Abandoned property, no probate

poppystar

Cloudy_day said:

The rats run between the houses, they aren't in our property so we can't do anything. Ours is sealed but it's pretty gross hearing them scratching through the walls!
I'll get rhe council to clean it and charge the estate. If you can't afford to look after a house, sell it. 
I've offered to help clear it, they stop responding. So council it is. 

If the house was solely owned by the deceased and if there are debts exceeding the value of the house then the advice the family would probably have received, if they’d asked on here for advice, would be to walk away and not administer the estate. If selling it would give them no financial reward and the house isn’t theirs then there is no obligation on them to do anything. The council may also be aware that they would be unlikely to actually get back anything from trying to charge the estate for any clean up done.