Today we are publishing a letter sent to us regarding the death of a relative who was living in rental accommodation.
We know the letter to be genuine but we have kept the author’s identity, and that of her late brother, confidential.
Unfortunately they do not know the name of the lettings agency through which the property was rented, so we cannot give the right to reply that we would have liked: inevitably, therefore, the interpretation of events is through one side only, but we feel it important that we print the letter as requested.
The tragedy happened two years ago this week, but the emotions of the relatives appear still to be quite raw.
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I am writing an open letter to you with the hope that this letter may make a difference to how people who are in the market to rent properties are treated, and I would really appreciate you reading to the bottom of this letter.
My brother had a drug-induced seizure in his flat in Manchester and died two years ago [this week]. He had been renting this flat for several years, following the breakdown in his relationship. My brother was living with mental health issues and had slipped initially into alcohol dependency as a way to cope.
As I am sure you can imagine, as his family, we were extremely shocked by this tragedy. We were told by the manager of the property … that we needed to clear Jack's flat within 48 hours.
The way in which the letting agent informed us of our commitments was upsetting - his manner and attitude was in no way compassionate or caring. We discovered that the letting agent had sealed up the flat and we were initially told we were not allowed to go in to remove any possessions, despite us needing to find clothes to send to the undertakers.
My brother has two young children, aged 12 and 8 at the time, who wanted to go to the flat to collect items and spend some time there as a way to start their grief process. We had to ask for the barricade to be removed before we could let them in as we were fearful that this would be very difficult for them to witness.
Once we accessed the flat, I could see it was neat and tidy just as my brother liked things to be. However, I was absolutely horrified at the general state of repair of the flat. The carpet was loose on the stairs, which I almost tripped down several times (my brother had offered to fix this as he was a carpet fitter but was told no). There was a hole in his ceiling and loose wires hanging down and he had recently had an infestation of mice.
Whilst legally we may have had to move my brother's belongings, I can tell you, this whole experience has been horrific. From not being allowed to access his possessions, having to worry about what his children would have to experience, then having 48 hours in which to clear his flat has been extremely traumatic for me to deal with.
The way in which this was handled by the manager and the letting agent of this property made us feel like my brother's life and death was not important or valued. When I asked the manager of the property why we couldn't access the property and when my brother had paid his rent until, he outwardly scoffed at the answer and explained that my brother was in rental arrears.
Not only were we contending with the tragic loss of my brother, we had to contend with the manager of the property adding more stress and pain into an already distressing situation.
The facts are, yes it is likely my brother did owe money to a letting agent and yes he was living with addiction, but people who are living with addiction are often misunderstood, maligned and are marginalised by our society. Addiction is an illness and most people in addiction have suffered from some form of trauma in their lives and taking drugs or drinking is a way to self-medicate.
I am hopeful that by writing this letter to you that should you feel it was of interest to your publication it would be printed in order to help spread awareness to estate and letting agents to think about their procedures and approaches to grieving family members who have experienced a sudden tragic loss like ours, to approach it with more compassion and empathy than we have experienced.
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Many years ago one of my tenants died in their rental flat. Very different circumstances but no less distressing for those closely involved. Ironically it was only through this occurrence that I discovered for fact, what I actually suspected and had challenged them over, they were lying about owning several cats, if only they'd been honest with me and the Landlord it would have saved other issues following this death. I would never have handled the matter as described in this letter. There are obviously procedures you have to follow but be compassionate, understanding and kind it's not difficult.
All well and good but these are crocodile tears from a very close relative. We looked after our father in law who had dementia and his elder daughter and husband categorically refused to help. And wrote to letters to is to that effect, he intercepted one. He died suddenly and they rushed round, spouting " if only we had known "
In our job we must wear two hats. We are employed by a landlord to do the best for them but we have a duty of care to their tenant. Sometimes showing that you are a human being with feelings of humility is no bad thing. In any case surely working with the family to ensure that the property was cleared is better than being rude. This is, however, only one side of the story so we know that it is bound to miss out some critical information. One sided stories usually do.
I would have hoped an agent would know that the death of a tenant does not end a tenancy. Had they been aware this whole sad situation would have been avoided.
Two sides to every story.
Having just gone through this with a long standing great tenant. Once she had passed her brother moved in. Stopped paying rent. Had works badly carried out at the property and ran up a £5,000+ electric bill in a small maisonette. We tried to help but he would not correspond with us. It was a deliberately ploy to live rent and bill free.
We have had a similar case many years ago, the family were very nice to us and vice versa.
This does seem to be a one sided letter. Is it possible the property had be barricaded due the police ? I can see no reason why the agent would benefit by not letting them clear the property. I understand the family are grieving but just can not see any reason why a agency would mistreat them at a time like this. As professionals we have certain procedures to follow, So I'm guessing at a this family can not see this, due their overwhelming grief. My sincere sympathies go this family and even the agents, it's never nice or straightforward for us agents to go through these situations either.
We have had a couple of deaths in our properties through old age and drug abuse. We followed the correct procedures and had no issues. Everything was sorted without any issues. But would this publication print a "lovely" letter from someone saying how kind and helpful an agent was (which is probably the most common scenario)?
Death can be difficult, we had one situation where a solicitor was the administrator of the assets - they refused to allow us to clear the property and refused to pay rent until beneficiaries of the will were found. This took nearly a year! We were unable to go into the property to clear and refurbish whilst arrears were be built up. The solicitors "promised" to pay at the but in reality that wasn't the best solution - an empty property deteriorating for a year!
