Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national standard for local authorities on the disposal of the belongings of deceased council tenants.

The government has no current plans to implement a national standard for the disposal of deceased council tenants’ belongings. The repossession of a property is a matter for the landlord concerned. They are best placed to manage what happens to deceased council tenants’ belongings, carefully considering the family’s circumstances. In doing so, we would expect local authorities to deal sensitively with cases before taking action to dispose of any belongings.