Renting - who owns the fruit?

aldredd

Ok, a fairly hypothetical question, and probably more out of humorous curiosity - but the thought crossed my mind the other day, and it's bugging me.

If you rent, and assuming there is nothing specific in the contract, can the owner / land-lord claim ownership of any fruit from trees / bushes on the property?

I know they can't just turn up on without prior notice - but can they tell you they're coming round to pick the fruit? Or do you, as a tenant, have a right to it?

Cheers!

moneyistooshorttomention

Don't know the law on this.

But - in your position - the thought wouldn't even have crossed my mind as to who the fruit belongs to. I would automatically assume that I was paying for the fruit included in my rent money. So I would wonder about whether I was allowed to make any basic changes I wanted to to the garden and check that out - but I would just assume the fruit was mine and use it as I wanted to myself.

aldredd

To be honest, if it was a real situation I was facing, I'd argue that my eating the fruit I'm abiding by the part of my lease agreement that I keep the garden well-maintained )

ognum

I don't know the law but as a landlord I would say if you rent the property the fruit is yours unless there is anything to change this stated in the tenancy agreement.

Enjoy it!

DaftyDuck

When I was a student (over 20 years ago), my landlord (a Fellow of the University) crept round and took the strawberries - from the plants I had planted in pots I had bought! :eek: I was not best pleased!

Now, I rent a house out to students (from the same University), and I enthusiastically encourage them to collect the fruit. They have done so over the last few years (and one even made me a few stunning fruit crumbles). There's nothing specific in the contract, though it does state to maintain the garden, cut the lawns and the like.