Can the administrator of an estate claim from a housing trust for the contents of a flat that was stripped bare while the tenant was deceased?

Question

HELP Housing Trust issue. My brother and his partner rented a one bed flat through a Housing Trust. The partner died August last year and my brother died December. The HT were notified first week in January of the death. A neighbour notified HT on several occasions during January and February that men were coming and going from the flat and removing all my brothers belongings. They did nothing. I am administrator for the 2 estates as my brother was sole beneficiary of his partners estate and our dad is his next of kin. I went to the flat on 24th February to clear it out ready to hand back to HT. Police had to gain entry only to find the whole flat stripped bare of everything. I found out about my brothers death on 04th Feb and notified the HT of my involvement the following week. I believe the HT had a safe guarding duty of care for the property and contents. Can I claim from them for all the contents. Any helpful advice is appreciated.

Vivian Gray · Accepted Answer

NQ. I would suggest claiming on the contents insurance, as next of kin/
beneficiary/
executor you would be permitted to do so upon providing proof to the insurance company

Answer

Hi Sharon, thank you for your response. Not sure if they had contents insurance as nothing was left in the flat. Every scrap of paper even. CID are involved in regards to the mass burglary. I believe I should be claiming against the Housing Trust though. Would they not be ultimately responsible?

Anonymous

12th April 2022

Answer

NQ. Do you have the tenancy agreement? I believe that usually they specify that you have a couple of weeks to remove everything and then it’s considered forfeit, but you’d want his specific agreement.

You’d need to establish that they had a duty of care from December to February for them to be liable.

Answer

Thank you Sharon and Katy. I submitted a FOI request on 27February for copies of all enquiries/
complaints/
reports logged with HT for the last 12 months as the neighbour reported that men were coming and going taking the furniture etc over the 7 week period. I have yet to receive any reports as yet as the HT are seeking legal advice.

Answer

NQ but I have been through similar and liaised with CAB bout this issue:

I believe the Interference with goods act 1977 applies here

https://
www.lawteacher.n
et/
lecture-notes/
interference-wit
h-goods.php

As the sole beneficiary those goods are yours, and the HT have a duty to not convert the chattels in the property until such a time as they have reasonably proven them to be abandoned.

Answer

NQ. Not quite the same but when my dad died the HA gave us 2 weeks to clear the property and return the keys to them. If we had been unable or unwilling to do this they would have sent in a team to remove and dispose of anything left in the flat so the property could be prepared for a new tenant. As your brother died in December and you found out in February is it possible that this is what happened in the intervening peroid?

Cindy Hatfield

12th April 2022

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