Tenant uncontactable

toni2014

@[Deleted User], I was thinking of treating it as an abandonment of the property. The tenant left the keys underneath the bin, which there was no reason to do so which is telling on what their intentions were i.e abandoning the property 

Bookworm105

toni2014 said:

@[Deleted User], I was thinking of treating it as an abandonment of the property. The tenant left the keys underneath the bin, which there was no reason to do so which is telling on what their intentions were i.e abandoning the property 

I can see that you could make a case for that on the evidence "left" in the property, others may not.
Whether you follow the letter of the law (ie the long timescale) re abandonment is then down to you - see link on page 3 from "bobster" as it seems you have made up your own mind as to your course of action.

next time, make sure you know where your tenant works so you have an additional means of finding out their circumstances if they "disappear"

RAS

There are personal possessions in the house and one bedroom door is locked. Doesn't sound like abandonment.

Kim_13

There was a reason for the tenant to leave a key even if not intending to abandon the property: he knew that he had changed the locks, therefore you would not be able to access the property in an emergency or to check on it (he was obviously intending to message you to do this when he left) if he did not leave one. 

If you continue to hear nothing from him and do not want to follow the possession procedure to the letter (presumably a court application once the arrears are at the required level for eviction), I would contact the police stating that you initially believed the tenant was going to visit his sick father but as time has gone on, you are concerned about abandonment and that your property may have been used for an illegal purpose given the locked room. They may find something there that can be used to legally end the tenancy more quickly. 

Can you access the electricity meter? Unusually high usage for an empty house would be more of an indication that the police needed to be involved, but absolutely do not attempt to open the room yourself. Leave it for the police.

Treating this as an abandonment is risky - some things suggest he may have, while others suggest otherwise. 

The only problem with the message you have sent him as regards to taking the key is that he could read it and think ‘fine, no need to do anything as that was the spare.’ As it stands there will be an issue if he returns without contacting you first, as he doesn’t know the locks have been changed. In my view he should keep you in the loop, but tenants are legally free to come and go as they please day or night even if they have rent owing so it could happen that way.

bobster2

[Deleted User] said:

I think changing the lock was reasonable as a key was left outdoors under a bin which is not secure. Furthermore a window was left open.

If OP has the key - why do they need to change the lock? And how does an upstairs window being open have any bearing on whether the front door lock should be changed?

toni2014 said:

As the key was underneath the bin, if someone saw the tenant placing the key underneath the bin they could've have easily made a copy of the key, waited x amount of days and raid the house. Unlikely I know but still in the realms of being possible. I'd rather be safe than sorry hence why I changed the lock.

Further down a rabbit hole now. We have mystery burglars who when finding a key - rather than using it to get into a house or taking the key to come back later (or climbing in the open window) - instead take the key, make a copy, then very quickly put it back under the very same bin.

toni2014 said:

One bedroom is locked (it has always been lockable) which makes me think the tenant is intending to return. However if he doesn't what concerns me is that I have no idea what's in there and whether I should notify the police.

Even further - now you're going to call the police and say what? That that tenant has something in their locked bedroom and you don't know what it is?

GDB2222

toni2014 said:

I've sent another polite text message advising the tenant that I've obtained the keys underneath the bin and that they are in my possession.

I've also requested if they could let me know when they are planning on returning or whether they have no intentions of returning. The phone is still off.

As the key was underneath the bin, if someone saw the tenant placing the key underneath the bin they could've have easily made a copy of the key, waited x amount of days and raid the house. Unlikely I know but still in the realms of being possible. I'd rather be safe than sorry hence why I changed the lock.

I live around the corner so could easily return the key to the tenant if they were to return.

I've inspected the house, there was not much I could see in terms of food items in the kitchen cupboards and the fridge.

One bedroom is locked (it has always been lockable) which makes me think the tenant is intending to return. However if he doesn't what concerns me is that I have no idea what's in there and whether I should notify the police.

