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Landlord has died with no NoK
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Certainly interesting situation. Once the landlord is found they will be in breach of tenancy for not keeping up with legal requirements eg annual gas certificate! Shame your landlord didn’t leave you the property, given they haven’t left it to anyone else!I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.2
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silvercar said:Certainly interesting situation. Once the landlord is found they will be in breach of tenancy for not keeping up with legal requirements eg annual gas certificate! Shame your landlord didn’t leave you the property, given they haven’t left it to anyone else!0
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There doesn't appear to be any relatives unfortunately, heir hunters have been looking and haven't found anything, there was a substantial amount of cash in the bank account and other properties that also had tenants. Strange situation. My uncle is a solicitor and has been tracking this case. My local council has been taking over abandoned properties in order to turn into council housing so wondering if that may happen to mine.2
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kkkklinky said:There doesn't appear to be any relatives unfortunately, heir hunters have been looking and haven't found anything, there was a substantial amount of cash in the bank account and other properties that also had tenants. Strange situation. My uncle is a solicitor and has been tracking this case. My local council has been taking over abandoned properties in order to turn into council housing so wondering if that may happen to mine.0
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Flugelhorn said:kkkklinky said:There doesn't appear to be any relatives unfortunately, heir hunters have been looking and haven't found anything, there was a substantial amount of cash in the bank account and other properties that also had tenants. Strange situation. My uncle is a solicitor and has been tracking this case. My local council has been taking over abandoned properties in order to turn into council housing so wondering if that may happen to mine.
Would it though?
If the OP is not entitled to a council house*, would they not serve notice and replace them with someone who does?
It really is a shame that the LL didn't think long and hard about what they wanted to happen to their estate. If it was just going to end up with the Crown, it would have been a lovely gesture to leave it to charity or to the sitting tenants of each property at the time.
* Is entitlement to housing element under UC further down the pecking order to someone entitled to a LA home?
How's it going, AKA, Nutwatch? - 12 month spends to date = 2.60% of current retirement "pot" (as at end May 2025)2 -
kkkklinky said:There doesn't appear to be any relatives unfortunately, heir hunters have been looking and haven't found anything, there was a substantial amount of cash in the bank account and other properties that also had tenants. Strange situation. My uncle is a solicitor and has been tracking this case. My local council has been taking over abandoned properties in order to turn into council housing so wondering if that may happen to mine.Yours isn't abandoned though - it belongs to the estate of your landlord which in the absence of beneficiaries belongs to the Crown. You are also living in the property, so it doesn't need the council to intervene (yet) to make sure it is being used as a home.When the council advised you to stay put, did they give you any indication about applying to go on their housing list? Even if the council did (eventually) take ownership there's no guarantee they would let you carry on living there, especially if (for example) the property is larger than you need. And they would also very likely want you to move out while the property was refurbished up to their standards. It is unlikely to be as simple as them taking over from your deceased landlord with everything else staying the same.2
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Section62 said:kkkklinky said:There doesn't appear to be any relatives unfortunately, heir hunters have been looking and haven't found anything, there was a substantial amount of cash in the bank account and other properties that also had tenants. Strange situation. My uncle is a solicitor and has been tracking this case. My local council has been taking over abandoned properties in order to turn into council housing so wondering if that may happen to mine.Yours isn't abandoned though - it belongs to the estate of your landlord which in the absence of beneficiaries belongs to the Crown. You are also living in the property, so it doesn't need the council to intervene (yet) to make sure it is being used as a home.When the council advised you to stay put, did they give you any indication about applying to go on their housing list? Even if the council did (eventually) take ownership there's no guarantee they would let you carry on living there, especially if (for example) the property is larger than you need. And they would also very likely want you to move out while the property was refurbished up to their standards. It is unlikely to be as simple as them taking over from your deceased landlord with everything else staying the same.I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.1
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silvercar said:Section62 said:kkkklinky said:There doesn't appear to be any relatives unfortunately, heir hunters have been looking and haven't found anything, there was a substantial amount of cash in the bank account and other properties that also had tenants. Strange situation. My uncle is a solicitor and has been tracking this case. My local council has been taking over abandoned properties in order to turn into council housing so wondering if that may happen to mine.Yours isn't abandoned though - it belongs to the estate of your landlord which in the absence of beneficiaries belongs to the Crown. You are also living in the property, so it doesn't need the council to intervene (yet) to make sure it is being used as a home.When the council advised you to stay put, did they give you any indication about applying to go on their housing list? Even if the council did (eventually) take ownership there's no guarantee they would let you carry on living there, especially if (for example) the property is larger than you need. And they would also very likely want you to move out while the property was refurbished up to their standards. It is unlikely to be as simple as them taking over from your deceased landlord with everything else staying the same.
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Just a thought- if nothing happens for 12+ years would the OP be able to claim the house under adverse possession rules?
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Skiddaw1 said:Just a thought- if nothing happens for 12+ years would the OP be able to claim the house under adverse possession rules?
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