Tenant vacated property with MY white goods, what now?

Andrea15

AdrianC said:

Andrea15 said:

AdrianC said:

Andrea15 said:

I do not have her new address (but the council does) and needless to say she is not picking up her phone, so if I wish to pursue it all I can do - I think - is go to the police.

The police are not interested in a commercial debt. Don't waste your - and their - time.

Well, it is not a "commercial" debt, is it. It is theft.

Yes, it is a commercial debt. They are items provided for the use of your tenant as part of your residential lettings business. They have not been returned to you along with the rest of the property. It's no different to if the carpet had been ruined and had to be thrown away, or if the place needed repainting, or if the bath was cracked.

Get over the "BUT THEY'RE MINE!" - it will just drive you down a path of spiralling resentment.

The reality is that this is a very small debt in the framework of the entire tenancy, and the ex-tenant is a person who is now in a position vulnerable enough to require sheltered accommodation.

You don't appear to have given answers to the question I asked earlier about their purchase price and their age.

The cooker is 4 years old and cost £170. The washing machine is 2,5 years old and cost £220. The electric fire, not sure as I cant find the invoice (probably it is in the file tucked away). The lino cost £200 and that was put in about 2 months ago.
So, no... it is not a huge amount of money, but stil...

FinallyStoppedLurking

lookstraightahead said:

Don't you have to have a deposit (for the tenants protection as well as your own) or is that something that is only done with newer tenants? I'm just thinking if you are supposed to have a deposit in a scheme, she can pursue you for a lot more than you can pursue her. 

You can't to protect a deposit that hasn't been paid. 

greatcrested

lookstraightahead said:

Don't you have to have a deposit (for the tenants protection as well as your own) or is that something that is only done with newer tenants? I'm just thinking if you are supposed to have a deposit in a scheme, she can pursue you for a lot more than you can pursue her. 

No. Landlords do not have to take a deposit (and I have no idea how a deposit protects a tenant).

The requirement is that if a deposit is taken, it must be placed in a scheme.

Tea_Pea_Dee

Andrea15 said:

So, the consensus seems to be "what goes around comes around".
My idea is that her children/grandchildren took the white goods and flogged them on Gumtree. I cannot see her needing them in sheltered accommodation.

Are you mistaking the word sheltered for furnished?  Sheltered normally means a site manager and a 24 hour careline via pull cords or pendants.  
I don't know how old your tenant is nor the reason for her moving, but is it possible she has dementia and thinks the goods belong to her?   I find it strange that you can think her children/grandchildren could have sold them on Gumtree.  If my children helped me to move, no way would they say "Do these goods belong to you Mum?"  (No, I reply, they belong to the landlady)  "Oh right, we'll do the sensible thing and put them on Gumtree then"

Really?  

AdrianC

lookstraightahead said:

Don't you have to have a deposit (for the tenants protection as well as your own) or is that something that is only done with newer tenants? I'm just thinking if you are supposed to have a deposit in a scheme, she can pursue you for a lot more than you can pursue her. 

You do not HAVE to take a deposit.
If you DO take a deposit, it has to be protected.

AdrianC

Andrea15 said:

AdrianC said:

You don't appear to have given answers to the question I asked earlier about their purchase price and their age.

The cooker is 4 years old and cost £170. The washing machine is 2,5 years old and cost £220. The electric fire, not sure as I cant find the invoice (probably it is in the file tucked away). The lino cost £200 and that was put in about 2 months ago.
So, no... it is not a huge amount of money, but stil...

So let's assume 10yr life on all bar the lino - which we'll say 5yr.

Cooker - 60% of £170 = £102
Washer - 75% of £220 = £165
Lino - 90% of £200 = £180
Total debt = £447 plus whatever for the electric heater.

Shall we round it up to £500 with a roughly half-share of something like this?
https://www.screwfix.com/p/dimplex-casper-black-electric-stove-with-built-in-fan-heater/724fv

But...
£170 for a cooker is the absolute bottom of the market. 10yrs in a tenanted property may well be regarded as optimistic.
https://ao.com/l/electric_cookers/1/9-11/?sort=aol_saleincvat

£220 for a washing machine is not far above the bottom of the market.
https://ao.com/l/washing_machines-free_standing/1-9/1/?sort=aol_saleincvat

So if we discount their expected lives to 5yrs, the cooker was pretty much end-of-life, and the washing machine is half-way there.
Cooker - 20% of £170 = £35
Washer - 50% of £220 = £110
Lino - 90% of £200 = £180
We're up to £325.

Is the heater similarly minimal?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Schallen-Electric-Convector-Radiator-Heater/dp/B081RW7YMT/

What's that, not somewhere around half to one month's rent?

After 20yrs of tenancy, with a tenant who's gone into sheltered accommodation.

Let it go.

newsgroupmonkey_

Are we forgetting the brand new lino? I'm not sure what the value is on this, but it seems a bit odd to take brand new lino.

SpiderLegs

This sounds like judge rinder territory 

dimbo61

I think it's time to refurbish the whole property 
How old is the kitchen and bathroom ?
As part of your business plan as a Landlord you should consider what type of tenant your looking for.
Do you need to supply white goods.
Did you have them PAT tested ?
Sheltered accommodation normally does not come with a cooker or fridge freezer or washing machine. 
Could you get a higher rent with the complete refurb of your rental.
Maybe good quality white goods like a Bosch washing machine, new fridge/ freezer that is A rated.
Brand new with 5 year warranty.
Makes your property stand out from the rest.
Tax deductible expense 
Take a deposit, get a video inventory done of the new property and hopefully you can keep the next tenants for the next 20 years.
PS a letter thanking your old tenant would be better than asking for  some money for an old cooker, washing machines etc.

AdrianC

newsgroupmonkey_ said:

Are we forgetting the brand new lino? I'm not sure what the value is on this, but it seems a bit odd to take brand new lino.

No, I've said 90% of a 5yr life.
I've edited to clarify.

My suspicion is that the lino got damaged, either during removal, or through some incident that may have been the tipping point to move to sheltered accommodation...
It's not a big stretch to see that incident damaging the cooker or WM or heater.