Landlord/possessions problems, massive advise needed.

krisboats

krisboats

krisboats

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I've currently had a years tenancy with a company that specialise in student accommodation. It was a 52 week let, that commenced as of the 21st of september and as far as i was aware, ended on the same day a year later. I went to collect the remainder of my things from the house this evening in what i thought was the last day and they were all gone and the house is completely spotless.

Having gone in a bit of a rampage tonight i read through the brief contract thoroughly and it doesn't state anywhere that the property must be devoid of belongings after the tenancy has expired. There is a little section on the website though here that stipulates that they will discard all stuff that's left in the house and will charge me for the privilege of doing so. Luckily i had most of my stuff out, but unfortunately there was still around £300-400 worth of my belongings in there, largely in the form of clothes and my expensive clothes and suits/shirts. My personal details were in there including bank documents and personal details as well as a variety of my own paintings and mounted large print photographs. Dvd's, computer software and even processors/sticks of ram etc .

Now the office itself is closed all weekend, which means i had no chance to contact them on the saturday to let them know my parents couldn't bring the car over till sunday evening. I had no phone calls or emails to let me know they were going to do this, despite them having correct and current details.

Is there any legal ground that i have to stand on with this? Especially given the fact that i had no warning from them. Is this theft?
 
Not really as soon as the contract is up your should have the property empty of your belongings, it would have made sence to have rang them say on the friday and let them know / ask them if you could leave things there till the sunday.

Although There website is very vague and the document dealing with explanation of a contract found here has very little information in it. It is possible you would be able to fight it with the help of the CAB as the contract is lacking in some points. (I own and lease commercial and residential properties)
 
Hmm don't mean to patronise but it's generally a good idea to let landlords know that you're planning on collecting your stuff on the very last day of tenancy (if property was empty for a few days they probably thought you've moved out and they'd just get it ready to show on Monday to new tennants), you're dealing with people here not machines so always best to make sure.

Also I'm not sure how student lettings work but I'm sure you still should've been issued with a copy of the tennancy agreement which generally includes all the little clauses.

All may not be lost here, contact them first thing on Monday they may have have just bagged the stuff and put it somewhere into storage for a few days. Worst case scenario of course is that they regarded everything that's not theirs in there as rubbish and it was left at the mercy of the cleaners who probably took the "good" stuff and chucked everything else out. Have you checked the bins outside just in case, if some of your stuff was in there it may be bad news. Then just read your tennancy agreement real careful and if your tennancy was still suppose to be valid on Saturday clearly state that in the office. Just stay calm, don't go round shouting and dropping the F-bomb it really won't help your case if they get funny with you and you have to go through CAB and maybe even small claims court (or whatever they call it).
 
I'm still awake now. Can't really sleep as its really grating on me now. There was a bin bag outside that appeared to have general rubbish in it with a pair of computer speakers too (other tenants i think). Just general rubbish really though. I'm going to the office first thing tomorrow to try and sort it, and seeing as they've left all the cleaning stuff... might take the hoover with me should it not be sorted.

I was going to ring them on the saturday to let them know it'd all be picked up on sunday. But the office is closed and there was nobody to contact. Shouldn't they have issued some kind of letter or warning?
 
If it was within 24 hours of your contract ending you will win in court. Simple as that.

Even if it's 24 hours after your contract ends the judge will almost certainly rule than they're just being asshats. But that is only assuming the landlord doesn't require immediate possession of the property (ie people moving in the day after you move out?).
 
In my normal non-student-but-still-12-months tenancy agreement they can't even gain access to the property unless its an emergency even after the tenancy agreement has ended until I give them the keys back. Legally I could simply not move out and there is little they can do besides take me to court which could take months or longer. Not sure if things are different for students but I presumed all assured shorthold tenancy agreements were pretty much the same.
 
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Energize said:
Unfair contract terms act tbh.
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The Problem is the contract is very vague and unless it differs considerably from the example i pulled from there site earlier i would have to wonder what there professinal legal department were thinking when the drew it up as it only covers the very basic minimum required by law.