In this case, the tenant was in arrears - probably didn't engage with the agent - that part of the story hasn't been told. There is always 3 sides - their truth, your truth and the truth in the middle.
Why did you not serve notice on the estate? S21 if periodic or use Section 8 for rent arrears, nothing that the solicitor could have done under S21 and if Section 8 could have paid arrears or given possession.
Yes a process has to be followed but compassion and common sense need to play a large part, neither of which seem to have been on offer here a great deal.
So what happened to the advice they should have received.....In that a death of a tenant does not end the tenancy??
Sounds like it was handled incompassionately and incorrectly from the start!
This must have been awful for the kids. Such a shame! I would also try to see the full picture too and understand what instructions the owner of the property had given to the letting agent. In many cases, the landlord will instruct the agent to take certain actions. The letting agent can (and should) advise the owner of the property of the compliant and moral ways they propose to manage situations but ultimately, it's the landlords money and the landlords property so I'd like to know if the landlord was being forceful with this seemingly harsh process. No letting agent wants to intentionally treat a grieving family like this, especially when children are involved. I hope not anyway.
SS their is only one truth.Meghan Markel seems to have publicised my truth.
Only yesterday I received the sad new3s that a young male tenant who had returned to Ukraine had died out there!
I used to have on average I would guess, two tenants a year die! I always deal with the deaths of tenants myself to ensure that the relatives are not put under any pressure. There is no deduction from the deposit and arrears of rent are written off..
However, when a Council Official was uncooperative and I referred to him as a Petty Little Hitler I am in hot water!
Be big about it and give two months, rent free, to clear the house and return the deposit in full!
1. As previous posters have said, death of a tenant doesn't end the tenancy.
2. If people take hard drugs they know the likely consequences will end in death. Nobody forces them to do so. It's not that I'm unsympathetic, just stating facts. My cousin was a member of a famous 1980's band and managed to drown in the bath after a heroin overdose in 1983. He was just 31 and had a very young child too.
3. The poster of the letter appears not to have visited his brother for some years before his death. His children probably lived with their mother or other family members.
4. Was the agent aware of the tenant's mental health issues before a tenancy was granted?
5. The agent needs to undertake some training urgently about end-of-tenancy procedure on death of a tenant.
6. Arrears should have been managed by the deceased's representative or beneficiary, or if previously appointed, Power of Attorney, as they are still legally payable if the landlord so wishes.
7. Agents who cancel rent payments and return deposits in full have no authority to do so without referring the matter to their landlord client for instructions.
8. It's all very sad. I had a tenant in his 30s who died within three weeks of taking up the tenancy. I couldn't find out the cause of death and still don't know to this day.
Item 8 is spot on. Agents are just that - agents and have no authority to waive arrears or return deposits in full without checking with their client landlord.
Unfortunately, like it or not, that letter is symptomatic of today's society! Firstly it's monstering landlords and letting agents. Secondly it's people expecting society to be caring, but for them, but not taking any responsibility or doing anything to help. Thirdly it's expecting landlords to cater for the social ills of society, without payment or support. Fourthly the writer is trying to abrogate themselves of any responsibility for the situation. Fifth the writer has not offered to pay off the arrears and costs incurred by their close relative. Sixth, people on this forum are rushing in to virtue signal, and shooting themselves in the foot. Seventh it's highly likely that the tenant was a nightmare for the letting agent. Eighth where are the police here ? How did he get the drugs, could they have stopped the supply should they have been involved. Eighth social services where were they ? Nineth, how could a landlord or letting agent return a deposit, the arrears will absorb it and probably much more. Tenth, the letting agent is being blamed for failures In society as a whole. Eleventh, the letter is anonymous, how do we know it's not part of the governments campaign to monster landlords ?
In my case the tenant that had died was a mother who had adopted a baby with my blessing!
In most other cases the tenant had does i a motor accident!
Landlords need to be seen as compassionate where a tenant as died!
Fergus, l donate to charities by standing order. We are very keen to be compassionate, and as explained earlier we looked after my wife's father, who had dementia. Unfortunately his elder daughters family rejected him and refused to help. That is the point l am making, we cannot be an extra arm of the state, otherwise we will go bust. A lot of families have become selfish and refused to meet their family obligations. Harry and Meghan are a good example!
Ny friends father died during the tenancy which the agents then tried to terminate. My friend said to them that as he had paid for the whole of the tenancy, they could keep him until then. Her father and I were friends and I am sure that he would have aproved. In any event, is not the landlord obliged to keep the tenant's goods safe and available for collection
Philip, it depends what the contract says, surely you don't need that the man's body was left in the house ? Very unusual that a tenant paid their rent in advance. One would have thought that the family would have looked to clear out the property and recover the extra rent, if the contract allowed it.
You feel you have done all you can to help and the next minute you are Public Enemy Number One!
Fergus
That's politics. They want a bogie man, you will probably find that it's been hatched up by some p r. agency
I guess you are right!
I guess you are right!
Sincere condolences to the family and young children for their loss.
Sincere condolences to the family and young children for their loss.
Fergus
It seems to be that modern politics is about good publicity and then doing the opposite.
Andy,
You are virtue signalling ! Any normal person is saddened by an unnatural death. Unfortunately drug addicts are a nightmare, and almost certainly his close relatives have abandoned him. Frankly, it's deadly to allow young people to have anything to do with them.
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