What to do when a Tenant leaves your property but leaves items behind?
Surprisingly, this is a question that arises quite often. You would generally assume that when a Tenant leaves your property, they will take with them all of their possessions. However, in our experience, this is not necessarily the case. A Landlord may feel aggrieved at having to then remove that Tenant’s items from the house and/or arrange for the same to be destroyed, donated to charity etc. However, this is a very risky business for a Landlord and, if you dispose of property belonging to the Tenant you may find yourself at the receiving end of a claim for damages from the Tenant.
It is very important to remember that what you may consider to be rubbish, worthy of dumping in a skip, may be of value to the Tenant.
Even where the Tenant still owes you rent, you have absolutely no right to sell any items left behind by them in lieu of the money owed to you. Indeed, you are, as a Landlord, under a legal obligation to take care of your former Tenant’s possessions. This may appear to be extremely harsh but it is vital that you take all necessary steps to avoid your former Tenant having a potential claim for damages against you.
The Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 provides some guidance for Landlords in respect of their obligations in relation to the remaining items and our knowledge and experience of dealing with such matters can help you to avoid a potentially very costly penalty further down the road.
Whilst it may be easier to ignore the risk of Court proceedings for damages being brought against you at a later stage, we provide below details of a previous case in which the Tenant did, in fact, successfully bring Court proceedings against their former Landlord.
The case referred to is Cashmere v Walsh, Downing & Veale and was decided in 2009. Briefly, in that case, the Tenant moved out of the rented accommodation in order for repair works to be carried out. Once those works had been done, he was advised that he could not have the keys back or return to the property. He was also told that he could not have his possessions from the property as there were rent arrears. The Tenant in this case brought a claim against the Landlords for various breaches of the Landlord’s obligations, including housing disrepair, deception and failure to repay the deposit. The Court found in favour of the Tenant and awarded him over £81,000 in damages against the Landlords. Of that sum, the figure of £6,515 was specifically awarded in respect of the Tenants items of property which were never recovered. Of interest in this case, is the fact that £10,000 was ordered to be paid to the Tenant by all three Defendants on the basis that they had lied throughout to the Tenant.
Our Landlord & Tenant Specialists can guide you through the obligations in respect of a departing Tenant and, of course, advise and assist you in complying with the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977.
If you require any legal advice or assistance in relation to a Landlord or Tenant issue, then please do not hesitate to contact our Janine Griffiths.