Garage renter has died

Onawingandaprayer

Oooh, take care. Remember that garage in Silence of the Lambs. :eek: Take Clarice with you...

TBagpuss

asHappy MJ says, write to "The Executors / Administrators of [Name]" and send it to the last known address.

Give a timescale for the garage to be cleared and state that if the estate wishes to renew the lease they can do so.

If you do need to clear the garage it may be wise to check first that there isn't anything which appears to be of any significant value - if there is, then after giving the executors time to cear the garage you could normally sell the contents, use any money to pay off the rent arrears and cost of changing the locks and then any surplus should be sent to the executors.

bris

You are now an "involuntary bailee" of any goods left in the garage, and need to follow the proper procedure. Take a look at this guide for what to do.
http://www.out-law.com/topics/property/investment-/landlord-and-tenant-goods-left-at-premises/

Guest101

Retro82 wrote: »

So the residents of our flats recently set up a managment company to own the freehold of our properties. Part of this included some garages that are rented out.

Trying to bring some order to what seemd to have been a fairly haphazard situation with the previous freeholder, I sent out new contracts with notice to the current renters (there didn't seem to be any existing written agreement I could find!).

However I received one 'return to sender' marked deceased. A fellow resident had some idea that he was unwell and our treasurer said payments had stopped a few months ago. I have no contact details other than an address. I wondered if anyone knows firstly our rights, but more importantly, some advice on how to deal with this sensitively and properly.

It's worrying you think you can unilaterally change existing contracts....

PasturesNew

You can widen your search for relatives by checking the local newspapers, online death announcements. See if there are any clues in there...

They often tell you who did the funeral. Get in touch with them to ask them to pass a letter on if they won't tell you names.

And/or is there a name of a child in the announcement - some are quite large and give clues.

e.g. "Bob, father of Robert & Mary".... tells you there are two children you might be able to (easily) find.... but "Bob, friend of many ...." indicates he probably didn't marry. However, "Bob, from all his mates at the British Legion..." gives you another clue and place to head for.

You might even find children/grandchildren on Facebook, they might've posted "dad died today" or "grandad's funeral today".

googler

PasturesNew wrote: »

You can widen your search for relatives by checking the local newspapers, online death announcements.

If the number of local solicitors is quite limited, OP may wish to write to all, outlining the circumstances, and asking if they dealt with the executry, and if so, could they pass details on to beneficiaries....