Council 'demands prior notice of death'

A local council in the Midlands has asked tenants to give prior notice of their death if they want to avoid being charged rent after they pass away.

Charnwood Borough Council in Loughborough has said that family members will have to pay out the notice period unless the council is informed that the tenant will pass away at least four weeks in advance, the Sunday Mercury reports.

Jim Seaton, of Ibstock, Leicestershire said: "My stepfather passed away on March 1 of cancer. He was a good and honest man.

"But it was a shock when, after struggling with our grief, we then had to cope with being told he had to give one month's notice on his council property.

"I asked the council: 'How does a dead man give one month's notice?' But they told me: 'Sorry, rules are rules.'"

A council spokesman said: "When a council tenant passes away, we aim to deal with each case sympathetically and on an individual basis."