Tenant Leaves Possessions behind

Where the tenant leaves possessions behind the Landlord has a duty of care to look after such. The Landlord must act reasonably and demonstrate the tenant had the opportunity to recover their goods prior to them being disposed off. A landlord cannot by law withhold another’s personal belongings in lieu of any monies owed, should they do so this is known as "Tort of conversion" this exposes the landlord to litigation for damages.

The worse case is you dispose of the goods and the tenant contacts you 3 months later and saying I need my possessions back - the Landlord says I have thrown them away. The next thing is the Tenant sues you for throwing away the family heirlooms worth an inflated £4,975. (These cases occur on a frequent basis and a classic setup)

 

Provided you have adhered to the tenancy agreement clause the Judge will (should) rule the tenant also has a "Duty of Care" to be responsible for their own possessions and they were negligent by their own actions not the Landlord.

 

Where this area does get very grey is Abandonment for the Tenant state they had not vacated and were unlawfully evicted so removal of possessions was unlawful.

 

Your tenancy agreement like ours should contain such a clause

When items are left at the premises, the Tenant will be responsible for meeting all

reasonable removal and/or storage charges. The Landlord will remove and store them for a maximum of one month. The Landlord will notify the Tenant at the last known address. If the items are not collected within one month, the Landlord may dispose of the items and the Tenant will be liable for the reasonable costs of disposal. The costs may be deducted from any sale proceeds or the Deposit and if there are any costs remaining, they will remain the Tenant's liability. The Tenant agrees to pay the Landlord for any damages in having to pay a third party whose possessions he disposes of in accordance with this clause.