Landlord increased rent by 41%, evicted tenant then held mum’s ashes to ransom
A landlord is refusing to give a grandma her late mum’s ashes back after she refused to pay a £300 cleaning fee.
Grandmother Geraldine Glanville, 67, has claimed her mum’s urn is being held to ransom after she was forced to leave her home following an increase in rent from £530 to £750 a month.
But the landlord, who does not wish to be named, says he will hold on to the ashes until Mrs Glanville forks out for the clearance and refurbishment of the flat in Chatham, Kent.
He claims the property was left in a poor state, and is demanding an apology from her daughter who he was repeatedly rude despite his offers to help.
Mrs Glanville says she accidentally left the urn and a bag full of mementoes belonging to her parents when she was evicted at the beginning of December for non-payment of rent.
She said: ‘The bailiffs arrived and we had to get out in a rush.
‘I thought we’d be given an hour, but we had 15 minutes to get out.
‘I had to leave furniture there and I left the ashes which I kept on my dressing table in the bedroom.’
Attempts to retrieve her belongings have failed and the landlord has said he will not give them back unless he is compensated.
He claims he kept the rent low throughout the 13-year tenancy and gave her ample warning about her duty to keep the place in good condition.
He said on occasion he also did not chase the top-up rent she failed to pay over her housing benefit and over the years he has tried to support her.
The businessman increased her rent which he said was the current market rent for a one-bedroom flat with a garden.
In July he applied for an eviction order and on December 6 the bailiffs carried out the eviction and changed the locks. He claims they gave her an hour to pack her things rather than the claimed 15 minutes.
He said: ‘I still have Geraldine’s mum’s ashes and even though I threatened to dispose of them I would not do that.
‘I was just so angry that Geraldine and her daughter think it is perfectly ok to just walk away from the mess Geraldine left and expect it all to be cleared up at no cost to Geraldine.
‘I keep thinking that if Geraldine and her daughter treasured the ashes, why did Geraldine not take them initially to her daughter’s flat?
‘She had months of notice and ample time to do so before the court bailiffs evicted her.
‘Again, how important to them are the ashes that they would not pay a small amount towards the damage and money owed from the court fees.’
But if they are not willing to pay him directly he says he would accept a payment made to a charity, such as Demelza or the Stroke Association, if Geraldine preferred.
He added: ‘Then once I receive an apology from her daughter I will happily take the ashes to Geraldine.’
The landlord went on to explain the eviction was the only one he has had to carry out in 14 years letting out properties, adding his encounters with the mum and daughter had left him anxious, angry, upset and drained.
He stated that the renovations to the property cost him £7,000 and believes that asking the tenant to provide a small contribution to that is fair.
Addressing the non-payment of rent, Ms Glanville’s daughter said her mother, who suffers from health problems, depression and anxiety, ran into financial problems when her rent was increased.
Ms Glanvile initially stayed at an ex-partner’s home before moving in with Charlotte and her daughter Eleanor, aged eight.
Charlotte said: ‘My mother has offered to pay the money back in monthly instalments.
‘All she really wants is the ashes back. This is blackmail and is upsetting my mum.’
Ellen Glanville died on Christmas Day 2004, aged 84.
Charlotte added: ‘My mum was very close to her, And I loved her. Myself and my daughter are all my mum has.’
The property owner on the other hand also says the situation has deeply upset and impacted him.
He added: ‘Geraldine has refused to pay anything and has instead tried to tarnish me through the use of the media and the current landlord vitriol in the press, in an effort to get her so called treasured possessions back without having to pay anything towards the devastation she has walked away from.’
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