Hot Tub left behind

CanalDuck

Hello,

We bought a house at the end of July and have been chasing the previous owners since.

Up to now we've tried to be really nice, never complained and took on ourselves to clear all the rubbish they had left behind, repair the leaking roof, unblock all the gutters and the drains, but despite many reminders, we still have their big hot tub in the middle of our patio.

This hot tub was on the photos but it's not mentioned on any of the purchase documents and the property was sold with vacant possession.

Can we legally declare that it is ours?

Many thanks

Duck

Comms69

CanalDuck wrote: »

Hello,

We bought a house at the end of July and have been chasing the previous owners since.

Up to now we've tried to be really nice, never complained and took on ourselves to clear all the rubbish they had left behind, repair the leaking roof, unblock all the gutters and the drains, but despite many reminders, we still have their big hot tub in the middle of our patio.

This hot tub was on the photos but it's not mentioned on any of the purchase documents and the property was sold with vacant possession.

Can we legally declare that it is ours?

Many thanks

Duck

If it is fixed to the ground, that would be a reasonable assumptions.


The rule is generally - turn the property upside down, anything that falls is not included.

SG27

I think legally its not yours unless they say so.

Personally i would have sold it long ago. Legally though it might be more complicated.

lisyloo

I have a hot tub and I don't believe they are generally fixed to the ground.


A couple of points to note.


They are voracious in their use of electricity (if on all the time).


They are not meant to be left empty for more than 2 weeks, so if you are planning to use it then take advice on water treatment to kill off bacteria. You might need to fill, treat, empty & fill.

Comms69

lisyloo wrote: »

I have a hot tub and I don't believe they are generally fixed to the ground.


A couple of points to note.


They are voracious in their use of electricity (if on all the time).


They are not meant to be left empty for more than 2 weeks, so if you are planning to use it then take advice on water treatment to kill off bacteria. You might need to fill, treat, empty & fill.

I do aswell and mine isn't fixed, but some of the more expensive ones are buried to some degree into the earth.

lisyloo

Comms69 wrote: »

I do aswell and mine isn't fixed, but some of the more expensive ones are buried to some degree into the earth.

Does that count as fixed in legal terms?


Might seem pedantic but crucial to the legal issue.

ritz55

My understanding is that you can write to them to tell them they have 14 days to remove the hot tub otherwise you will arrange for it to be disposed of if they don't come to collect. After the 14 days I think you can safely assume they don't want it.

CanalDuck

Thanks all for the quick replies.
The hot tub is massive, big enough for 10 people, so I can't see a reason for such a big thing to be fixed to the ground, however it's still permanently connected to our electric system so maybe that's they way to look at it?

The thing is we don't want to sell it and end up in a legal battle, we've had a lot of unplanned costs already so this would not go down well. So if we go ahead and sell it in a few weeks, we need to be pretty sure it won't come back to bite us.

G_M

since end of july?


For goodness sakejust do whatever you want: sell it, dump it, use it whatever.


Get on with your life........

Slithery

CanalDuck wrote: »

...however it's still permanently connected to our electric system...

I would think that this makes it a fixture, so it became yours as part of the sale. Anyone?

lisyloo

Rather than guessing the Legals, don't you have a solicitor connected with the sale canalduck? Surely this is something they can answer off the bat.