An executor is the person named in a will to carry out its instructions: collect the money, property and possessions of the person who died, pay their debts and taxes, and pass on what's left. An executor only inherits if the will also names them as a beneficiary.
Executor or administrator?
Both are "personal representatives". GOV.UK says a personal representative is "legally responsible for the money, property and possessions of the person who died". With no will, the closest living relative can apply to be administrator: normally the husband, wife or civil partner, then any children 18 or over. Their authority comes with the letters of administration. Until the grant, don't market the property (see probate) or sell or give away anything valuable without advice.
At Wigwam
Renting a unit for the estate. An executor can rent from day one, without waiting for the grant of probate. Our solicitors' guide says the contract is "signed in the executor's name, in their capacity as executor of the estate", so you pay the fees. In England, a personal representative may pay "expenses properly incurred" from the estate, or be repaid from it (Trustee Act 2000, sections 31 and 35), so keep every invoice. Banks may not release the estate's money before the grant (GOV.UK: "Every organisation has its own rules"), so you may pay first and reclaim later. If there's no will, whoever is going to apply to be administrator can still book a unit now, in their own name, like any customer. Until the letters of administration arrive you're renting as yourself, not for the estate: agree with the family who pays, keep every invoice, and ask a solicitor whether the estate can repay you and what you can move before the grant. The median (middle value) of our listed prices is about £78 per four weeks for 25 sq ft and £143 for 50 sq ft, before any introductory offer. Nothing is added at checkout: the total in your quote is what you pay, and our prices include VAT. Goods must stay "adequately insured" for their "Replacement Value", through our contents protection or another policy. When you book, you pay a refundable deposit of two weeks' rent at your unit's standard weekly rate, refunded within 21 days of your agreement ending (clause 4).
If the person who died already rented a unit with us. The agreement runs, and fees keep falling due, until written notice is given, unless we both agree otherwise in writing (see notice period). Once it's emptied, our move-out FAQ refunds "any unused days on your contract after the notice period". Our terms say "Only You or Your Agents may access the Unit". Access someone shared with you was given on the customer's behalf ("persons who you authorise", in our terms), and that kind of permission generally ends when the person who gave it dies. So don't use a shared key after a death: ring us on 0800 2545585 first and we'll tell you what we need. If the unit was in joint names, the surviving customer is still a customer under the agreement and should call us too. See authorised user. To take over or empty the unit, we'll generally ask for the death certificate and the grant (probate, or letters of administration). If the estate won't need probate, ring us on 0800 2545585 before anyone visits the unit and ask what we'll accept in place of a grant. Have the death certificate ready. Our published pages don't list the alternatives.
Helping, but not the executor? Paying doesn't make you the customer or give you the executor's right to repayment, so agree first how you'll be paid back. Solicitors and clearance firms renting for an estate are themselves the named customer.
Related terms: Probate · Grant of probate · House clearance · Authorised user
Related questions: What happens to a storage unit when the person renting it dies? · Who pays for storage while an estate is being sorted out?