House clearance after bereavement

A house after a death is still a home until someone decides otherwise. Clearance is a later step, not an emergency, unless the property is unsafe or a sale completion is immovable.

This is not legal advice. GOV.UK explains probate and inheritance. A solicitor should guide the estate.

First week priorities (not the van)

Secure the property. Find the will if there is one. Tell the bank, pension and government departments that need to know. Gather keys. Stop obvious waste — food in the fridge, overflowing bins — without throwing away papers that were on the kitchen table.

Photographs, jewellery and documents should be taken into someone’s care early. They are the things that disappear into a mixed load if you wait until clearance day.

Then sort, slowly

Walk the house with a box for keep, a box for “ask another relative”, and a pile that can go. You do not have to finish every room. You do have to finish the keep box.

The bereavement clearance and probate clearance pages explain how we work around rooms that are not ready.

When to book

Book when:

• You know who has authority to instruct us
• The keep items are out or clearly labelled
• You can describe the rest (photographs help)
• Access can be arranged

Do not book because a neighbour said the house “needs emptying this week” unless there is a real reason.

Partial help

A garage or loft can be cleared while the living rooms wait. That is a legitimate partial clearance, not a failure to decide.

Afterward

Empty rooms can feel worse before they feel better. That is normal. If the house is being sold, the next practical step is often cleaning and then the estate agent. We do not do those jobs.

Preparing for a clearance is the checklist version of this page.