Clearing a council house after death

LJ9982

Hi

Just wanting some advice ref clearing a house if the tenant dies.

Sounds morbid but I'm thinking ahead ref my dad. His health hasn't been great for a while and just wanting some advice ref what happens / who's responsible.

My dad is a pensioner and has no savings/no estate. As it is, I'd have to pay for his funeral which I have no problem with but I don't have a lot of money myself and worry ref clearing his house should he die/have to go in a home.

My dad is a hoarder and I've tried and tried to get him to get a skip and let me and my OH help him clear out but he always says no/he needs everything. He has three bedrooms and furniture in all as well as a loft and garage full of furniture and stuff he's collected over the years.

As he has no estate, would/could I be forced to pay? If I left the council to clear it out, could they bill me for clearance?

LJ9982

I also don't live there and he's the sole tenant....

thequant

LJ9982 wrote: »

Hi

Just wanting some advice ref clearing a house if the tenant dies.

Sounds morbid but I'm thinking ahead ref my dad. His health hasn't been great for a while and just wanting some advice ref what happens / who's responsible.

My dad is a pensioner and has no savings/no estate. As it is, I'd have to pay for his funeral which I have no problem with but I don't have a lot of money myself and worry ref clearing his house should he die/have to go in a home.

My dad is a hoarder and I've tried and tried to get him to get a skip and let me and my OH help him clear out but he always says no/he needs everything. He has three bedrooms and furniture in all as well as a loft and garage full of furniture and stuff he's collected over the years.

As he has no estate, would/could I be forced to pay? If I left the council to clear it out, could they bill me for clearance?

No they can't.


Also something to watch out for and this is quite common. Is that when you inform the council of your dads passing, they will likely you send you a bill claiming that that your father failed to give notice that he was going to abandon the property and that you liable for a months rent.


you don't need to pay this either.

PlymouthMaid

I don't know if the council would charge you but I expect they would. What about these house clearance companies - I always thought they did it for free but got to keep everything for themselves to sell.

Mojisola

Have a look on his council's website. There will a page like this -
https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/109/council_tenants-advice_and_support/1255/death_of_a_council_tenant

Are you sure that he doesn't have savings? Hoarders often stash cash away as well as the more obvious rubbish. Also hoarders often don't spend much money - it's surprising how much can be saved from a pension if you live frugally. Money could be building up in an account somewhere. If he does have any money, the priority debt is the funeral so you may not have to pay for it.

Will you want any of his personal belongings - photos, etc? If you are going to refuse to become the administrator after his death, you won't be able to enter the flat and remove any goods. The council will organise the clearance, sell anything they can to recoup their expenses and the rest will go to the tip.

Jenniefour

PlymouthMaid wrote: »

What about these house clearance companies - I always thought they did it for free but got to keep everything for themselves to sell.

Only if there are several items of more than nominal value, which may not be the case. Otherwise they charge you to shift it, because they will often put most of it down the tip - for which they may have to pay, on top of their petrol and time.

ali-t

We were given 2 weeks by the council to have the house emptied after a relatives death. They want a very fast turnover so you may have to resort to a house clearance company.

Shelldean

our lovely council was not the most sympathetic when Nan died.


She died on a the Saturday of a bank holiday weekend. We notified the council at the earliest opportunity, so Tues. They fully expected us to hand the keys over there and then. I kid you not!!!!


Her next suggestion was Friday the same week, and while nan wasn't a hoarder, this was the house she had lived in since she was 2. Her family moved in, in 1925, and died in 2007. So there was a fair bit of stuff to go through. We also had to register the death, and arrange a funeral.


We finally agreed on 22 june as the hand over day, giving us just over three weeks to sort and clear everything.


We managed it just about, althougth due to neither of us having a car, we couldn't get rid of her 3 piece suite, her wardrobe and her almost brand new cooker.
The cooker we left with instructions taped to the top.


The council wrote to us and informed us that the estate owed them for the unpaid rent, and for the house clearance.


Cant recall the rent asked for but the house clearance was over £1500, this bill was enclosed with photos of the things they had to clear. And although it included the suite, wardrobe, it also included the Thompson local directory we'd left on the stairs for next tenants, and the pile of empty boxes we'd left by accident. Funny enough there was NO photo of the brand new cooker.




They was informed the estate had no funds, they did write several times and try very hard to convince us we had to pay. we politely declined and confirmed the estate had NO funds. they eventually got the message.






So be warned the councils wont care you're grieving they just want their rent and the empty property.

squinty

Assuming the tenant is secure, and the property is in England.

The tenancy does not end on the death of the tenant, however it ceases to become a secure tenancy. Strictly speaking the tenancy can only be ended by serving a Notice to Quit on the Council. This will normally be for 4 weeks, starting on the next rent day (usually Monday)

However, in some cases the Council will accept a surrender of tenancy and the return of the keys.

Any costs, inclusing clearance costs and rent arrears, are only recoverable from the Estate, not the next of kin. However the executor will probably need to confirm this in writing.

LJ9982

Thanks for all the responses so far

I can assure my dad has no savings. He's a nightmare with money and always has been and the reason why he's such a hoarder is that he likes to spend his pension on things that are in his house - tat in my opinion (and if there was anything left, i'd be happy to use that to pay towards any final bill on the house)

So as the next of kin, i wouldn't be liable for any cost incurred for clearning / rent for the house I am guessing.... I am happy for the council to take what they want to re-coup any costs (though i do have a key and will clear personal things like photos and any furniture i'd like to keep before i'd hand over the keys anyhow).

Mojisola

LJ9982 wrote: »

So as the next of kin, i wouldn't be liable for any cost incurred for clearning / rent for the house I am guessing.... I am happy for the council to take what they want to re-coup any costs (though i do have a key and will clear personal things like photos and any furniture i'd like to keep before i'd hand over the keys anyhow).

Legally, this would be stealing from the estate. Presumably you will be taking the best furniture which the council could sell to recoup their costs.