Who owns property left in sold house?

AnotherJoe

We've all seen those TVs programmes where someone finds s Stradivarius or a Rembrandt in their attic left behind by the previous owners and gets mega bucks when they sell them*.

So, having seen an episode of Flog It tonight where someone got a few hundred quid for a bit of tat that they found in their cellar after buying a house, I wondered what the legal position is.

Could the owner claim the money? Is there a time limit after which it becomes the buyers property ?


* unless it was a painting by Stradivarius and a violin by Rembrandt :rotfl: Apologies to Mr T Cooper.

AdrianC

Unless it's part of the fixtures and fittings, it's not the buyers.

Simple question - is there a difference in ownership whether it's a skipful of rubbish left, or a valuable painting? Would you demand the vendor removed the rubbish?

If you make the vendor aware that they've left goods behind, and give them a reasonable deadline to collect, then you can safely say that it's yours if ever they launch a claim against you.

csgohan4

You could perhaps charge the previous owner expenses for removal of said items, albeit to the auction house or to your local recycling centre.

G_M

AdrianC wrote: »

...

If you make the vendor aware that they've left goods behind, and give them a reasonable deadline to collect, then you can safely say that it's yours if ever they launch a claim against you.

You sure? I think you could sell the item, and use (some of) the money to cover your costs of storage, transport, sale etc, but any profit remaining would still belong to the original owners.

Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 (S12)