Neighbour died and home has not been cleaned since

[Frogponder]

Our elderly next door neighbour who lived alone died last month.

We and other neighbours noticed we hadn’t seen him about and his lights were on all night so we called the police who sent in a paramedic who found him. They took the body and told us he’d died a week earlier, which was shocking and sad.

Since then nobody seems to have been into the property, and we’re getting worried about rotting food, flies, rodents etc.

Another neighbour has written to the council and put a letter through the letterbox for the Executor (hoping there is one).

That neighbour is now suggesting we could all go in and just clear out the rotting food ourselves as the back door is unlocked.

Though this would be the quickest way to prevent a possible pest problem my instinct is that we should not go in, it would be trespassing (and unpleasant) and should be dealt with by the council. But the council may not deal with it quickly as they are over-stretched.

Any advice?

I think it's nice that you actually care as neighbours. I would contact your local councillor amd ask them to find out whats going on and push for time scales of action.

If the back door is unlocked, the property needs to be secured. I would suggest that you contact the police, they may be able to arrange for it to be secured or sheeted up and the estate billed for the cost. If you can get in so can others with less honourable intentions. Please do not go in yourself.

Terrible idea. The man was dead a week. A bit of rotten fruit is the least of the problems inside that house. The man would have decomposed into the floor furniture carpets whatever. Body fluids everywhere. A specialist cleaner possible with breathing apparatus and a strong stomach is needed.

Genuinely curious to know who will be dealing with it? Who will it be dealt with if he has no family?

If it's a private house it is not the responsibility of the council to clean it. You need to find out who is dealing with the estate.

My mum was in hospital for several weeks, I went to her house to sort it out for her return, no flies, no smell. It will be fine for a long while. Most perishable food will be fridge, in a closed house. Leave well alone.

The admin around death takes a good few weeks.

What food are you so worried about? Anything rotting is likely to be in the fridge.

I have a friend who was the executor of a relatives will. The relative died and she was contacted. She asked if she could go up and start clearing the house. She was told no until the will had been sorted. She asked about food in the fridge etc and was still told no.

Gosh, why are people responding so aggressively?! All hungover, are you?

If it's not a council property there will be limited action the council can take.

I definitely wouldn't want to go in as a private individual and leave myself open to accusations.

They didn’t care enough to notice he was dead a week. They only care now that there might be rats on ‘The Avenue’.

Or perturbed by op suggesting they break in to a property

Still no reason for all the aggressive replies.

Thanks for your responses. I’m not saying I think it’s reasonable to do this. The thought of going in there fills me with dread and I realise it’s trespass, though with good intentions. But we’ve never been in this situation before and it’s been quite a shock. We knew him a long time.

Our view throughout has been that we should not set foot in there but as the other neighbour is asking about it I thought I’d see what mumsnet thinks. I will pass on your views and hope they can stop worrying.

Contact the council and ask them for their advice esp re the fact it’s unsecured - they will be used to this sort of thing.

It's like The Burbs.
Of course you can't go in. And who on earth worries about rotting food when someone has died?! You and our neighbours sound like a bunch of nosey busy bodies.

I would be telling the police the property is insecure, when we had a relative die in similar circumstances the police made the property secure after the body was removed. Were any of the neighbours particular friends who went in and out frequently? They could possibly justify going in (as a concerned friend) to check and secure the property, clean up a bit, maybe look for an address book to see if there are relatives who may still have no idea he has died.

Asking whether ok to break into someone’s home would tend to have the consequence of aggressive responses. Given it’s a fairly “aggressive” action to take.

No one is breaking in the property is unlocked.

It’s worth calling the council and explaining their concerns, ultimately social services would have been responsible if he had no family

I’m surprised at the accusatory tone of some of the posts on this thread.

I didn’t realise that helping a neighbour over many years, reporting their suspected death and then being concerned for the health and safety implications of their abandoned unlocked property next door makes their neighbours busybodies…

OP - I know you’ve written to the council but it’s often better to call them and actually speak to someone - they will advise whether they can help or whether the police need to be involved. Be prepared for a good few phone calls though (from experience).

Terrifying???

what a bizarre over reaction

It doesn’t - but this is MN…

To be brutal, if there's any smell coming from his property it's probably because he was dead inside for a week in warm weather before he was found. It won't be a bowl of fruit or mouldy bread. The council will have specific contractors to deal with cleaning these type of properties before they can be re-let.

I'd be worried about this being left. Not so much the food but the bio waste from the poor man's body. Exact same thing happened in my friend's block and although the body was removed no cleaning was arranged afterwards... the flat next door ended up with flies and maggots coming through 🤢

Call the council's environmental waste department to ask about cleaning, and call the police (101 not 999) to report the unlocked back door and ask if this can be secured. If they aren't helpful I'd put a padlock on it and a note saying "key at no. 37".