House Clearance After A Death

Clearing a House After a Death

Organising a house clearance after bereavement can be very tricky, there may be some legal aspects that you need to observe. We’ll cover the basics below.

When a family member dies, the person who inherits the property will have a lot to organise and consider.

One of the main tasks before the house can be cleared is to value the property and contents, these are all counted as part of the estate’s assets.

If there is a will you need to wait until it is read to understand who has an interest in the estate, and which items have been bequeathed to who.

Clearing The Property

Before the house can be sold, any contents that are not needed will need to be removed.

Many people find this too emotional a process when it involves disposing of the contents of a family member or loved one, understandably they often prefer a professional house clearance company like Keke to do it for them.

Usually, you will have removed items of sentimental or financial value, and all that is required is to dispose of the remainder of the contents.

At Keke we donate as much as possible to local charities, and recycle as much of the rest as possible, with only the bare minimum going to landfill – typically way less than 10%.

We can remove everything in the property, including:

• Furniture
• White goods
• Electrical goods
• General Rubbish
• Clothes and Blankets, etc
• Carpets
• Lofts
• Sheds
• And more

Using a professional clearance company can be particularly helpful if you don’t live close to the property.

In this case, we will set aside any valuables, antiques, jewellery, and items that may have sentimental value to you. You can then decide what you want to do with these items.

Who Pays For The House Clearance After A Death?

Usually, you would pay for the clearance out of the assets of the estate of the deceased.

If there are no assets then it will usually be the family of the person who has died who will pay for the clearance.

Do I Have To Be There During The Clearance?

No, you don’t need to be present if it’s too emotional or distressing for you, but you can be there if you’d prefer to.

The Deceased Was A Hoarder – Is This A Problem?

We are specialists when it comes to hoarder house clearances, and have dealt with a great many over the years.

Because we charge by the van load it will probably cost a lot less than you imagine it will, even though it looks overwhelming and challenging.

Clearing A Rented Home After Bereavement

If the home was rented you’ll need to contact the landlord, and may need to agree on what to do regarding the tenancy agreement and arrange for the property to be cleared.

Apart from dealing with the landlord and discovering if some of the items like white goods, etc were originally included in the rental, it’s the same process as any other house clearance after bereavement.

Clearing A Council House After Bereavement

If the deceased lived in a council house then there will be some paperwork to organise.

Some councils are understanding and compassionate, but others can be quite ruthless and want the property cleared quickly.

Some of them may charge rent if the property is not cleared before the next rental date.

Some councils will also expect all carpets and underlay, etc to be removed, so you need to discover what specifically they require. If they have to use their own staff or organise a clearance company they may send you the bill afterwards.

Summary Of A House Clearance After A Death

Clearing a property after the death of a loved one is an emotionally draining time, and can be distressing, so most people prefer to use a clearance company to deal with the contents.

There may be some legal requirements to observe, and you need to be sure exactly what a landlord or council expect to be removed.

The details above only touch on the array of things you might need to deal with, for a more comprehensive guide including the legal aspects you can download a very useful PDF from AgeUK here.

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