Who clears a house after death

dawnyp72

My neighbour recently passed away at home, she never left the house, never spoke to anyone and we very rarely saw her. Last weekend I noticed flies in her window, I knocked on the door but she wouldn’t have answered anyway. Called the police who came out and discovered her body in the bedroom, they think she had been there for months! I don’t think she had any family or friends ( she didn’t like people) The police said they had located a ‘friend’ who lives locally but they hadn’t seen her for a year.
I’m sorry if this sounds insensitive but I don’t know who to contact regarding clearing out the house, the flies are still there on the inside of the windows and on the outside trying to get in, especially the bedroom window, there will be rotting food in the kitchen and the police said there were birds getting into the loft.
If she had no next of kin or a will who is responsible for clearing/ cleaning the house? Who should I contact? Thank you

GrumpyDil

If the house is rented then the owner but if owned, technically the estate.

I would contact your local authority to see if they can help.

dawnyp72

Thank you. She owned the house 

RAS

Property means probate or administration will be required. In the absence of a will naming executors, they will be trying to find relatives to administer.

There are specialist companies who clear houses, or at least make sure that the worst of the situation is cleared.

I'm surprised that the LA or police haven't contacted anyone to do this, to be re-imbursed by the estate. Might be worth finding your local councillor asking asking them to make enquiries?

marcia_

 Find an heir hunter and report the death to them. They will track down relatives and get it sorted. 

dawnyp72

RAS said:

Property means probate or administration will be required. In the absence of a will naming executors, they will be trying to find relatives to administer.

There are specialist companies who clear houses, or at least make sure that the worst of the situation is cleared.

I'm surprised that the LA or police haven't contacted anyone to do this, to be re-imbursed by the estate. Might be worth finding your local councillor asking asking them to make enquiries?

That’s what I was thinking, probate could take years. It’s obviously very early days but I don’t know how long the house should be left like that or which department to contact. Thanks for your reply

Spendless

My Dad's friend died at home on Christmas Day a couple of years ago. Only because of the date was it discovered (by the friends who were expecting him at theirs for dinner) otherwise it could have been a week or 2 before suspicions were raised. To this day his house has not been touched, his car still sits on the driveway!  So yes could take years to sort. You could contact environmental health dept at your council, they might be able to signpost you if they cant help directly. 
 

dawnyp72

Spendless said:

My Dad's friend died at home on Christmas Day a couple of years ago. Only because of the date was it discovered (by the friends who were expecting him at theirs for dinner) otherwise it could have been a week or 2 before suspicions were raised. To this day his house has not been touched, his car still sits on the driveway!  So yes could take years to sort. You could contact environmental health dept at your council, they might be able to signpost you if they cant help directly. 
 

This is what I’m worried about, it taking years, it’s not the house being empty. She was found on the bed after months, surely the bed should be disposed of and any rotting food, the windows are crawling with flies. I rang my local council who say because it’s not council property it’s nothing to do with them and the executor must deal with it but I don’t even know if there is one.

user1977

dawnyp72 said:

Spendless said:

My Dad's friend died at home on Christmas Day a couple of years ago. Only because of the date was it discovered (by the friends who were expecting him at theirs for dinner) otherwise it could have been a week or 2 before suspicions were raised. To this day his house has not been touched, his car still sits on the driveway!  So yes could take years to sort. You could contact environmental health dept at your council, they might be able to signpost you if they cant help directly. 
 

I rang my local council who say because it’s not council property it’s nothing to do with them

Which department were you speaking to? Environmental health can deal with it (if the condition of the property is causing a nuisance to yours) no matter who the owner is. 

silvercar

dawnyp72 said:

Spendless said:

My Dad's friend died at home on Christmas Day a couple of years ago. Only because of the date was it discovered (by the friends who were expecting him at theirs for dinner) otherwise it could have been a week or 2 before suspicions were raised. To this day his house has not been touched, his car still sits on the driveway!  So yes could take years to sort. You could contact environmental health dept at your council, they might be able to signpost you if they cant help directly. 
 

This is what I’m worried about, it taking years, it’s not the house being empty. She was found on the bed after months, surely the bed should be disposed of and any rotting food, the windows are crawling with flies. I rang my local council who say because it’s not council property it’s nothing to do with them and the executor must deal with it but I don’t even know if there is one.

Sounds like no one is administering the estate, so that’s a poor answer. 

Did she support any charity? Have a love for animals that may mean she left everything to an animal charity?

poppystar

Definitely contact your councillor if nothing is being done. They will know who to approach within their council area. AIUI most councils should have a procedure for when someone dies alone, checking for Will and any possible relatives - but who has responsibility may vary by area. 

Or, as also suggested above, alert one of the big heir hunting companies and see if they are interested.