Some local councils across the UK have been called out for demanding rental fees for properties after someone dies.

Kane Silver from Clacton-on-sea was told he would have to cover costs for the sheltered housing his dad lived in from the date he died.

His local council U-turned and reversed their decision after he started a petition. But he’s now calling for a change so that no one else has to go through the same.

Notice period: Kane was ordered to pay rent on behalf of his father 

Writing on his Change.org petition Kate said: ‘Once I had a death certificate, I gave a copy to the company who provided him with sheltered housing.

‘I was surprised when they enforced a 28 day notice period on me and told me that rent was still liable to be paid for another month.

‘In the days after starting this petition, people shared similar stories with me and after a quick internet search, I discovered that this is a national problem and is not a few isolated incidents.

‘An entire month does not seem justifiable in the current national climate where there is a shortage of housing and people desperately in need.

‘Further to being a completely impractical use of resources such incidents show a complete lack of compassion or empathy for grieving relatives.’

For more information about this campaign email press.uk@change.org.