The family of a social housing tenant who has recently died fear losing his life’s work because bureaucratic red tape has barred them from entering his flat.
Glen Hutchinson, a performance poet, was found dead in his home in August but Cambridge city council has refused to allow his two daughters to access the property until they have been granted probate.
Probate proves entitlement to administer the estate of someone who has died and is required if the deceased had significant assets. Applications take up to 16 weeks to process but the family has been informed that the property will be cleared by the council within a month if they cannot produce the paperwork.
“We have a key but the door’s now boarded up,” said Ailsa Mackenzie, his daughter. “Because we can’t go in and retrieve bank statements and utility bills, we’re unable to close his accounts and notify authorities. My father survived on benefits, and his estate consists entirely of personal effects which are precious to us but of no value to anyone else.”
Mackenzie and her sister have submitted birth certificates and identity documents proving they are next of kin but say that Cambridge council has refused to accept them.
The family fears Hutchinson’s poetry collections and photographs will be disposed of by contractors before they can gain entry because of the condition of the property. The council has informed them that the contents of the flat will be stored in a garage provided the property is “safe and sanitary”.
“My father suffered from PTSD and mobility issues, which left him unable to work or keep his flat clean and tidy,” Mackenzie said.
“There was an order to it, which those who have spent time with him can understand. We are desperate to find his poetry archive and his journals to protect his legacy, but to the council operatives who come to clear out his flat, they will just appear as random papers, and I worry that the ‘safe and sanitary’ directive will result in them junking everything.
“Even if all his belongings are stored, we’re unlikely to be able to find what we need when everything’s been jumbled together and dumped in a garage. We have pleaded to be allowed just an hour under council supervision if need be to retrieve items of sentimental value before it’s too late, but they won’t listen.”
A spokesperson for Cambridge city council said Hutchinson’s possessions would be safely stored until probate was granted.
They added: “This is a difficult time for the family, and it is important to the council that the process of retrieving the belongings of their loved one is not made any harder than it already is. However, as the late tenant left no will, nor did he provide the council with his next of kin, it is required by law that a grant of representation is presented to the council before anyone can administer the estate. Providing ID doesn’t fulfil this legal requirement.”
Relatives should not be required to have probate to enter a property, according to Ian Bond of the Law Society’s wills and equity committee.
“Most local authorities allow those entitled to claim probate access without the official grant to deal with the clearance and to locate important papers,” he said.“In this case, the local authority will be aware that the tenant was a long-term recipient of benefits and therefore unlikely to have substantial assets needing probate.”
Mackenzie believes her father would have made a will if he had realised the challenges his family would face without one.
“Having strangers bagging up his things and dumping them in a garage or bin is disrespectful to our father and inhumane to us,” she said. “It is adding extra pain and distress to an already incredibly hard time.”
Last week, the probate office confirmed in writing that the sisters’ application had been approved.
Cambridge city council was still declining to allow the family access to the property but, after pressure from the Guardian, it agreed not to remove the contents while it awaited the certificate.