Hello, all.
My stepbrother recently passed away and left my sister and I as beneficiaries. (There are very few assets and I am still trying to recoup funds to pay for the funeral.) I live 500kms north of where my stepbrother lived and my sister is about 400kms south.
He was renting a unit (for the past 3 and a half years) but did not have a lease. I have cleared the unit out of possessions to the best of my ability (spending a week at the unit to do this) and cleaned it as best as I could. However, items such as the Venetian blinds, the lino in the kitchen and the bedroom carpet haven't faired too well and would need replacing.
I advised the landlord that the unit had been vacated but there were a few furniture items in the garage that would be removed during the following week. There are also some items in the garage that I was unable to move - namely an old freezer and a safe (an ancient Chubb) that literally weighs a tonne (a crane was used to put it there).
The Landlord has responded with a demanding letter stating that he is charging us rent until such time as all items have been removed from the garage and that the carpet and lino are fixed and a complete clean done on the unit.
Where do we stand on all this? Are we legally liable to ensure that the unit is ready to be rented again to someone else?
As mentioned I don't believe there is any sort of written agreement or lease at all between the Landlord and my late stepbrother, and my sister and I have certainly not agreed to anything.
Some help would be really helpful, please.
My stepbrother recently passed away and left my sister and I as beneficiaries. (There are very few assets and I am still trying to recoup funds to pay for the funeral.) I live 500kms north of where my stepbrother lived and my sister is about 400kms south.
He was renting a unit (for the past 3 and a half years) but did not have a lease. I have cleared the unit out of possessions to the best of my ability (spending a week at the unit to do this) and cleaned it as best as I could. However, items such as the Venetian blinds, the lino in the kitchen and the bedroom carpet haven't faired too well and would need replacing.
I advised the landlord that the unit had been vacated but there were a few furniture items in the garage that would be removed during the following week. There are also some items in the garage that I was unable to move - namely an old freezer and a safe (an ancient Chubb) that literally weighs a tonne (a crane was used to put it there).
The Landlord has responded with a demanding letter stating that he is charging us rent until such time as all items have been removed from the garage and that the carpet and lino are fixed and a complete clean done on the unit.
Where do we stand on all this? Are we legally liable to ensure that the unit is ready to be rented again to someone else?
As mentioned I don't believe there is any sort of written agreement or lease at all between the Landlord and my late stepbrother, and my sister and I have certainly not agreed to anything.
Some help would be really helpful, please.