Property

12.1    The Client Affairs team will consult as appropriate in decisions about changes of accommodation and will manage related matters like insurance, utility and council tax arrangements, tenancies, and property sales. 

12.2    The Client Affairs team will take reasonable steps to protect the person’s property from damage or loss where:

• the person has been admitted to hospital or a care home or is otherwise relocated, and 
  
  
• property protection arrangements have not already been made by the referring health or social care practitioner

12.3    The Client Affairs team will arrange for a property to be cleared when:

• it has been established that the person is unable to return home
  
  
• the Court of Protection has issued an order appointing the local authority as property and affairs deputy 
  
  
• it is in the person’s best interests (i.e., necessary to end a tenancy or to sell a property)

12.4    The Client Affairs team will arrange to sell or dispose of the person’s property when:

• it has been established that the person is unable to return home
  
  
• property ownership has been confirmed and other owners/anyone with a beneficial interest in the property consent to the sale/disposal
  
  
• the Court of Protection has issued an order authorising the sale/disposal, and
  
  
• it is in the person’s best interests as defined by the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice (see Appendix 3)