The other bedroom I could only see a few items of clothing.

The dining table, sofas and TV is the property of the tenant, however I can't see them taking any of these if they have no plans on returning back.

The tenant is Lithuanian as said they've always paid the rent on time. I only have their contact number, no email address.

In light of the above, to be fair and to give the tenant the benefit of doubt, I intend to wait 2 weeks, max 1 month if still no response received I think it's safe to say the tenant does not intend on returning and therefore I will advertise the property to other potential tenants. I think this is more than fair and reasonable on my part.

Do you have a plan for what you will do when the tenant turns up, demanding to be let into his home? This is after you have taken all his property to the dump, and installed a new tenant. 

housebuyer143

toni2014 said:

@[Deleted User], I was thinking of treating it as an abandonment of the property. The tenant left the keys underneath the bin, which there was no reason to do so which is telling on what their intentions were i.e abandoning the property 

I mean it's been 11 days and all his stuff is in the house - how are you jumping to abandonment? Would you be saying this if he didn't text you and didn't pay the rent? 
More likely is he left the key under the bin because he left in a hurry and knew you didn't have one and in case of emergency he wanted you to have access. 

I think you need to calm down, and give it another 2 weeks at least before you assume he's not coming back. He's texted you and so now he is dealing with his father, he's probably not thinking about you anymore and will turn his phone on when he's ready to update you. 

If you do remove his stuff you need to store it for a reasonable time (2 months plus). You can't just throw it out. 

theartfullodger

MCT56 said:

My second post on this topic. Is there anything in the rental agreement allowing the tenant to change the locks without the landlords permission ? There is in mine - it’s not allowed and neither is making spare keys, lending them out, or leaving them under bins for anyone else to find. 

So what will you do if a tenants breaches any of these conditions?  Evict them s8g12 breach of contract?  No judge would grant an eviction for eg making a key copy would they.

Tenant might take notice but knows they can ignore .. Been a landlord long?

toni2014

Possible scenarios I can think of:

1. Tenant has been subletting the property.

2. Tenant has genuinely gone abroad, there is a reason as to why the phone is genuinely off. The tenant intends to return as his belongings are still in the property including what's behind the locked bedroom.

3. Tenant left the key underneath the bin for the landlord in the event they were going to stay abroad longer than expected which is what has happened hence why the tenant informed the landlord as to the location of the key so know one else finds it.

4. Tenant has no intentions of returning as the key was left underneath the bin, phone is off, tenant uncontactable and thus has abandoned the property.

Any other possible scenarios?

I've checked the electric/gas meter, it has not been tampered with.

[Deleted User]

bobster2 said:

[Deleted User] said:

I think changing the lock was reasonable as a key was left outdoors under a bin which is not secure. Furthermore a window was left open.

If OP has the key - why do they need to change the lock? And how does an upstairs window being open have any bearing on whether the front door lock should be changed?

toni2014 said:

As the key was underneath the bin, if someone saw the tenant placing the key underneath the bin they could've have easily made a copy of the key, waited x amount of days and raid the house. Unlikely I know but still in the realms of being possible. I'd rather be safe than sorry hence why I changed the lock.

Further down a rabbit hole now. We have mystery burglars who when finding a key - rather than using it to get into a house or taking the key to come back later (or climbing in the open window) - instead take the key, make a copy, then very quickly put it back under the very same bin.

toni2014 said:

One bedroom is locked (it has always been lockable) which makes me think the tenant is intending to return. However if he doesn't what concerns me is that I have no idea what's in there and whether I should notify the police.

Even further - now you're going to call the police and say what? That that tenant has something in their locked bedroom and you don't know what it is?

The key was left insecure and the new key is readily available so its a non-issue. A landlord taking this step to secure his property in all the circumstances is reasonable in my opinion and I would be happy to argue it in court.

I say this as a cautious person. In not dissimilar circumstances I undertook the full court process to officially evict a tenant. And it was much more obviously an abandonment than this.