Tenant retained keys

euronorris

Hi All


Colleague was renting out her property to a friend, and as such she and her husband didn't get a contract or deposit (I know, I know).


Anyway, they've since fallen out as the state of the property became evident after this woman vacated. They'll have to replace carpets and repaint etc, and from what I can tell online, they won't be able to get any money from her towards the costs because of the lack of deposit and contract.


However, the main issue now comes in that the tenant hasn't returned the keys and is ignoring all contact attempts. Where do they stand with this? Is the tenant still liable for rent whilst she retains keys? Or is that only if a signed tenancy agreement is in place. I'm not thinking of them enforcing this, but the threat of it might kick her into action to return the keys.


If not, and she continues to ignore all contact attempts. Can they simply change the locks, or would they then be in breach of this? What action should they then take if keys still not returned, tenant not responding and they're not allowed to change locks?


TIA x

pinklady21

Has the tenant vacated?
Then yes, change the locks immediately.
But - make sure the tenant really has gone, or there could be all sorts of hoopla.
Read up on Tenancy Abandonment.

PersianCatLady

As long as the tenant has vacated then change the locks and then she doesn't need to worry about it any more.

euronorris

Thanks for the quick reply. I have found an informative article on tenancy abandonment and sent it to her to read.


Thanks again x

Pixie5740

Has the tenant definitely vacated i.e. did the tenant serve notice to end the tenancy or has a court granted a possession order?

Tenancy agreements in England and Wales do not need to be written down. If your friend accepted rent in exchange for the tenant having exclusive occupation of the property a perfectly valid Assured Shorthold Tenancy existed/exists?

theartfullodger

The colleague should read this..
http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2017/11/30/implied-surrender/

- Tenant sounds as though they have left under "implied surrender".

Comms69

I don’t get it, the thing you can pursue ( carpets etc)you/they won’t

The keys, which is £5 to change you/ they seek advice about

thelem

Comms69 wrote: »

I don’t get it, the thing you can pursue ( carpets etc)you/they won’t

The keys, which is £5 to change you/ they seek advice about

It doesn't sound like the question is about the keys themselves, rather it's about whether by retaining the keys the tenant also retains some right to use the property.