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]

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. 

[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. 

[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.