutions will act on their instructions.

A successor in possession may have interim management duties

Article 1262 provides that a successor who was in possession at the time of death has custody and management of the succession property until partition, subject to the rules governing an executor. Before accepting or renouncing, a successor must manage the property with the same care as their own property.

This does not mean that the first relative who obtains the keys becomes the owner. It means that possession can carry duties of preservation and accountability.

Where several heirs claim authority, the tenant and building management should not accept one person's instructions merely because that person is locally present. They should request formal evidence, a joint instruction or a court-backed appointment.

A court can appoint a temporary manager

If no executor manages the entire succession, a successor, legatee or creditor may apply for the appointment of a temporary manager pending partition under Article 1264.

This route can be particularly useful where:

A court appointment can provide counterparties with much stronger evidence of authority than family messages or an expired power of attorney. The temporary manager's powers depend on the appointment and should not be assumed to include unrestricted disposal.

Succession expenses should be paid from the succession property

Article 1265 states that expenses relating to succession property are paid from that property, except where an expense results from a successor's negligence.

For an apartment, relevant expenses may include:

Rent should normally be used first to preserve the apartment and meet estate liabilities before it is distributed as inheritance income. A relative who pays an urgent expense personally should keep bank evidence and invoices so that the estate accounting can address reimbursement.

The tenancy usually continues

The Civil Code's lease provisions identify expiry, non-renewal, notice and breach as grounds on which a lease may end. The lessor's death is not stated as an automatic termination event for an ordinary lease.

The practical starting point is therefore that the tenant continues under the existing lease, while the landlord's rights and obligations move into the succession.

The lease itself should still be reviewed for any death-related clause. The tenant should not be evicted simply because the registered owner has died, but neither should the tenant stop paying indefinitely.

The tenant needs a safe and verified payment route

A tenant faces a genuine double-payment risk when different relatives provide conflicting instructions.

One child may ask for payment to a personal account. A surviving spouse may object. The former manager may say that the old account should continue to be used. The deceased owner's account may accept transfers but remain frozen for withdrawals.

Safer payment routes may include:

Before changing payment instructions, the tenant should request evidence of death, evidence of authority, the correct account name, confirmation that the lease continues and a proper receipt.

Paying cash to one relative without authority may not discharge the rent obligation against the estate or other successors.

Rent is estate income, not immediate personal income for one heir

Until partition or another valid allocation, rent derives from the succession property. It should be accounted for as estate money.

A monthly ledger should show:

The heirs should not divide each month's rent informally before the successors, liabilities and ownership shares have been established. Article 1275, which addresses partitioned claims and notice to debtors, illustrates why the tenant must be properly notified when the right to receive rent is allocated among co-successors.

Want to compare Phnom Penh projects by real yield and risk? Request a NovAsia selection — no marketing fog.

Contact usor on Telegram

The tenant's security deposit remains a liability

A security deposit is not distributable inheritance profit. It remains money that may have to be returned at the end of the tenancy, subject to lawful deductions for damage or arrears.

The manager or executor should confirm:

If the deceased owner spent the deposit, the succession property may still owe the tenant. If the apartment is later transferred to an heir or purchaser, the deposit should be credited and assigned in writing.

Lease renewal should be conservative

An existing lease may expire while the succession remains unresolved. Whether the manager can renew it depends on the manager's continuing authority and the nature of the proposed renewal.

A short renewal at a supportable market rent may preserve the estate's income. A five-year lease at below-market rent, with a purchase option or substantial concessions, could prejudice the heirs and exceed ordinary management.

A safer renewal normally requires one of the following:

The renewal should avoid unnecessary duration, unusual concessions and expanded rights unless properly authorised.

Terminating the tenancy also requires authority

If the tenant defaults or the heirs want to sell the unit vacant, the person issuing the notice must have authority to act for the landlord's side of the estate.

A notice signed only under the deceased owner's old power of attorney may be defective. The estate should establish:

The owner's death is not a justification for changing the locks or removing the tenant without process.

A mortgage continues after the borrower dies

A bank loan and registered hypothec do not disappear on death. The family or estate representative should promptly establish:

If the loan is not serviced, the bank's security and enforcement rights remain. Rental income may need to be applied to the loan under controlled estate management.

