Can someone dispose of my belongings if I moved out? Advice please.

asoe209

Hi hope this is the right section to post this in. Wondered if anyone knows if a person can legally or what can be done if my ex dispose of some of my belongings in here house. 

Short story we lived together in a rented place but her brother and 2 other people were also staying there still are. 

When we split I moved fairly quickly due to the situation. With the rush of the move I left some things there. 

Me and the ex had / have an agreement that it was ok for it to be there and I could collect at a later date. No clarified date. 

Financials are still up and down which is parley why it hasn’t been done plus some emotional bits after the relationship. I have received this message from the brother that’s in relation to stuff that’s in the garage. 

“Please get back to me on it mate otherwise I'll be taking it all down to the tip as I need the space in the garage by the end of the week“

I can’t give a date when I can move stuff nore do I want to promise something that I can’t  stick to. Plus the fact me and the home owner have the agreement. 

Just wondered where I would stand if this did happen. 

AskAsk

Is your ex still at the property as a tenant?  Are you still a tenant or have you given notice to the landlord and are no longer a tenant on the contract?

asoe209

She’s still at the house. Neither of us were listed as tenants as it’s in her parents name. 

AskAsk

asoe209 said:

She’s still at the house. Neither of us were listed as tenants as it’s in her parents name. 

Her parents are the ones that would need to give you permission to leave your stuff there as they are the only ones with the legal right to agree to that.   If I have understood you correctly, and they are the named tenants on the contract.

Her brother can throw your stuff out but he would need to give you reasonable notice to get them.  Depends on how much stuff you have, reasonable could be anywhere between a couple of weeks to a month.

asoe209

Oh really? Ok. Thank you for that. 

How does that work then if the brother could have the right to do that. But the parents are the ones that would have to give the permission? 

AskAsk

The parents are the legal occupiers as they are the named tenants.  Without their permission, you don't have a right to leave your stuff there.  This is why the brother, or anyone else, can throw your stuff out because your stuff don't have the right to be there.

However, as you had lived there, it would only be reasonable that you should be given reasonable time to remove your stuff. 

Think of a comparable scenario.  Say you rented a hotel room and when you checked out, you didn't take all your stuff.  It means that your stuff shouldn't be there and if it gets chucked out (by anyone) then you don't really have any come back.  Obviously, the hotel management would give you reasonable notice as a courtesy to come and collect your stuff to avoid any claim for compensation from you.

DullGreyGuy

Its a complex area of law and one which is frequently debated on these forums under different scenarios (unsolicited items sent to you, items sent to your address for a previous occupant, items left by a previous tenant etc etc). 

Is there a clear acceptance of ownership? Often couples assume joint ownership of many things (eg the lounge sofa) even if A buys the sofa and B buys the cooker rather than both contributing to both. 

What's stopping you collecting them? No matter the scenario you cannot expect indefinite free storage of your stuff by another. You need to consider their value too... it's not what you paid for them but what they could be sold for secondhand. Its hard not to think of the £500 you paid for a new sofa but realistically if you got £100 for it you are lucky and you need to consider the lower value when considering your next steps. 

A former friend decided they had to get their clothes back from their ex despite everyone's advices but they had too many memories attached to them so didnt want to wear them again. They paid a bunch of money to hire a "man with van" to go collect the clothes, spent hours photographing them etc to sell on ebay/vinted (plus more time in tears) and after sale fees, hire charges, postage etc made a significant loss. They could have saved their time and tears by simply waiving the clothes away.

asoe209

Morning. Yes I totally hear this especially the example provided. 

Situation was strange although it the parents house on paper. It was myself and my ex that rented it form them. The bother came in as he needed somewhere to say and is basically just being funny and giving the threats to chucking it out. Which in the grand scheme of things a though not documented he doesn’t have the ground to do being he’s a guest there. 

Which is why I had the agreement with the ex. 

Time and money is the main factor here I don’t exspect indefinite storage. But some understanding at least as renting a van ain’t cheap. And waiting on others to help I need there timetable as well. 

But all in all it seems if they were to throw it out there nothing I can do. 

Wyndham

How long since you moved out? There is perhaps an argument of 'reasonableness' here. If it was in the last month that would be quite different to if it was six months ago.

Sea_Shell

Even if you did have the "law" on your side, what would you do if they did go ahead and throw it all out?

The police won't want to know (civil matter), so you'd have to bring legal action against them.

How much is your stuff actually worth?  More than potential legal fees?


Sometimes just walking away is the most sensible financial decision.

Debbie9009

OP is it possible it’s your ex that wants your stuff gone, but is feeling too emotional to deal with so has asked her brother to deal with it for her.

As others have said how reasonable the notice is, depends on how long you have left it there.  I have experience of this when I split with an ex and a couple of months later they still hadn’t taken their stuff despite several polite requests, so I gave them a month to collect or I would get rid of it, …… two weeks later it was all gone, and I finally felt able to start to move on.