Tenant vacated property with MY white goods, what now?

[Deleted User]

oldbikebloke said:

Poster_586329 said:

20 years of continuous rent, for at most £500 of white goods.  Sounds like you got a pretty good deal there!

so you consider theft to be acceptable on the basis it is in partial exchange for rent?
Did you parents teach you right from wrong?
I assume not given your morals.

They taught me that "Nobody ever really owns white goods"
Or maybe it was "Nobody ever really owns a cat".

I'm sorry, my childhood was a long time ago and I don't remember it all perfectly!

Crashy_Time

AdrianC said:

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. 

It is a stretch to see them all having to disappear though? Only fire could damage everything, and if so the rest of the flat would be damaged also? 

AdrianC

Let's say that the tenant put the heater up against the cooker, and left it on full blast. The cooker and heater both got badly scorched, as did the lino. The family, on clearing the property, disposed of them believing them to be hers.

But it doesn't really matter. It's idle speculation.

The only thing that matters is the value of the items, depreciated - and whether the OP finds it worth chasing that through a small claim.

GHolmesAdmin

And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

I would venture to suggest enough time has been wasted on this and it is time for all concerned to move on.

Hannimal

Andrea15 said:

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...

I understand in principle this must be very disappointing and frustrating. However, this person has paid you a lot of money over the past 20 years. Personally I'd just forget about it. they're not even worth anything.

Crashy_Time

Shouldn`t a landlord have insurance for this sort of thing?

GDB2222

oldbikebloke said:

Poster_586329 said:

20 years of continuous rent, for at most £500 of white goods.  Sounds like you got a pretty good deal there!

so you consider theft to be acceptable on the basis it is in partial exchange for rent?
Did you parents teach you right from wrong?
I assume not given your morals.

You are entirely right. And, so is the OP for being annoyed about this. 

However, I'd be inclined to put a positive spin on this. The tenant was probably demented, and thought the items were hers. Or, the tenant was moving into accommodation that lacked these basic white goods and stole them out of desperation. I'd regard it as a bit of charity to let the tenant have them.

Even if the OP can track the tenant down and go and claim these items back, the cost of transportation will eat significantly into their value. I am a landlord myself, and I would just write this off. 

Smodlet

GHolmesAdmin said:

And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

I would venture to suggest enough time has been wasted on this and it is time for all concerned to move on.

But gosh darn it all to heck, I want to hear the end of this one.  I realise principle is one thing but this has the (admittedly, very tentative) makings of a Great Dane in a Bag for Life thread... Or, my personal favourite, the pillar/pole thread.  AdrianC and I contributed to that one.  Ah, those were the days.

Seriously, OP, if this is the worst issue you have had in 20 years, I can say only you have been very lucky indeed.  Speculation again but perhaps the tenant is not in full possession of her marbles and was terrified of your finding fault with things because they were no longer in mint condition, being years old (except for the lino; do you mean vinyl flooring?) so removed them.  She could have been confused or she could have been so in love with your taste in lino she just had to have it in her new place to help her settle in.

No, of course I don't condone theft but think such situations need to be considered on their own merits/demerits.  Had she been there for 2 weeks, I would feel differently.

freesha

Cannot believe some of these responses. So THEFT is ok, as she has been a 'good tenant' and paid for 20 years? Really?

lesalanos

dimbo61 said:

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.

Why would they PAT test a cooker/washing machine/fridge?