Landlord/possessions problems, massive advise needed.

[DOD]Asprilla;12551121 said:
Every day's a school day.
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You may also be interested in the law regarding abandonment of a property by the tenant.

I learnt about this when one of the students my parents rent a property out to did a runner. We had to hang on to a pile of junk and mangy old clothes they left behind while going to court to regain possession.
 
[DOD]Asprilla;12551046 said:
Really? Sauce?

Not denying that this is the case, but I'd be interested to see the law behind it.
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Can't point you to the source because it was on the CAB internal advice system when I worked there!

Trust me its true. Same as if you have a lodger who just leaves your house but leaves all his kit behind you would have a duty of care to look after the stuff for "a reasonable period of time".

So basically you can't just throw it out straight away.
 
It will also largely depend on the terms of the contract, particularly in a situation like this. If there is no mention of disposal of property and when you are required to vacate the premises they cannot enforce this obligation on you. I would very much doubt that verbal notification would be enough, so even if an estate agent had called you to tell you when the move-out date was, this would have to be supplemented by written notification.
 
Wow, cheers for the advice guys. I've printed out the websites linked to above and shall have a read through later. I got into the office at 9.40 and was greeted by the sour-faced receptionist who quite bluntly told me the tenancy was over, it was binned.

After speaking to the store manager he sympothised a bit and drove me to the yard a few streets down, where our belongings had been bagged and thrown in the black wheelie bins. My suit was creased and had what looks like a snail trail on the sleeve but its there and its now in my new house. I'd say we managed to recover 80% of the stuff in a messy and disorderly fashion and i had to book a taxi to transport it across town for me (£10 for the journey).

Our new landlords were shocked at this attitude and advised us to go to the CAB either today or tomorrow to see what we can do with regards to getting compensation/replacement for the things we've lost.

I have most of my clothes back now though, which is a mighty relief even if they will need to be washed again before i can use them.
 
I had a very similar problem when I left my halls of residence back in June. The tenancy was supposed to be till the end of June as this is when uni was officially over but since my department had finished earlier, I decided to move most of my things back home 3 weeks beforehand. However I had left some duvet covers, toiletries, blankets and a few other things in case I wanted to come back during those 3 weeks.

When I came back at the end of June to collect all the remaining things, I was shocked to find my room completely empty with my duvet thrown in the airing cupboard outside.

I spoke to one the wardens telling them what had happened and he suggested that the cleaners thought I had moved out and hence cleared my room. Obviously I didn't settle for this because I clearly still had my tenancy and had no given them permission to do so.

So I proceeded to contact my University and the company in charge of the Halls and seeked compensation for everything I had lost. They took a while but in the end, after threatening to tke legal action, they paid up. In a way you're lucky you got all your belongings but I'd seek compensation for the time and money you've wasted to deal with them. You could email them with a list of your belongings you still haven't found and how much they would each cost, and obviously tell them how much money you've spent on transportation. If you had to take a day off work to go there, I'd include that as well.

Anyways good luck with everythig.
 
Fourstar said:
You're too straight-laced. I would educate you but I don't think the etymology of sauce in this context would be acceptable on a family forum :p
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I doubt very much that you could educate me in anything but if you'd like to send me my first lesson via email, I'd be happy to bow to your superior intellect. :)
 
I doubt they would compensate you for the time you have spent chasing this up, they would only do so if it had meant you missing work, otherwise there is no way of quantifying how much your time is worth.

However, you may be able to claim for the possessions you did not recover, particularly if the remaining 20% of those was expensive.

Also it may well be they reimburse you for the taxi costs.
 
Monster bump.

We spoke to a solicitor who said that it is actually completely illegal. They needed a warrant and could only apply for one after the tenancy end date. So they actually broke a uk shorthold tenancy law.

We pushed them for a while but today they sent letters stating that they are still completely within the law with what they have done... however they agree to settle it for us with £675 for stu and £820 for me. They are also wavering the rather excessive costs of £200 for lost keys.

The offer is open until the 4th of march so what do you reckon?
 
Sounds like it will cover the cost of what you lost. Depends if you want the hastle of taking it to court or not. If you've still got that solicitor working for you his opinion is probably the most valuable.

PK!
 
As a matter of interest, why did you think that it would be OK for you to leave your stuff in the accommodation after your tenancy had ended?

You clearly feel that it was reasonable to leave it there for a day; how about a week, a month, a year?

The landlords were unreasonable in binning your belongings and will likely not make the same mistake in future or they wouldn't be paying out nigh on £1,500 despite thinking that they acted within the law. I really don't think that you were either sensible or reasonable.


Incidentally, I think that you will find that they are not waiving the cost of £200 for lost keys but for the replacement of one or more locks - go visit a locksmith.
 
Well at the minute he's working through legal aid, which apparantly pays his fee's for him somehow. If we were to take it to court we'd have to represent ourselves or get a no win no fee kind of thing.

I think we're leaning towards settling at the minute.
 
stockhausen said:
As a matter of interest, why did you think that it would be OK for you to leave your stuff in the accommodation after your tenancy had ended?

You clearly feel that it was reasonable to leave it there for a day; how about a week, a month, a year?

The landlords were unreasonable in binning your belongings and will likely not make the same mistake in future or they wouldn't be paying out nigh on £1,500 despite thinking that they acted within the law. I really don't think that you were either sensible or reasonable.


Incidentally, I think that you will find that they are not waiving the cost of £200 for lost keys but for the replacement of one or more locks - go visit a locksmith.
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I didn't think it reasonable. I made a mistake in thinking that the sunday was the last day i had left and had made arrangements to pick the last bits of our stuff in the car that night. Instead it was the saturday. My fault for not checking obviously but i wasn't trying to intentionally cause this mess. I admit that a month or even a week after the tenancy expired is very unreasonable on them as i am aware they will want it available for new tenants. But less than 12 hours, with no notice of the disposal of our things is not a reasonable act. Clearly, as it is against the law.

The locks are the same. The cost is labelled as being for keys alone, and it was stated locksmiths may be required at extra cost.
 
krisboats said:
We pushed them for a while but today they sent letters stating that they are still completely within the law with what they have done... however they agree to settle it for us with £675 for stu and £820 for me. They are also wavering the rather excessive costs of £200 for lost keys.
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What was the value of the stuff you thnk you lost? Does it cover it?

Settling out of court could be the best way forward if you are happy that that sum compensates what you have lost.
 
Burnsy2023 said:
What was the value of the stuff you thnk you lost? Does it cover it?

Settling out of court could be the best way forward if you are happy that that sum compensates what you have lost.
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Yes, it more than covers it. My dad advised that we stick as much as we could on for the approximate value lists as most people try and settle at a lower amount. This money definitely covers all the costs for cleaning the clothes, missing items etc. Just a couple of smaller things that hold more sentimental value rather than economical value that won't be replaced.

Now we've got to find out what happens with regard to legal aid recuperating their costs. I think now we've had a successful case we pay them back or something like that. I hope the solicitor wasn't an expensive one.
 
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