Southwark says sorry after hounding dead man for rent

The south London council wrote to former Bermondsey resident Jim Sparks two months after he died of lung cancer, asking for the immediate payment of an alleged £525 debt.

The letter was opened by Mr Sparks’ wife and began: “Enjoyed your holiday? I hope so, but did you neglect paying your rent to fund it?”

It was one of several hundred letters sent to tenants who have repeatedly failed to pay rent.

The council’s guidelines state that two prior notices should have been sent and mitigating circumstances should have been checked for – but neither of those steps had been taken.

Chris Brown, Southwark’s head of housing management, said: “We apologised unreservedly to Mrs Sparks and we are investigating how this happened so that we can ensure this type of mistake does not happen again.

“This is the only such mistake reported and hundreds of letters will have been sent. We have re-worded the letter and reminded staff of the importance of checking tenants’ records.”

A spokesperson for the council said the letter had been changed to be more “pro-active” in its encouragement.

It now starts: “Put your rent first. Autumn is coming upon us, children are back at school and we are all now getting back into our usual routine. If you owe money, it is vital you clear the debt and pay rent regularly to avoid losing your home.”Southwark council has been forced to apologise after sending a letter demanding the payment of rent arrears from a deceased tenant.

The south London council wrote to former Bermondsey resident Jim Sparks two months after he died of lung cancer, asking for the immediate payment of an alleged £525 debt.

The letter was opened by Mr Sparks’ wife and began: “Enjoyed your holiday? I hope so, but did you neglect paying your rent to fund it?”

It was one of several hundred letters sent to tenants who have repeatedly failed to pay rent.

The council’s guidelines state that two prior notices should have been sent and mitigating circumstances should have been checked for – but neither of those steps had been taken.

Chris Brown, Southwark’s head of housing management, said: “We apologised unreservedly to Mrs Sparks and we are investigating how this happened so that we can ensure this type of mistake does not happen again.

“This is the only such mistake reported and hundreds of letters will have been sent. We have re-worded the letter and reminded staff of the importance of checking tenants’ records.”

A spokesperson for the council said the letter had been changed to be more “pro-active” in its encouragement.

It now starts: “Put your rent first. Autumn is coming upon us, children are back at school and we are all now getting back into our usual routine. If you owe money, it is vital you clear the debt and pay rent regularly to avoid losing your home.”