Large family moved in when father died?

A tenancy doesn’t automatically end when a sole tenant dies. When the son of a long term tenant informed us that the tenant had died we assumed that in due course the property would be cleared and the tenancy surrendered. What we weren’t prepared for was for the son to move in with his large family and three dogs and refuse to communicate with us slamming the door in our faces when we called to discuss the matter. ( the property is a small bungalow with one double and one single bedroom)

We have learnt that gaining possession is not straight forward. We were advised by one of the landlord associations to issue a section 21 notice giving the statutory notice of two months from a rent date. We were told to issue the notice in the name of the deceased. We would also be required to make an application to register the notice with the public trustee.

This we have done only to be informed by the public trustee that the notice was not addressed correctly. Rather than the deceased as advised by our landlords association it should have been addressed to, the representatives of………

Consequently, we will have to serve the notice again losing another month.

We may be fortunate to get our property back in five, probably six or seven months following notice, court process, bailiff, etc. With associated costs. All the while this family lives rent free and possibly doing untold damage.

We are not novice landlords . We have been landlords for nearly thirty years and have had mostly good tenants. We have had an elderly tenant die previously with no unexpected consequences.

Tom