Allowing seller to temporarily leave furniture

TripleH

I'd take note of @Saajan_12 's comments if you decide to allow this. I get the feeling they are / have worked in the law profession, they seem to know their stuff.

Owing to the seller threatening to pull out, it seems a sensible way to deal with things.

GDB2222

macman said:

They obviously haven't grasped the meaning of 'vacant possession'...

Personally, I’d ask my solicitor this question. There’s a tendency for people on this forum to make very definitive statements about the law, unfortunately without doing the necessary research. 

I would say to the seller that they would need to pay for the legal fees involved in providing advice and drawing up a short agreement to cover the situation, but there would be no charge for storage for a week. 

nyermen

Unclear if you've exchanged contracts? If so, the issue is theirs and if they dont complete, financially that could be very expensive for them.  If not, then clearly anything is still up for discussion.

Personally, I wouldn't.  If they agree to collect it a week later, and then don't, you can't just ditch it I dont think, you'd be an involuntary bailee legally?

GDB2222

nyermen said:

Unclear if you've exchanged contracts? If so, the issue is theirs and if they dont complete, financially that could be very expensive for them.  If not, then clearly anything is still up for discussion.

Personally, I wouldn't.  If they agree to collect it a week later, and then don't, you can't just ditch it I dont think, you'd be an involuntary bailee legally?

You’d be a voluntary bailee, surely?

MEM62

southernlead said:

However, because of the situation if we do not come to an agreement on this, there's a chance the deal does not complete.

I doubt that very much.  Nobody would pull out at this stage over something as insignificant as a week or two storage.  The lost legal fees alone would cost more than renting a self-store unit.     

doodling

Hi,

GDB2222 said:

nyermen said:

Unclear if you've exchanged contracts? If so, the issue is theirs and if they dont complete, financially that could be very expensive for them.  If not, then clearly anything is still up for discussion.

Personally, I wouldn't.  If they agree to collect it a week later, and then don't, you can't just ditch it I dont think, you'd be an involuntary bailee legally?

You’d be a voluntary bailee, surely?

And that's why I'd want an agreement that the items became mine after a certain time - I wouldn't want to be any form of bailee with the legal responsibilities that go along with it.

If you agree to store something for someone then be prepared to store that something for at least two months more than agreed because there is no easy legal way to force them to take it off your hands.

74jax

When you say its ALL their furniture, do you mean they want to complete and do NOTHING? Just leave the house and go - where are they going to that they don't need any of their furniture.....

Will they have packed it into boxes and just storing it all in 1 room ready to move it out, or are they expecting to come back and then box it and take it, risking damage to the property... This is all a big 'no' from me. 

TheJP

A friend of a friend agreed to store some of the sellers furniture in the garage as they weren't moving in for a couple of weeks while they decorated. Over a week there was a lot of rain fall and this led to the garage having a mini flood which damaged the items. They demanded the new owners should pay/replace the items. Thankfully they had email communication where the new owners had clearly stated that the sellers could store in the garage but it was at their own risk. Sometimes being nice isn't worth the hassle.

DE_612183

I had a issue with a seller - left stuff in the kitchen and even washing in the integrated appliance - they said they would return later that day to collect - they didn't. I got the estate agent to phone them and tell them that "9am it would be out on the street, if it wasn't collected the bins were due the next day and it would be disposed of"

Not sure if they came and collected or whether someone else took the stuff, but I did not hear anything again 

[Deleted User]

They probably don't want the items and are hoping if they leave them long enough, you will dispose of them.

Don't allow that to happen. Vacant Possession means just that. I know that sounds very harsh but I have in the past been saddled with someone else's crap to dispose off when I allowed the same thing.