Renting & Landlord using property for storage?

Tulip09

Hiya

My neighbour and I have the same landlord and similar property type, and we pay the same'ish' rent. However in her garage the owner of the property is storing a large trailer/ wood/ tools etc to the extent that she cannot use the garage or games room above for purpose at the present time due to the amount of the owners personal belongings.

The agent has said since August that the owner would be removing the stuff as a local builder would be taking all the stuff in lieu of payment for laying a large driveway leading to the house etc however this has now been delayed until at least May next year. My neighbour cannot use the street to park as its a county lane and passing point for tractors etc so has to use my drive up the road just now so her car is safe.

Will the double garage/games room be included in the rent as the agent says it isnt (although she pays the same as me) and is there any way to make the actual house owner remove his stuff/ or make him get the work done quicker. Obviously she can only go through the agent so anything legal would be helpful. The agent says that the owner has refused any discounts to be applied so there hands are tied?

N79

What does her contract say? If it excludes the storage space then fair enough (and well done to you for getting the better rental deal). If it is silent then the assumption would be that the whole property is included in the contract. If so then in the first instance, write to the LL giving them a reasonable period to remove their property.

Tulip09

I am presuming that she has the same stock contract as me however im not 100% sure. (I will check though) It seems to be a simple contract downloaded from the net with pretty much no substance to it tbh. The owner of all 3 properties in this area is a new first time owner and im really not sure he knows what he is doing lol and the agent basically just states his hands are tied. I have had no problems really but she seems to have loads All houses were originally advertised with double garage/games room & paved drives to be completed etc. No inventorys were taken of belongings/fixtures either and she has loads of his/childrens personal belongings in the house also (that she has put in the garage)

satchmeister

Tulip09 wrote: »

I am presuming that she has the same stock contract as me however im not 100% sure. (I will check though) It seems to be a simple contract downloaded from the net with pretty much no substance to it tbh. The owner of all 3 properties in this area is a new first time owner and im really not sure he knows what he is doing lol and the agent basically just states his hands are tied. I have had no problems really but she seems to have loads All houses were originally advertised with double garage/games room & paved drives to be completed etc. No inventorys were taken of belongings/fixtures either and she has loads of his/childrens personal belongings in the house also (that she has put in the garage)

If there is no inventory she should sell all the stuff on ebay. Gets some cash and frees up the space. Job done

G_M

As N79 says, if the contract is silent other than saying the tenant is renting (property address), then that means the entire property including garage. Write giving the LL 10 days to remove their goods and say that after that you will move them to a professional storage company and charge the LL for removal and storage costs.

That should incentivise the LL.

Tulip09

satchmeister wrote: »

If there is no inventory she should sell all the stuff on ebay. Gets some cash and frees up the space. Job done

:T lmao we had laughed about that same thing earlier! The trailer is worth a couple of thousand, not to mention pool table/ ride on mower and all the other electrical stuff including PS3 & wii in boxes :eek: . I thin she would be in trouble with the police if she did though lol

Tulip09

G_M wrote: »

As N79 says, if the contract is silent other than saying the tenant is renting (property address), then that means the entire property including garage. Write giving the LL 10 days to remove their goods and say that after that you will move them to a professional storage company and charge the LL for removal and storage costs.

That should incentivise the LL.

I will let her know, hopefully it will. She just want a drive/garage for her car.

princeofpounds

G_M, N79 are right. The tenancy is to the entire property as defined by the deeds, unless otherwise agreed.

The tenant does have a certain amount of duty of care to the goods. There is a whole specific area of law surrounding this, with funny terms like 'bailor' and 'bailee' but the general idea is that you are due to give reasonable notice to the LL to collect the goods, but you are also allowed to charge reasonable storage costs. Eventually you can dispose of the goods, but you would hope that the issue is resolved with a bit of assertiveness.

If the LL complains, just point out to them that they pay to rent the entire property and that any following tenant will most likely want the stuff out too, so it has to be done.

poppysarah

Tulip09 wrote: »

:T lmao we had laughed about that same thing earlier! The trailer is worth a couple of thousand, not to mention pool table/ ride on mower and all the other electrical stuff including PS3 & wii in boxes :eek: . I thin she would be in trouble with the police if she did though lol

Whose insurance covers them?

Tulip09

I presume that the owner will have insurance for his home and she has normal contents insurance but its not something we even thought about tbh.