Ownership of Floating Decking

Sarajayne12

I have been renting a bungalow for almost 14 years now, and my brother and I built a small floating deck in the back garden. My landlord is emigrating in Spring and wants to sell the property. Am I allowed to take the decking with me when I move out? I paid for all the materials, but do I own it or does it now belong to my landlord?

p00hsticks

I think it's something for you to discuss with your landlord.

Firstly, have you been given notice to leave or is s/he planning on selling it with you still as a tenant ? Your question implies the former but a landlord can sell a property with a sitting tenant to a new landlord....

Your rental agreement probably says that when you vacate the property you should return it in the condition you first moved im (less reasonable wear and tear) which would imply that you should remove the decking and take it with you, but would you realistically be able to restore the underlying garden to as it originally was ? 

If it is agreed that you should remove it I suggest that ideally you do it before the house goes on the market so that it isn;t in place for any estate agent photos or viewings, or failing that ask your landlord to ensure that the property details make clear that the decking isn't included.

Sarajayne12

Thanks for your reply. What would my situation be if I didn't have a tenancy agreement? I don't have anything in writing... just a verbal agreement on a rolling basis.

chanz4

well makes it a lot more complex, what about deposit registration?

welly_59

chanz4 said:

well makes it a lot more complex, what about deposit registration?

14 years is way before deposit registration become mandatory 

ThisIsWeird

I don't know anything about SarahJayne's rental agreement, but I believe I am right in saying that this decking belongs to SJ, to sell off or remove as they wish.

As said above, they should consider the work involved in reinstating the garden to its previous condition.

Can I ask why you'd want to remove this decking, SJ? Is it really practical for you to do so - can it be transported easily, and reused? Dare I ask if you are trying to 'spite' your LL?

If you are concerned about the work required to remove it - should the LL ask you to - then simply put it on a local selling site, and someone will do the hard work for you and take it away. But, if that is the case, then ask the LL if they want it first - that'll save everyone some hassle.

If you really want to take it with you, you can. It's yours. You can double-spite the LL by leaving it there whilst the sale partic. photos are taken, and then get shot of it; it does not belong to the house owner.

(I'm 99% sure...)

Sarajayne12

Hi, thanks for confirming. No spite involved. Just sentimental value because it's the last thing my brother built before his cancer diagnosis, so I want to take it with me.