Tenants evicted but left possessions behind

haveabreak

Hi all

Bailiff has evicted tenants but all possessions are left behind. Bailiffs told them they have a week to pick it up. Please advise what to do if tenants do not comply? Video/photos taken, there are many items/junk in a mess cannot possibly all be listed.

tacpot12

There is no need to list every item, but a video and photos of everything might be helpful. 

Have a read here: What to do When a Tenant Leaves Belongings Behind - Landlord insider (landlordvision.co.uk)

Don't take legal advice from bailiffs, get your own legal advice if you are not sure. 

propertyrental

Or here:

https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/information/uncollected-goods-in-rentals/

https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/information/abandoned-possessions/

theartfullodger

haveabreak said:

Hi all

Bailiff has evicted tenants but all possessions are left behind. Bailiffs told them they have a week to pick it up. Please advise what to do if tenants do not comply? Video/photos taken, there are many items/junk in a mess cannot possibly all be listed.

What does the tenancy agreement they & you signed state about what happens to stuff left behind? I can't weirdly read it from here...

Use the links propertyrental provided,,,

Take very quickly loads of photos of what was left behind, just in case the Rolex and expensive TV go missing ( hint..)

silvercar

theartfullodger said:

haveabreak said:

Hi all

Bailiff has evicted tenants but all possessions are left behind. Bailiffs told them they have a week to pick it up. Please advise what to do if tenants do not comply? Video/photos taken, there are many items/junk in a mess cannot possibly all be listed.

What does the tenancy agreement they & you signed state about what happens to stuff left behind? I can't weirdly read it from here...

Use the links propertyrental provided,,,

Take very quickly loads of photos of what was left behind, just in case the Rolex and expensive TV go missing ( hint..)

I doubt any "rolex" owned by someone with massive rental arrears costs more than £10 from the local pub or market. 

A note on the door, text and email messages to the most recent contact details, letter posted to the property just in case they have Royal Mail diversion in place. Wait a couple of weeks video, photo and dump. 

diystarter7

silvercar said:

theartfullodger said:

haveabreak said:

Hi all

Bailiff has evicted tenants but all possessions are left behind. Bailiffs told them they have a week to pick it up. Please advise what to do if tenants do not comply? Video/photos taken, there are many items/junk in a mess cannot possibly all be listed.

What does the tenancy agreement they & you signed state about what happens to stuff left behind? I can't weirdly read it from here...

Use the links propertyrental provided,,,

Take very quickly loads of photos of what was left behind, just in case the Rolex and expensive TV go missing ( hint..)

I doubt any "rolex" owned by someone with massive rental arrears costs more than £10 from the local pub or market. 

A note on the door, text and email messages to the most recent contact details, letter posted to the property just in case they have Royal Mail diversion in place. Wait a couple of weeks video, photo and dump. 

Is there not a statutory period where a LL has to keep say a T's property if it costs the LL a lot of time and money, ie delays refub etc etc?

Take pics and if possible getting an independent witness as some of these types are very crafty.

jj_43

First, follow what’s in the tenancy agreement. Then take a approach considering the risks involved. The risk is that you could be taken to the small claims court if something valuable is throw away. So take photos of the belongings, anything valuable keep for a few days, skip the rest. Counterclaim the storage costs for the valuables if it goes down the small claims
route.

GDB2222

If you do throw the stuff out, you might owe the tenant some compensation, but you can offset any rent arrears. Consequently, after taking photos of the stuff, you may just want to get on with cleaning up. 

The tenants are unlikely to be believed if they claim for a Rolex, but clothing for example can be expensive to replace.

propertyrental

jj_43 said:

First, follow what’s in the tenancy agreement. unlikely to be anything, but yes, check
Then take a approach considering the risks involved. The risk is that you could be taken to the small claims court if something valuable is throw away. duty of care
 So take photos of the belongings, anything valuable keep for a few days, no. follow the advice in the links above
skip the rest. . as above
Counterclaim the storage costs for the valuables if it goes down the small claims claim for storage whether t goes to court or nor . see links earlier
route.

...............................................................................

silvercar

The likelihood is that a tenant with massive arrears won't have sufficient funds to take a landlord to court.

If they did have the funds then the court is likely to view the value of some clothes that the ex-tenant couldn't be bothered to collect as lower in value than the outstanding rent. Even if a court did put some value on the possessions, they would likely to be lower than the rent owed. Given that the tenant is hardly likely to have sufficient funds to force a payment out of them even with a CCJ, the chances of loosing out financially by clearing the room are minimal.

I had a tenant occupying a room in an HMO. Eventually evicted by the court, he left when the bailiffs appeared. Never returned to collect his stuff. Was planning to dump it after 2 letters, 4 texts, 4 emails a note on the front door and on the room and 2 weeks had elapsed. In the end it was longer as getting quotes to repair the damage caused took longer than expected. The tenant effectively had 5 weeks to collect stuff from the room, 7 weeks if you include the time it was bagged up outside the door waiting for disposal. If it ever went to court, I'm sure the court would be less than impressed with the state the room was left, the deliberate damage caused to the room, the arrears that built up by not paying rent after the initial deposit and first months rent etc.

The fact is that the ex-tenant knows where their possessions are, they know how to get in touch with the landlord, yet they choose not to. If these are their worldly goods and they have no regard for them, why should anyone else go above and beyond?

diystarter7

silvercar said:

The likelihood is that a tenant with massive arrears won't have sufficient funds to take a landlord to court.

If they did have the funds then the court is likely to view the value of some clothes that the ex-tenant couldn't be bothered to collect as lower in value than the outstanding rent. Even if a court did put some value on the possessions, they would likely to be lower than the rent owed. Given that the tenant is hardly likely to have sufficient funds to force a payment out of them even with a CCJ, the chances of loosing out financially by clearing the room are minimal.

I had a tenant occupying a room in an HMO. Eventually evicted by the court, he left when the bailiffs appeared. Never returned to collect his stuff. Was planning to dump it after 2 letters, 4 texts, 4 emails a note on the front door and on the room and 2 weeks had elapsed. In the end it was longer as getting quotes to repair the damage caused took longer than expected. The tenant effectively had 5 weeks to collect stuff from the room, 7 weeks if you include the time it was bagged up outside the door waiting for disposal. If it ever went to court, I'm sure the court would be less than impressed with the state the room was left, the deliberate damage caused to the room, the arrears that built up by not paying rent after the initial deposit and first months rent etc.

The fact is that the ex-tenant knows where their possessions are, they know how to get in touch with the landlord, yet they choose not to. If these are their worldly goods and they have no regard for them, why should anyone else go above and beyond?

I thought the waiting time was 4 weeks?
Many of the T's that do this type of stuff know their rights to the letter and how to play the system from what I have seen.

IMHO, the trick is not to have threats against the LL to be taken to court.  thankfully we have not had to endure a bad T and just employe an EA and legal/etc insurance cover to take care of stuff if things go wrong.

Thanks