Clearing a council house after death

LJ9982

Mojisola wrote: »

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.

Not really, no. Being the lovely daughter that i am, i bought new washing machine, fridge and cooker for my father as he cannot afford to buy these things himself being a pensioner - and i have the receipts somewhere I am sure. Saying that though, they were gifts from me to him so belong to him I suppose. To be honest, I would rather lose any furniture in the house than have to stump up hundreds in clearance costs anyhow.

The only thing i know i will be taking for sure are photos and personal effects.

Mojisola

LJ9982 wrote: »

Not really, no. Being the lovely daughter that i am, i bought new washing machine, fridge and cooker for my father as he cannot afford to buy these things himself being a pensioner - and i have the receipts somewhere I am sure. Saying that though, they were gifts from me to him so belong to him I suppose. To be honest, I would rather lose any furniture in the house than have to stump up hundreds in clearance costs anyhow.

The only thing i know i will be taking for sure are photos and personal effects.

You have to look at it from the point of view of the council's legal department, not from your own knowledge.

I would keep the receipts safe and ask about taking the white goods.

paulineb_2

My mum had to clear my grans house on her own. She wasn't a hoarder but did have a fair amount of stuff. The council didn't offer to do it for us, my mum had to do it herself.

Id check before you do anything else that the council will actually clear the home, if they do, Id expect them to bill you.

Mojisola

paulineb wrote: »

My mum had to clear my grans house on her own. She wasn't a hoarder but did have a fair amount of stuff. The council didn't offer to do it for us, my mum had to do it herself.

Id check before you do anything else that the council will actually clear the home, if they do, Id expect them to bill you.

They can bill the estate but not relatives.

Jenniefour

Mojisola wrote: »

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.

Stealing from the estate? OP is the daughter so if there anything of value i.e. an estate, then it belongs to her and any siblings, not the council. Unless father has made a will that states otherwise.

Mojisola

Jenniefour wrote: »

Stealing from the estate? OP is the daughter so if there anything of value i.e. an estate, then it belongs to her and any siblings, not the council. Unless father has made a will that states otherwise.

The first call on an estate is debts - if the council is owed money for rent and/or house clearance and the DWP for overpaid benefits, if there are utility bills, etc, they all take priority over inheritance.

BitterAndTwisted

The Council won't know whether there were any expensive appliances in the property if they don't see them in situ. Still, the second-hand value of said appliances would be minimal.

In the event of the father's death the family could pop round and remove whatever they like before they inform the council of his death.

It's safe to assume that they will want the property surrendered within a very short time-scale and will insist that rent is due until it's handed back.

If there's no money in the deceased's estate to pay rent, utilities, Council Tax or the clearance charges then these costs cannot be collected from family members, the next-door neighbours, the pub landlord or anybody else they might choose to look at. But some will give every appearance of being able to do so.