CF's have been using my mums house as a hotel!!

[CustardCreamsfortea]

My dm died last year. Her house is currently empty and we're in the process of selling it (on the market but no buyer yet). The house next door is owned by a couple. I knew that DM was friendly with them, but (apart from first names) I don't really know them at all. I'll call them "Jean and John" for this

I went round yesterday to check on the property (we live about 45 mins away) and to do some gardening. When I entered the house I noticed immediately that there was a strong smell of cigarettes. Dm didn't smoke so I thought that was very strange.. 🤔

I went into the kitchen and there's dirty dishes in the sink!? My next thought was that squatters must have moved in. I went back to my car and called Dh and then 101 for advice. The police said they could come out but it would likely be a few hours (at least) before they turned up.

Dh arrived and went into have a look. Nobody appeared to be in the house. No obvious signs of a break in, though there's clothes and stuff everywhere. So we decide, ok fine - let's take this as a warning and get the locks changed before the squatters come back.

I called a locksmith and he's in the process of changing the locks. As he's doing this another neighbour from across the road (let's call her "Anne") comes over to ask what's happening. I explain that I think we've had squatters in the house.

Anne then proceeds to tell me that Jean and John (from next door) have currently got family visiting from abroad at the moment.

But it seems rather than pay for a hotel, The CF's been letting them stay in mothers house!!! 😡😡😡 Anne has seen them coming and going since they arrived on Friday. She didn't have our contact details to check with us, but assumed we'd given permission because they seemingly had a key. We had no idea that they had this key.

When the police eventually turned up we explained all this. They went round to speak to Jean and John but they weren't at home. Said they would try again later in the week. We've bagged up the relatives things and left them on their doorstep (I wanted to burn them but DH talked me out of it). 🙄

Will they police be able to charge them with trespassing or something similar? Or are we just going to have to accept that we were (admittedly) stupid for not changing the locks in the first place and move on? I'm beyond angry with them. 😡

Insurance and liability is a massive issue - if one of them out a foot through the floor would you be insured? Probably not.

Get yourself ready for J&J making up some stories about how your mum agreed this with them before she died.

Dealing with grief plus all the associated admin is so hard, and selling a deceased parent’s property is heartbreakingly hard already without any extra crap on top, Hope you’re doing ok OP.

I wonder if J & J charged them the going rate for accommodation? Nice little side hustle.

Presumably they will just deny it. Should have left their stuff in the house so they had to ask for it.

Good that you involved the police

No it’s not, it was a complete waste of public resources, it’s not a police matter.

Holy fuck! Did they cause any damage?

I think, like others have said, I would have waited for them. I'm absolutely not confrontational but I would have been absolutely livid. That's so awful.

The nerve of some people!!!

What an absolutely awful thing to do! I hope the police give them a good talking to. At least you found out early on. I can’t believe they were smoking in the house too. So disrespectful.

Some people have no moral compass. How awful that your mother’s neighbours allowed this and presumably thought it was okay. If this happened after I had died - well it’s unthinkable for me to imagine strangers squatting down for their holidays in my home.
My adult children have spare keys but I haven’t given one to my neighbour. I have a key safe for any emergencies which I would recommend.

To stay in it is one thing - to smoke inside someone else's house just shows they really are cfs, it'll take months to get the smell out of all the soft furnishings.

Disgusting on all counts

This seems sensible.

Send them an invoice for utilities and laundry and cleaning and changing locks, or threaten them with small claims court/police.

When you speak to the police, I'd check whether or not they have broken the law by smoking in a private residence that they did not own and without permission. If they'd booked a hotel, they would have had to find one with permission to smoke in the rooms.

For me (life-long non-smoker) this is actually the worst aspect of their behaviour. As your DM didn't smoke they have actually introduced cigarette smoke into a house that was previously smoke-free.

Fucking dreadful.

give them bloody what for when they’re back!

disgusting taking advantage of someone’s death and another’s grief like this.

I don’t think I agree with this.

Trespass is a criminal matter if it’s combined with an intent to commit a criminal offence. In this case the visitors will have used the OP’s electricity which is an offence under the Theft Act. It’s a separate offence (since 2022) to reside on land with a vehicle so if the visitors were parking on the OP’s drive that’s also prosecutable.

Presumably as the house has been empty all winter you'd turned the water off, drained the tank, turned the boiler off etc? Had the CF neighbours turned all that back on again, if their guests were cooking and washing in there? So they've stolen your utilities even if they haven't technically broken in.

Firstly sorry for your loss. Like others, I'm shocked at the neighbours behaviour. I would be furious too, especially given the smoking indoors. It's just a thought and I don't know, if you were to take them to small claims court for the cost of cleaning, would you then have to declare it as a dispute when selling. I think you are justified in asking for money but as someone else, might be more stress than it's worth. Hope the house sells quickly.

When we had an empty home, a condition of the insurance was that the house had to be heated.

ETA Can't remember the specifics, but I think that it had to be above 10 degrees centigrade. Between November and March, the loft hatch had to be open to allow heat up to the loft.

I'd have left all their stuff in the house when I changed the locks, so they couldn't get in to get it back. I'd have only given it back when they paid up for utilities, professional clean and the cost of changing the locks. Cheeky fuckers.

All those saying Small Claims Court - aren't J and J likely to just shrug and say 'nothing to do with us, you can't prove anything.' I'd take photos of any identifying items among the CF's rellies belongings, because I can almost BET this will be their defence.

What does 'chapping the door' mean?

What the fuck?! It is burglary, breaking and entering, false representation etc.
I hope you do get the police involved and they're punished. I fear they could class it as civil but hopefully not.

It means ‘knocking’ on the door.

It's Scots for ''knocking at the door".