Council house charge after death

Happy_Kitties

Before DM had died (although terminal and in a home) it took me a few weeks to clear her house out. It was a housing association house. I realised that her rent would be building up because benefits had been changed with going into a home. I couldn't get the piano out and some garden furniture so it had to be left when I handed the keys back. She has a small amount of money but was advised to pay nothing, actually by the council when registering her death and that the housing association had a slush fund for it. I know not the council but they never ended up chasing us for any money at all despite having to pay for a specialist clearance with the piano, 

Spendless

elsien said:

Do they records calls? You could make a subject access request? I think I would still ask for a full breakdown and make sure all communication from here on in is writing/via email. Then a formal complaint if you believe the charge is excessive. 

When I worked for the council housing dept (until last Summer) calls aren't recorded auditory  as such but all should be logged on their computer system.

OP -  If the council hadn't been informed that the tenant had died and the keys hadn't been returned with the related paperwork (as in don't just stick the keys in the post make sure this is done officially and always get a receipt) then the council will continue to charge. Depending on how much the rent was and the amount of time left empty then that could add up to a fair bit (if that's what's happened).

Can you explain more re the garage, is this a garage that belonged to the council that your parent/s rented from them, is it one that was already there when they moved into the property or one they had built themselves? If it's one they had built themselves then I should imagine they had to ask permission and that possibly explained the situation once they vacated the property. A council won't take on maintenance for something that isn't what they've issued, so possibly this is why it's been demolished.

You don't owe the council the costs but the estate does, and that includes paying of any bills which unfortunately for you  takes priority over what your parents wanted, but first I'd establish exactly how the costs have incurred.