Insurance may cover some or all of the balance, but payment is not automatic. A timely claim and complete documents are normally required.

The insurer and building management should be notified

Insurance policies may contain requirements concerning the insured person's death, a change of ownership interest, vacancy, tenancy and bank loss-payee status. A pending claim for water damage, fire or another insured event belongs to the succession property.

The manager or executor should notify the insurer without making unsupported statements about coverage. The policy should not simply be renewed indefinitely under the deceased person's details if the insurer requires updated information.

The building management should receive a controlled package containing, where appropriate:

The building should not replace the registered owner with an heir in its records before the legal basis is established. It may, however, need an interim contact note so notices and invoices reach the estate.

Voting rights can be difficult before registration

An owners' meeting may take place while the title remains in the deceased owner's name. The person voting may need to establish authority as executor, temporary manager, verified successor or properly authorised representative under the succession documents.

The old proxy may have ended with the owner's death. The building should verify the relevant private-unit share and the representative's authority, particularly where the meeting concerns a major special assessment or reconstruction.

The absence of a registered heir does not automatically remove the unit from the building's ownership calculations or financial obligations.

Foreign heirs may inherit an eligible private unit

The Foreign Ownership Law expressly recognises succession and states that successors receive the rights and obligations of the deceased special co-owner. A foreign heir must still fit the applicable legal framework.

The review should cover:

An eligible condominium private unit has a direct foreign-succession route that is materially different from Cambodian land, but the inheritance and registration formalities still have to be completed.

Several heirs create a management problem before partition

A spouse, children, parents or other successors may have competing claims depending on the will and statutory order. Before partition, they may want different outcomes: one may prefer a sale, another may want rental income, and another may want to occupy the unit.

Preservation should not become informal appropriation by the relative who happens to be in Cambodia. The estate needs one documented operational process for rent, repairs, access and communication.

Where agreement is impossible, the Civil Code provides routes towards partition and, in an appropriate case, court involvement. Until then, the priority should be maintaining the value of the asset and a complete accounting.

The surviving spouse may already have a matrimonial share

Article 1268 gives a spouse who is also a successor priority to acquire the deceased's share in jointly acquired matrimonial property until the spouse reaches the succession share due to them.

Before treating the whole apartment as succession property, the family should identify whether part of it already belonged economically to the surviving spouse under the matrimonial regime.

For example, if an apartment was common marital property on a 50/50 basis, the surviving spouse's own half is not created by inheritance. The deceased's half is the part that enters the succession. A title bearing only the deceased's name does not by itself resolve the matrimonial analysis.

A foreign will must be made operational in Cambodia

An owner may leave a will made abroad. The family then needs to examine:

The Foreign Ownership Law permits succession, but it does not make every foreign will immediately registrable. Original testamentary documents should be handled through succession counsel rather than sent casually to a property manager.

No will does not mean there are no heirs

The absence of a Cambodian will does not make the apartment State property. The Civil Code provides statutory succession ranks and rules for a surviving spouse.

The Foreign Ownership Law refers to State acquisition in circumstances such as inheritance without a successor, abandonment or absence of a lawful designation. In most family cases, the problem is proving and registering the successors, not the automatic disappearance of their rights.

A sale during the succession requires stronger authority

Selling the apartment may be sensible to repay a bank, settle estate debts, prevent deterioration or divide value among the heirs. It is nevertheless a disposition, not routine management.

The transaction may require authority from an executor, administrator, court-appointed manager or the established successors. A purchaser will normally require:

A discounted purchase from a self-declared heir with incomplete authority is a high-risk transaction.

A sale agreed before death must be reviewed, not ignored

The owner may have signed a sale agreement and received a deposit before dying, with the title transfer still outstanding.

The succession property then includes both the rights and the obligations under that agreement. Relevant questions include the purchaser's performance, the deceased seller's outstanding obligations, bank consent, tax, authority to complete, treatment of the deposit and any right to specific performance or termination.

The heirs cannot safely assume that they may simply relist the apartment at a higher price. The buyer should notify the estate representative and preserve the complete payment record.

