rent refund after death

Paggy66

Poppie68 wrote: »

Where did the money come from to pay the rent? Was it paid through housing benefit or from private means?

Unsure what difference that makes as the money goes to a private landlord, however, it was from private means.

TBagpuss

Sorry to hear of your loss.

Who have you spoken to at the housing association? It may be that if you can speak to someone more senior, or to the complaints department, then they will be able to resolve this - you need someone who has the seniority and discretion to override the initial 'computer says no'. Does the agency have a bereavement team or a complaints department?


One possible way forward might be to offer to provide them with a letter of indemnity - basically, your wife would provide a letter stating that she declares that she is her mother's next of kin and entitled to her estate and that she agrees to indemnify them in relation to the refund (basically, this means that she agrees to repay it if someone else were to turn with a grant of probate/letters of administration). They may ask for this to be in the form of a Statutory Declaration, in which case it will cost you £5 to declare it in front of a solicitor, or you should be able to declare it for free at the counter of your local county court.

The HA is not obliged to accept this but s would be a reasonable way to deal with it.

She'd also need to provide a copy of the death certificate.

This is (as you may have found) how a lot of banks deal with the issue with small estates and if your wife has had to sign forms for any other accounts her mum had she may be able to use them as a template.

ognum

Do you have to have any official documents in order to sort out the rest of her affairs.

Why don't you contact them again and ask if there is any other documentation they will accept. maybe bank information, will or probate details.

Hope you work it out I'm sure there must be a way round it, if needed contact the managing director.

Poppie68

Paggy66 wrote: »

Unsure what difference that makes as the money goes to a private landlord, however, it was from private means.

If it was overpayment of HB the money would of been owed to the local authority, and down to them to make a claim, but doubt they would even bother for £40.

jamie11

Please correct me if you think I'm wrong but I believe that rent, once paid, is non-refundable.

On the other hand there was no need for the OP to pay the utility bills her mother's estate owed. If there was no money in the estate then those bills would not be collectable.

witchy1066

sorry to hear about your loss,

if your MIL was in sheltered housing, private or publically owned they is every possibility the rent was subsidised,

not saying this is the case in your situation

these subsidies come indirectly from various organisations , SSAFA, police charities (I mention the 2 only because your MIL had some connection with them ) and numerous others , and yes the tax payer,

who is it you are thinking is going to profit , these company's have to account for every penny they receive ,

but if you get the proper paper work, show it to them , they will be only to happy to give you the money,

the rule is there to protect you, lets face it you would be annoyed if they handed the money over to someone saying they were your wife and wasn't

we should embrace these security checks the only people who don't benefit are the frauds

theartfullodger

(Assuming this is England or Wales)

Did your mother's estate or executors serve valid notice to quit to end the tenancy?? If not the tenancy still stands & the liability of her estate/executors for ongoing rent continues....

If after I die my sons were scrabbling round after claiming back £40 from such a body I'd come back & haunt them... Might I 'umbly suggest there are better ways to remember one's parent (yes, I too had a parent who served in WW2 etc etc etc... likewise gorn... ).

Just because this is a site named "moneysaving" doesn't mean saving money is necessarily always the right thing to do...

Did you write a letter to the HA after her demise thanking them for attending to her for so many years??

Sorry about your loss

Cheers!

Miss_Marple_2

I understand where the Op is coming from. My mum died a few months ago and we went through the probate process then a couple of weeks ago she was sent a letter regarding her post office budget card. My mum faithfully put £10 a month onto this card to cover her car tax. It had £60 on it. I felt mean claiming it, but my mum was really careful with her money and I know she would have been really annoyed with me if I hadn't claimed it.

When it arrives we will be sending it to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Buzby

Rent does not cease on death.

Only when the keys and vacant possession is handed over, further they may also be a notice period to contend with - so each cads will be deal with under the conditions prevailing of each rental.

G_M

sandsni wrote: »

..... It seems a little bit petty to demand a £40 refund unless your wife is down to her last penny and can't afford to eat.

The £40 does not belong to OP's wife. It belongs to MIL's Estate.

And potentially HB or any other organisation that's been contributing to MIL's rent could claim it back off the Estate and/or HA.