Tenant has died – Police kick the door in!

Curious as to why they did not contact you before breaking the door down. Suggest you ask these gungho rambos.

Not a pleasant situation on any level and altho police reaction seems 'over the top' what else are they supposed to do. You clearly have contact with the family so is there not a specific person who will be dealing with affairs. You at least get to retain deposit and whilst this doesn't cover your losses it goes someway towards. At least tenant not in arrears! You just have to put this down to experience and work towards relet as soon as possible.

When I was a director of a flat residential management company, the police damaged the communal entrance door. They refused to pay for the damage and the block building insurance refused to pay because the police did this in the course of an investigation.

I went back to the insurance company and asked if the legal protection insurance covered this as it could be deemed that the police were trespassing.

No one was more surprised than me that they actually agreed with my interpretation of the policy, but if they took this to court, the legal costs would be higher than the cost of the damage. Instead they offered a percentage of the cost of the damage in full and final settlement.

I would suggest giving this a try, if of course you have the optional add on to your policy.

Reply to the comment left by Karen Dodd at 03/10/2023 - 23:30
I agree

Reply to the comment left by Georgina Roy at 04/10/2023 - 07:58
I’m am amazed that worked - well done.
Police can “trespass” if they have reason to suspect “harm”

Reply to the comment left by RoseD at 04/10/2023 - 07:23
That’s what will happen. Not sure how the experience will help me moving forward though.

Reply to the comment left by John Parkinson at 04/10/2023 - 09:13
I was amazed as well.

Reply to the comment left by Karen Dodd at 03/10/2023 - 23:30
We had similar situation with my brother in law who unfortunately had been dead for a few weeks. When neighbours raised the alarm (no relatives close by) and police were called, they have a sense of duty to ascertain no crime has been committed, hence forced entry. Also if said person still alive how much time do you waste trying to locate a key holder when someone's life could be at stake. In our situation no one had a key anyway.....and whose to know whether properties private or rented.

I had a door kicked in by the police as the tenant had died. I went to the insurance after reading the wording of the schedule and they could not argue about this point. Effectively, it is a break in by the police for whatever reason. In this case a legitimate reason however still a break in.

The claim was in 2018 where, I even claimed loss of rent due to the massive delay in the loss adjuster causing exceptional delays in giving the go ahead for the work. They initially did not accept the claim but did after the financial ombudsman was to be contacted.

Recently, about 2 months ago, the police kicked in another door to gain access as a social worker had contacted them for the safety of a child. I have two flats in the building and a tenant of the other flat let the police in. They knocked and eventually, kicked the door in. There was no one in the flat as the parents were both at work & the child was being looked after elsewhere. The police had attended at another time and said that the tenant could make a claim with the police insurance and gave a reference number.
When I tried to claim the police claim department said that the entry was unavoidable as the child safety was paramount. I asked them if they tried to contact the landlord and if they asked the other tenant if there was anyone that had the keys and apparently not. I told them that if they asked the other tenant she would have given my number and I could have been there in 15 minutes had they called me.
They eventually said that I had to make the claim from the care worker, but they could not give me the details of the care worker. How laughable. I asked the police insurance if, I could appeal against their decision not to cover the claim and they said, that they did not have an appeals procedure for this. I asked if I could make a complaint and was given the website for complaints but have not done so as yet.
The reason the care worker informed the police was because the parents were having a massive row apparently the night before and this was somehow reported to them by someone. I have never in the past had complaints about this tenant in the past.

If the police were called by concerned family or friends they have a legal duty to attend the property and if they suspect the tenant is present to gain entry to save life. He might have been laying on the floor unable to help himself or call for help. The only way they can gain entry is by using force which will cause damage. What else would you want them to do, leave the tenant laying there until someone turns up with a key?

As far as dealing with the estate and family is concerned other members of this community have expressed your legal position as well as the moral position. I would say did your tenant treat you with respect and in a fair manner? If yes then treat him or his estate in a similar manner and use some discretion to claim the deposit as a full and final settlement whilst pointing out to the executor you can only do that if the property is handed back in a timely manner.