The family of a recently deceased social housing tenant fears losing his life’s work because bureaucratic red tape denies them access to his apartment.
Glen Hutchinson, a performance poet, was found dead in his home in August, but Cambridge City Council has refused to allow his two daughters access to the property until probate is granted.
A probate evidences the right to administer the estate of someone who has died and is required if the deceased had significant assets. It will take up to 16 weeks to process the application, but the family has been informed that the property will be evicted by the council within a month if they cannot provide the paperwork.
“We have a key, but the door is boarded up,” said Ailsa Mackenzie, his daughter. ‘Since we cannot go in to collect bank statements and utility bills, we cannot close his accounts and inform the authorities. My father survived on welfare, and his estate consists entirely of personal property that is valuable 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 Cambridge City Council has refused to accept them.
The family fears that Hutchinson’s poetry collections and photographs will be thrown away by contractors before they can gain access due to 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 hygienic”.
“My father suffered from PTSD and mobility problems, which meant he could no longer work or keep his flat clean and tidy,” says Mackenzie.
“There was a command in it that those who spent time with him can understand. We are desperate to find his poetry archive and his diaries to protect his legacy, but to the council officers who come to clear his flat, they will only appear as random papers, and I fear the ‘safe and sanitary’ directive will be the result will be where they throw everything away.
‘Even if all his belongings are packed away, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to find what we need if everything is jumbled up and dumped in a garage. We have argued for only an hour of council supervision if necessary to collect items of sentimental value before it is too late, but they don’t want to listen.’
A spokesperson for Cambridge City Council said Hutchinson’s assets would be stored safely 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 recovering their loved one’s belongings is not made even more difficult than it already is. However, because the deceased tenant did not leave a will or provide his next of kin to the municipality, it is legally required that a representation permit be submitted to the municipality before anyone can administer the estate. Providing proof of identity does not meet this legal requirement.”
According to Ian Bond of the Law Society’s wills and estates committee, relatives should not be required to probate to enter a property.
“Most local authorities allow those entitled to probate access without the official subsidy, to process the approval and locate important paperwork,” he said. “In this case, the local authority will be aware that the tenant was a long-term recipient. of benefits and is therefore unlikely to have substantial assets requiring probate.”
Mackenzie believes her father would have made a will had he realized the challenges his family would face without a will.
“For strangers to pack up his belongings and dump them in a garage or trash bin is disrespectful to our father and inhumane to us,” she said. “It adds additional pain and anxiety to an already incredibly difficult time.”
Last week, the probate office confirmed in writing that the sisters’ application had been approved.
Cambridge City Council still refused to grant the family access to the property but, after pressure from the Guardian, agreed not to remove the contents pending the explanation.