When a tenant, landlord or employer dies in Peru, what happens to the lease and the job?

The basic rule: what belonged to the deceased passes to the heirs

When someone dies, their contracts do not simply vanish. The Civil Code starts here:

“Desde el momento de la muerte de una persona, los bienes, derechos y obligaciones que constituyen la herencia se trasmiten a sus sucesores.” (article 660: from the moment of death, the property, rights and obligations that make up the estate pass to the successors.)

Two more rules complete it. Obligations pass to the heirs “salvo cuando es inherente a la persona, lo prohíbe la ley o se ha pactado en contrario” (article 1218: unless the obligation is personal, the law forbids it, or the parties agreed otherwise). And contracts “sólo producen efectos entre las partes que los otorgan y sus herederos” (article 1363: contracts bind only the parties and their heirs).

From there, a lease and an employment contract go different ways.

If the tenant dies

The lease chapter of the Civil Code covers this. Article 1705 says:

“Además concluye el arrendamiento, sin necesidad de declaración judicial, en los siguientes casos: […] 5.- Si dentro de los noventa días de la muerte del arrendatario, sus herederos que usan el bien, comunican al arrendador que no continuarán el contrato.”

(The lease also ends, without a court order, if within ninety days of the tenant’s death the heirs who use the property tell the landlord they will not continue.)

So the lease does not end because of the death alone. It ends if the heirs who live in or use the property give notice, within ninety days, that they will not stay on. If they say nothing, the lease continues.

When two or more heirs use the property, article 1710 adds:

“Si dos o más herederos del arrendatario usan el bien, y la mitad o el mayor número de ellos no manifiesta su voluntad de extinguirlo, continúa el contrato para éstos, sin ninguna responsabilidad de los otros. En tal caso, no subsisten las garantías que estaban constituidas en favor del arrendador. Este tiene, sin embargo, el derecho de exigir nuevas garantías; si no se le otorgan dentro de quince días, concluye el contrato.”

(If half or most of the heirs using the property do not say they want to end it, the lease continues for them, and the other heirs are not liable. The old guarantees no longer stand. The landlord can ask for new ones; if they are not given within fifteen days, the lease ends.)

In practice:

• The lease continues for those who stay. Heirs who do not use the property are not liable for it.
• The old guarantees fall away. The landlord can ask for new ones.
• Fifteen days to provide them. If they are not given in that time, the lease ends.

The law does not say what happens if no heir uses the property. Clause 5 speaks only of “sus herederos que usan el bien” (the heirs who use the property).

If you decide to leave, handing back the keys is not enough. Article 1711 requires the tenant to get “autorización escrita del arrendador o, en su defecto, de la autoridad respectiva” (written authorization from the landlord or, failing that, the relevant authority) before vacating. Without it, the tenant owes the rent and the services they were responsible for “hasta que el arrendador tome posesión del bien” (until the landlord takes possession).

If the landlord dies

The lease chapter does not list the landlord’s death as a reason the lease ends. That leaves the general rules in articles 660, 1218 and 1363: the deceased’s rights and obligations pass to the heirs, and contracts bind them. Our reading is that the lease continues, now with the landlord’s heirs as landlords. The lease chapter does not say this in those words.

What we did not find is a rule on whom to pay rent while it is not yet known who the heirs are. Keep every receipt, ask whoever collects to show they are an heir and, if several people claim the rent, talk to a lawyer.

If the employer dies

Article 16 of the TUO of Legislative Decree 728 says:

“Son causas de extinción del contrato de trabajo: a) El fallecimiento del trabajador o del empleador si es persona natural;”

(The employment contract ends on the death of the worker, or of the employer if the employer is a natural person.)

The key words are “si es persona natural”. If you work for an individual (a corner shop, a workshop, a household), their death ends your contract. If you work for a company, the death of its owner is not listed as a reason your contract ends.

Article 17 leaves a door open:

“El fallecimiento del empleador extingue la relación laboral si aquel es persona natural, sin perjuicio de que, por común acuerdo con los herederos, el trabajador convenga en permanecer por un breve lapso para efectos de la liquidación del negocio. El plazo convenido no podrá exceder de un año, deberá constar por escrito y será presentado a la Autoridad Administrativa de Trabajo para efectos de registro.”

(The worker may agree with the heirs to stay for a short time to wind up the business. That period cannot exceed one year, must be in writing and must be filed with the labor authority for registration.)

What about what you were owed? The contract ends, but the deceased’s obligations pass to the successors (article 660). There is a limit: “El heredero responde de las deudas y cargas de la herencia sólo hasta donde alcancen los bienes de ésta” (article 661: heirs answer for the estate’s debts only up to the value of the estate). If the estate is not enough, you may not recover everything. How your entitlement is calculated is on the final settlement of labor benefits page.

If the worker dies

The contract also ends (article 16(a)). The TUO of the CTS Law (the compensación por tiempo de servicios, Peru’s severance fund) has its own rules. First, the employer must deposit what is pending:

“En caso de fallecimiento del trabajador, el empleador, salvo el caso contemplado en el Artículo 34 entregará al depositario el importe de la compensación que hubiera tenido que pagarle directamente, dentro de las 48 horas de notificado o de haber tomado conocimiento del deceso.” (article 53: except in one case the article carves out, the employer hands the pending CTS to the depositary within 48 hours of being notified or learning of the death.)

Then the spouse or partner can collect half without waiting for the succession:

“El depositario, a solicitud de parte, entregará, sin dilación ni responsabilidad alguna al cónyuge supérstite o al conviviente a que se refiere el Artículo 326 del Código Civil, que acredite su calidad de tal, el 50% del monto total acumulado de la compensación por tiempo de servicios y sus intereses, del trabajador fallecido; […]” (article 54: on request, the depositary pays the surviving spouse or partner who proves their status 50% of the accumulated CTS and interest.)

The article makes an exception for couples under the separate-property regime. The balance “lo mantendrá el depositario en custodia hasta la presentación del testamento o la declaratoria de herederos” (the depositary holds it until the will or the declaration of heirs is presented), and the share of minor children is held until they come of age (article 55).

For the rest of what the worker was owed (wages, vacation, bonuses), we did not read a specific labor rule. The general rule applies: those rights are part of the estate (article 660).

Money in the bank

If the deceased had bank accounts, the bank has its own rules before heirs are declared. See a deceased person’s bank accounts. To prove who the heirs are, see intestate succession.

What this page does not cover

We do not cover transferring electricity, water, phone or internet accounts: we did not read the current Osinergmin, Sunass or Osiptel rule on that. We also do not cover the death of a company’s partner or manager, special labor regimes (domestic workers, public sector), or what happens to the old rental deposit when new guarantees are requested. We did not review court rulings or administrative decisions on these articles.