A family from Riyadh or Dubai that buys a flat in London has bought an asset governed, on the owner’s death, by English law, whatever the owner’s nationality, religion or home-country will. At a death the solicitor explains that the Saudi or UAE will does not reach the flat, that the English intestacy rules decide who gets it, and that no one can sell or let it before an English grant of probate. An English will prevents all three.
Owning and letting
An English will for a London property: why a Gulf family needs one and what happens without it
English law on a London flat when the owner dies
A London flat passes on death under English law, whatever the owner’s nationality or home-country will. Without an English will the intestacy rules apply: one spouse takes the first £322,000 and half the rest, the children share the other half, and Sharia is not followed. An English will can set out any distribution, including Sharia shares, costs £800 to £2,500, and lets a London executor obtain probate in three to six months rather than a year. It does not reduce inheritance tax, which is 40 per cent above £325,000.
In English private international law, immovable property, land and buildings, passes on death under the law of the country where it sits. A London flat passes under English law, which gives the owner complete freedom to leave it to whomever they choose by a valid will, and which, if there is no valid will covering the flat, applies the English intestacy rules.
Why a home-country will rarely works for English property
A will made in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar or Kuwait may be recognised in England if it is valid under the law of the place where it was made, but it rarely deals with English property clearly, is often written for a Sharia distribution that English probate officers cannot apply without a translation and an expert’s affidavit, and may be revoked or confused by a later will at home. The practical rule is that each country’s property should have a will written for it, and that the wills should refer to each other so neither revokes the other.
English intestacy rules for a London flat without a will
If a Gulf owner dies without an English will covering the flat, the English intestacy rules apply to it. A surviving spouse or civil partner with children takes the personal possessions, the first £322,000 of the estate, and half of the rest; the children share the other half equally at eighteen. A spouse with no children takes everything. No spouse: the children take everything; no children: parents, then siblings, and so on.
What surprises Gulf families about English intestacy rules
Two things about this surprise Gulf families. First, the rules recognise one spouse: a second wife has no standing, and the children of the second marriage share with the children of the first. Second, the rules do not follow Sharia: a daughter takes the same share as a son, a parent takes nothing while there is a spouse or child, and a brother takes nothing while there is a child. A family that wants a Sharia distribution of its London property, or any distribution other than the intestacy rules, must make an English will.
Can an English will follow Sharia for a London flat?
An English will may leave property in any shares to any people, so a will can set out a Sharia distribution of the London flat precisely: the Quranic shares to the spouse, parents and children, the residue to the agnatic heirs, computed by an Islamic scholar and written into the will as fractions. Several London firms specialise in this.
Any distribution is allowed, but the shares must be stated
The will can instead leave the flat to the spouse, or to the children equally, or to a trust for a child at university, if that is what the family wants; English law does not impose Sharia, and it does not forbid it. What the family cannot do is leave the question open and expect English law to apply Sharia by default. A will that says “my estate shall be distributed according to Islamic law” without stating the shares creates a dispute, not a distribution.
What an English will for a London property should cover
A properly drawn English will for a London property: appoints executors in England who can act (a London solicitor is usual, with a family member), so that probate can be obtained without every heir travelling; states that it deals only with the English property and does not revoke the home-country will, and is mirrored by a clause in the home-country will; sets out the beneficiaries and shares, whether Sharia-based or otherwise; provides for a minor beneficiary through a trust; deals with the lease, the mortgage or Islamic finance, and the contents; and is signed in England or abroad before two witnesses who are not beneficiaries.
Cost and timing of an English will for London property
It costs £800 to £2,500 for a straightforward estate, more where there is a trust. The firm’s view is that the will is drawn at the same time as the purchase, with the same solicitor, and reviewed when a child marries, a spouse dies or a second property is bought.
How probate works for a London property owned from abroad
On the owner’s death the executors apply to the Probate Registry for a grant of probate (with a will) or letters of administration (without). The application needs the death certificate, the will, an inheritance tax account, and, for an owner domiciled abroad, an affidavit of foreign law if the home-country position is relevant.