The last contract i had drawn up by my solicitor was 8 a4 pages long not including inventory and deposit bond agreements.
 
krisboats said:
I'm still awake now. Can't really sleep as its really grating on me now. There was a bin bag outside that appeared to have general rubbish in it with a pair of computer speakers too (other tenants i think). Just general rubbish really though. I'm going to the office first thing tomorrow to try and sort it, and seeing as they've left all the cleaning stuff... might take the hoover with me should it not be sorted.

I was going to ring them on the saturday to let them know it'd all be picked up on sunday. But the office is closed and there was nobody to contact. Shouldn't they have issued some kind of letter or warning?
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Well this says on their website:

Towards the end of your tenancy, ClubEasy will send another letter thanking you for your business and reminding you of your obligations to leave the house clean and tidy.
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However, they won't be sending you a letter telling you they'll be cleaning out a house on any date since property is theirs after contract is up and they are under no obligation to inform you.

First things first though, just cross you fingers and hope for the best tomorrow and stay calm.
 
BigBoy said:
The Problem is the contract is very vague and unless it differs considerably from the example i pulled from there site earlier i would have to wonder what there professinal legal department were thinking when the drew it up as it only covers the very basic minimum required by law.

The last contract i had drawn up by my solicitor was 8 a4 pages long not including inventory and deposit bond agreements.
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Its exactly the same as the online one, word for word.

I just went back there to check the bins, only the disposable things are in there, waste food etc from the fridge.

I've only got 3 more hours till the shop is open, its just hit me now how my clothes are practically all gone. From my Yves St Laurent suit that technically belongs to my dad, to all my t-shirts and socks. I've literally just got 2 pairs of trousers and a couple of t-shirts/jumpers at the new house.

I can understand it being a few days after and they've tried ringing me, but they must have started early yesterday morning and it was obvious that it wasn't abandoned stuff as the clothes were on the radiator to dry. I have no washing machine at the new house so i took them all there to clean while i had the chance.

Is it likely someone will have them in storage, or will i have to take them to court and try and get the value of the items back?
 
Really depends on the agency, I worked for one (which wasn't really students but a Home Office contract) and we held the stuff for 14 days. The other agency next door who dealt with students held the stuff for a few days unless they got contacted, before it went to the skip.
 
Well, fingers crossed its just been stored for you.

It was your property until sunday 21st so in my eyes they shouldn't have gone in until you handed the keys over or without your proir consent.

They should have to replace everything thats missing if need be surely if its gone for good. Surely thats theft?
 
At the very least you would have had until 11:59pm on the 20th.
Fromwhat I recall they cannot remove you or your property from the building, even when the contract has expired, without getting a court order. Unless you have notified them that the premises have been vacated.
 
malfunkshun said:
At the very least you would have had until 11:59pm on the 20th.
Fromwhat I recall they cannot remove you or your property from the building, even when the contract has expired, without getting a court order.
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If you fail to vacate they can't throw you out without a court order - and that should include your stuff unless you've returned the keys or they have good reason to believe you've vacated the property.

This strikes me as one of two situations. They've either gone, "His tennancy is over, bag that junk up & take it to the charity shop", or "His tennancy is over but he's not collected these things yet. I'll bag them up to give to him later."

If it's the latter you have no problem & will probably sort it all out this morning. If they have dumped your stuff the first thing I would do is notify the police (in a non emergency, non 999 kind of way) as I would construe what they have done as theft. Get them to either rectify the situation or compensate you in some way. And FFS if this is the case, your first port of call must the the CAB, not the internetz!
 
Well i assume right now hes at the office sorting it out. Im very interested as to what they have done, as far as i can see if hes not given the keys back they have no right to enter let alone steal his belongings.

If it was a few weeks down the line and he had not responded to calls and letter then maybe ok they can take his gear out and maybe store it at his expense or something, but to do it on the last day of an agreement?

I suspect the cleaners got it wrong and just decided to help themselves.
 
They have every right to enter if they have served the end of tenancy. He has no rights to go back in at all iirc.
 
The landlords have a duty of care over any property left in the flat and should for a period of at least 3 months store it for you whilst making attempts to contact you to arrange for collection. At your cost of course.
 
Moley said:
The landlords have a duty of care over any property left in the flat and should for a period of at least 3 months store it for you whilst making attempts to contact you to arrange for collection. At your cost of course.
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Really? Sauce?

Not denying that this is the case, but I'd be interested to see the law behind it.
 
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