The property manager's handover file

A proper handover should include:

The authorised succession representative should acknowledge receipt of the documents, funds and keys.

Priorities for the first 30 days

  1. Confirm the death through a reliable document.
  2. Secure the apartment, keys, accounts and records.
  3. Notify the tenant, bank, insurer and building carefully.
  4. Stop unauthorised distributions of rent or deposits.
  5. Pay urgent preservation expenses and document them.
  6. Identify the will and any appointed executor.
  7. Identify the potential statutory successors.
  8. Obtain Cambodian succession advice.
  9. Establish a controlled rent account.
  10. Prepare an inventory of assets, contracts and debts.
  11. Seek a temporary manager if the authority vacuum threatens the asset.
  12. Avoid a sale, mortgage or long-term commitment without proper authority.

Conclusion

A rented Cambodian apartment does not become operationally ownerless when its owner dies. The succession begins at death, while title registration and partition may take considerably longer.

During the interim period, management should be carried out by the appropriate legal actor: an executor, a successor in possession, a court-appointed temporary manager or, later, the registered successors.

An ordinary power of attorney generally ends on the principal's death and should not be treated as permanent authority. Rent is income of the succession property and should first support the mortgage, service charge, repairs, tax, insurance and the tenant-deposit liability before distribution.

The strongest plan is created before an emergency: a valid will, a workable executor arrangement, an organised property file, clear manager instructions and a controlled account.

This material is for general information and is not succession, legal, tax or banking advice. Authority, acceptance or renunciation, lease management, a foreign will and cadastral registration must be confirmed for the particular estate.

Ready to look at specific units for your budget? Get a tailored NovAsia Estate shortlist with the full cost, instalment plan and a yield breakdown.

Find a propertyor on Telegram

Sources

  1. JICA Legal and Judicial Development Project — Civil Code of Cambodia. Articles 1145–1147 on the commencement and effect of succession; Articles 1219–1223 on executors; Articles 1248–1265 on acceptance, management, temporary managers and estate expenses; and Articles 1266–1277 on partition and registration.
  2. JICA Legal and Judicial Development Project — Civil Code of Cambodia. Articles 367 and 649–651 on termination of agency and mandate and urgent acts after termination.
  3. JICA Legal and Judicial Development Project — Civil Code of Cambodia. Articles 602–621 on leases, rent, termination and return of the leased property.
  4. Kingdom of Cambodia — Law on Providing Foreigners with Ownership Rights in Private Units of Co-Owned Buildings, 2010. Articles 7–10 and 14–17 on succession, registration and successor obligations.
  5. Ministry of Justice/JICA — Prakas on Registration Procedures of Matrimonial Property Contracts, including deregistration following the death of a spouse.

Frequently asked

Does a tenancy end when the owner dies?

The lessor's death is not identified in the Cambodian Civil Code as an automatic ground for terminating an ordinary lease. The rights and obligations pass into the succession, but the tenant should receive verified instructions identifying the person authorised to receive rent and act for the estate.

Can the property manager continue to act under the old power of attorney?

Ordinary agency authority generally ends when the principal dies. A separate management agreement and urgent preservation duties must be reviewed on their own terms, but the manager should not enter into major new transactions without authority from the executor, successors or a court-appointed manager.

Who receives rent before the title is transferred to the heirs?

Rent is a claim belonging to the succession property. It should be paid into an estate-controlled account or to an executor, authorised successor or court-approved manager. A tenant should not select one relative merely because that person makes an informal request.

Who pays service charges and repairs?

The Civil Code provides that expenses relating to succession property are paid from the succession property. The executor, successor in possession or temporary manager should preserve the asset and maintain essential payments, with a proper ledger and supporting receipts.

Can a foreign heir inherit a condominium unit?

Cambodia's Foreign Ownership Law expressly permits acquisition by succession and provides that successors assume the rights and obligations of the deceased special co-owner, subject to the applicable ownership restrictions and registration process.

Read also

How a Foreign Heir Can Register a Cambodian Condominium After the Owner's DeathThe Owner Has Died but the Cambodian Apartment Is Still Rented: Who Manages It Before the Heirs Are Registered?Condominium Owner Voting in Cambodia: Who Really Makes the Decisions?