Will burying someone in the garden save money?

Can you save money with burial in your own property?

Many of us have  buried loved-ones in the garden, although they are usually hamsters and goldfish. But what about people?

If you fancied being buried under the lawn you have spent so many years mowing, would your family be allowed to? And could this be a way to save money?

That final question might seem a bit insensitive, but it’s a very serious point. The average cost of a funeral is now £3,527, according to the Royal London National Funeral Cost Index, while hundreds of thousands of people say they have been forced into debt to pay for their loved-one’s big send-off.

Not only that but the average burial plot costs around £900, according to Sun Rising, a natural burial ground and nature reserve in Warwickshire. So could burying your loved one on private land save you from falling into debt?

Burying someone in the garden

Last year a four-bedroom terraced house in Teddington listed for sale on Rightmove had this note in the description: “The rear garden measures approximately 50ft in depth and has significant width. It is important to note that the previous owners’ last wishes were to be buried in this garden, which is where both currently rest.”

That house sold, despite the bodies buried in the garden. But what does the law say?

Burial on private land is relatively straight forward, although only a small amount are held each year, according to the charity the Natural Death Centre.

However, it is recommended that you check with your local authority. For example, South Ayrshire Council warns that: “A decision to provide any such private burying place could be defeated if it were shown to be injurious to health or to be a nuisance to neighbouring proprietors.” This, it adds, it less likely to be the case in a corner of a remote farm than in a domestic garden.

Salford Council has an excellent list of things to check before deciding on a garden funeral. For example, no burial is allowed within 100 metres of a borehole or well spring, or within 10 metres of a drain, ditch or watercourse. Burials are not allowed in poor draining ground and it may be necessary to contact gas and electricity boards for plans so that you are able to avoid underground cables and pipes.

You must also record the burial on the deeds to the property. But there’s a concern – what if you save £900 on a funeral plot, but lose thousands when it comes to the home’s value?

Do garden graves affect house prices?

We spoke to Britain’s largest online estate agent eMoov.co.uk, which has previously warned that home burials are a “grave mistake”.

In fact, it’s published analysis that suggests that a grave in the back garden could knock as much as 20% off the value of your home by turning off would-be buyers.

Take that four-bedroom property with the two bodies in the garden. It eventually sold for £730,000, which was 15% less than the average asking price for similar homes in that area.

Russell Quirk, the founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, explained: “I can understand the sentiment of someone wanting to lay a loved one to rest in the home they spent their life in. However if there is any possibility that you might sell the property in the future I would advise against it.”

And Jake Russell, director at leading Chelsea estate agent Russell Simpson, warned that it might be a bad idea for the family. “The topic of a garden grave is an interesting one. In terms of people buried at home, this is a rare occurrence due to a possible change of ownership of the property in the future, the family would be restricted access to a loved one’s grave, so tend to prefer burials in a place they know they will have constant access to.”

However, he did acknowledge that many former churches have been converted into residential properties, some with the graves still standing. Many people buy homes knowing the garden was once a graveyard and the basement flat was potentially once a tomb but “as space runs out in major cities such as London this doesn’t appear to be deterring buyers”.

Would you bury a loved one in your garden?

There is clearly real interest in garden and private-land burials, as so many councils have pages dedicated to the subject. Perhaps it’s understandable that people want to be buried in a home they felt happy in, or to keep their deceased partner nearby after their death. Very few people asking about this via websites and forums are talking about saving money, so it’s clearly more of an emotional decision for many.

Yet despite it being legal to bury someone on private land, many people are clearly put off by the restrictions or perhaps concerns over losing access to the grave or the risk that their loved-one’s body might be moved by a future owner.

Perhaps a better idea is to scatter or bury a loved-ones ashes in the garden, for which you do not need permission, according to the Garden Law website.

What do you think, would you bury someone in your garden? Would you like to be buried at home? Would you object if your neighbours buried someone by your fence? Have your say using the comments below.