property taken by tenant on leaving

Tiddlywinks

googler wrote: »

Do we take it from this that the owner/landlord left some personal possessions in the house whilst renting it out, and these have gone missing?

Renting a property out is a BUSINESS, not a favour or a hobby. The landlord shouldn't leave anything in the property that they have a personal attachment to. Any items of furniture, household appliances, etc. should be generic items that the landlord won't miss, and can write off as a business loss should they go missing, without any heartache.

Whilst I agree that the LL/Tenant relationship is a business one, I cannot accept that it is OK for items to go missing without questions asked.

Items in a rented property are assets of the LL/Business and their title is retained by them - if they are not present at the end of the tenancy (and there has been no agreed write off during the tenancy) then the tenant is liable for the loss (unless they can prove liability rests elsewhere).

However, there needs to be an agreed inventory to detail the assets at the start of the agreement in order to identify any losses.

societys_child

""the most recent tenant took some items from the house when they left, and are unwilling to return them""

The above suggests the ex tenant has the items.
It's theft regardless of any inventory or photographs. If someone enters my house and takes the portable tv from the kitchen, I can report it to the police without having to produce written testimonials and photos to prove I owned the item in the first place.

Doubt the insurance co will be interested as the alleged offender had legal access to the property but it still sounds like theft.

googler

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Whilst I agree that the LL/Tenant relationship is a business one, I cannot accept that it is OK for items to go missing without questions asked.

I'm not suggesting it's 'OK' for anything to go missing, merely that the 'own home' bit of the OP seems to suggest that the landlord hasn't totally detached themselves from the property as a business asset, and, if it does turn out that the landlord has left personal items therein, that they shouldn't have.

In both cases (personal items/business assets) it is theft, absolutely.

PasturesNew

And we still don't know if it was the loo roll holder and an old clock, or the entire contents of the first floor.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Of course it's theft.

Call the Police, get them arrested and charged.

Make their life miserable.

PasturesNew

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Of course it's theft.

Call the Police, get them arrested and charged.

Make their life miserable.

Then come back here and tell us about it, so we can gloat at their misery. Facebook links to their whining misery are gratefully accepted.

poppysarah

societys_child wrote: »

, I can report it to the police without having to produce written testimonials and photos to prove I owned the item in the first place.

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I suspect it's a very long time since you reported anything to the police.

G_M

HappyMJ wrote: »

It's not theft as in a criminal offence of theft so police won't be interested. It is a civil matter.

This is indeed a civil matter - the LL can make a deduction from the deposit and/or sue for the value in a Small Claims Court (or county court if the value exceeds SCC limits)

It is also a criminal matter.

Theft. "the dishonest taking of property belonging to another person with the intention of depriving the owner permanently of its possession "

GDB2222

G_M wrote: »

It is also a criminal matter.

Theft. "the dishonest taking of property belonging to another person with the intention of depriving the owner permanently of its possession "

As you say, dishonesty is required for it to be a criminal matter. For example, the tenants may have packed the LL's soapdish up by mistake and may simply be too lazy to return it. That's civil not criminal. There are any number of non-criminal explanations for this, and it's incorrect to leap to the conclusion that a crime has taken place based on the small amount of info provided.

honey06

hi all and thanks for the replies.
the main item in question is a mattress. it isnt in question that the tenant took this on moving out, just a question of ownership;-

my friend agreed to provide money towards the cost of a new bed (even though it was only let part furnished) and it was written into the tenancy agreement that a new bed would be purchased, how much he would contribute, and that this would be left as his at the end of the tenancy. The tenant is taking the view that he purchased the frame, they bought the mattress and so it is theirs...

regardless of who bought which bit, or how much overall the bed cost, the tenancy agreement says a BED- it doesnt specify frames/mattresses.