Why I can't remove tasks/subtasks as an space owner

[Katherina]

Hi team,

As a Space Owner, I can’t delete tasks or subtasks inside my space. I expected to have this permission, but I either don’t see the delete option or it doesn’t work for me or for my team members, whom I’ve granted admin permissions.

Is this expected behavior, or could this be a permission issue?

Thanks in advance.

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski · Accepted solution]

Hello @Katherina 

Since you are on the Jira Free plan, that is the most likely reason for the block.

On the Free tier, Atlassian locks down the ability to customize permission schemes or space roles. If your site was previously on a Standard or Premium plan and then downgraded, your old permission settings might still be active in the background, but they become non-editable until you upgrade again. This can lead to situations where a user should have access but is being blocked by a "ghost" setting from a previous plan.

To figure out exactly what’s happening, I recommend using the Permission Helper.

You can find this in your Jira settings; just select an affected user and a specific task, then test for the "Delete work items" or "Delete issues" permission. The helper will give you a clear "Yes" or "No" and explain exactly which group or role is causing the failure.

If this is a team-managed project, double-check that the user is explicitly assigned the Administrator role, as the "Member" role on Free often has restricted delete rights. If it's a company-managed project, you are likely stuck with the default permission scheme unless you move to a paid tier to unlock those edits. 

[Kythera]

I'm running into the same issue as the OP (also can't archive work items). I never had a Standard or Premium Jira subscription, but chances are good I was funneled into a "free trial" when I created the instance back in 2021. (As an aside, it's really easy to miss the option to opt out of a free trial, if I recall correctly...)

So now I'm in a situation where I've created a new Jira space to track a specific side project I'm working on, but I can't delete or archive work items in that space (but I can in the first space I created when I first created the instance back in 2021). To be clear, I'm the ONLY user and only org admin (I'm the one who created the instance).

Basically...because I (most likely) used the free trial and then downgraded, I now have to pay for at least one month of Standard or Premium to resolve this issue. I'm more than a little irritated. :/

[John Funk]

Hi Katherina,

On the Free subscription, deletes are not allowed. Also it is not a good idea to allow deletes of work items. I suggest you update your workflow to add a Status for Cancelled or Abandoned or something like that. That move those work items that are not needed, are duplicates, or will not be worked on to that Status. 

[Kythera]

I can delete work items in my free instance. There are valid reasons to want to delete items. I'm also the ONLY user in my instance, and my particular use case is pretty unique.

Lack of ability to delete (or archive) is seriously damaging my flow. :|

[Fatma from VIP_LEAN Solutions]

Hi @Katherina ;
Deletion permission needs to be explicitly granted. You set it in the Project Setings.
BR, 
Fatma

[John Funk]

Delete cannot be granted in a Free subscription.