How long a grant of probate takes for a London flat
With a clear English will and a London executor, a grant takes three to six months; without one, with a home-country will in Arabic, foreign heirs and a Sharia distribution to prove, it can take a year or more, during which the flat cannot be sold, remortgaged or, in practice, let, while service charges and council tax continue. The grant is then registered at the Land Registry and the flat is transferred or sold. Our guide on selling UK property as a non-resident covers the sale by the estate and the capital gains position.
Inheritance tax on a non-resident's London property
The will does not reduce inheritance tax, which falls on a non-resident’s UK property at 40 per cent above the nil-rate band of £325,000, with the spouse exemption limited unless the spouse is UK-domiciled or elects to be treated so, as our guide on inheritance tax for Gulf families explains in detail.
What an English will does for inheritance tax payment
What the will does is make the tax payable in an orderly way: a will leaving the flat to a spouse defers the tax; a will leaving it to the children with no cash to pay the tax forces a sale at the wrong moment. The will and the inheritance tax plan are one document in two parts, and the common error is to write one without the other.
Common mistakes when making an English will for London property
Making a home-country will after the English one that begins “I revoke all previous wills”, which revokes the English one. Appointing executors who all live in the Gulf and cannot easily act in England. Leaving the flat “to my family” or “according to Islamic law” without shares.
Holding the flat as joint tenants with a spouse without understanding that it then passes to the survivor automatically, outside the will and outside any Sharia distribution; our guide on holding property in your own name, joint names or a company explains joint tenancy against tenancy in common. Signing the will with one witness. And forgetting it exists when the second property is bought, so that the second property falls into intestacy.
Sources: Intestacy: who inherits if someone dies without a will (GOV.UK) · Statutory legacy (HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM12122) · Applying for probate (GOV.UK) · Inheritance tax thresholds (GOV.UK). Checked against GOV.UK and the HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual on 14 October 2026: the intestacy rules and the statutory legacy of £322,000 (since 26 July 2023), probate procedure and the inheritance tax thresholds. Fees are indicative. General information, not legal or tax advice; a solicitor in England should draw the will. Figures verified 14 October 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about an English will for London property
Not reliably. It may be recognised if valid where made, but it will need translation, proof of foreign law and interpretation, and if it provides for a Sharia distribution without English-law shares, the probate registry cannot apply it. Make an English will.
Yes. English law allows any distribution, and a will excluding daughters is valid, though a dependant who is left without provision can apply to the court; a Sharia distribution that gives daughters half a son’s share is also valid, and is the usual form.
Not in law, but in practice a London solicitor as one of the executors makes probate a matter of months rather than a year, and spares the family from attending in person.
The English intestacy rules decide. A surviving spouse with children takes the personal possessions, the first £322,000 of the estate and half of the rest; the children share the other half equally at eighteen. A spouse with no children takes everything. The rules recognise one spouse only, a second wife has no standing, and a daughter takes the same share as a son. A parent or brother takes nothing while there is a spouse or child.
£800 to £2,500 for a straightforward estate, more where there is a trust for a minor beneficiary. The firm’s view is that the will is drawn at the same time as the purchase, with the same solicitor, and reviewed when a child marries, a spouse dies or a second property is bought.
With a clear English will and a London executor, a grant takes three to six months. Without one, with a home-country will in Arabic, foreign heirs and a Sharia distribution to prove, it can take a year or more. During that time the flat cannot be sold, remortgaged or, in practice, let, while service charges and council tax continue.
Not if it is drawn properly. The English will should state that it deals only with the English property and does not revoke the home-country will, and the home-country will should carry a mirror clause. The common mistake runs the other way: a later home-country will that begins “I revoke all previous wills” revokes the English one.
No. Inheritance tax falls on a non-resident’s UK property at 40 per cent above the nil-rate band of £325,000, with the spouse exemption limited unless the spouse is UK-domiciled or elects to be treated so. What the will does is make the tax payable in an orderly way: leaving the flat to a spouse defers the tax, while leaving it to children with no cash to pay forces a sale at the wrong moment.
It passes to the surviving joint owner automatically, outside the will and outside any Sharia distribution. A family that wants the will to govern the flat should hold it as tenants in common instead. Our guide on holding property in your own name, joint names or a company explains the difference.
