After your lodger has gone
Your lodger has left, but she seems to have left half of her belongings behind. Or you may have evicted your lodger and be wondering what to do with all their things.
The first thing to remember is that they do not belong to you. They belong to the lodger. So if your lodger asks for them, you should give them to him.
This may create difficulties if your lodger has been forcibly evicted and you are worried about letting him back into the house. In these circumstances, it is best to arrange for the police to be there, so he cannot do anything malicious or perhaps refuse to leave.
If, as perhaps may be more common, you lodger has just gone leaving these things behind, what should you do? Legally you are a position quaintly known by lawyers as an ‘involuntary bailee’.
Well, you do not have to leave the items in the room. It is quite in order to pack them up and put them somewhere else. After all you will want to re-let the room, and your new lodger will not want them there. So pack them up nicely, either in bin bags or perhaps some cardboard boxes, and move them to wherever you have some space. Perhaps in the garage or under the stairs.
However you probably don’t want them cluttering up your house for long. You will probably either want to throw them away, or (if they have any value) sell them. You can do this, but only if you first carry out the procedure set out in an act called The Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977.
This act says that if you want to dispose of goods belonging to another person, you must first write to them asking them to remove the goods. The letter should say:
- What the items you hold are
- Where they are being held, and
- How long they will be available for collection before you dispose of or sell them
You need to give a reasonable period of time for their collection. I would suggest at least 14 days. The act says it must be “such as will afford the bailor a reasonable opportunity of taking delivery of the goods“. You also need to give them details of how to contact you.
So far as delivery of the letter is concerned, this act was passed in 1977, which was before text messaging and emails were available. It says that the letter should be sent by recorded delivery and therefore, if there is any chance that the lodger is going to come back and complain, this is what you should do. However there is no harm in following this up with an email and text message if you wish.
If the lodger fails to respond to your letter, you can then sell or dispose of the items.
What if you don’t know where the lodger has gone to? Well, the act says that
- provided you are certain that the ‘bailor’ (lodger in your case) owns the goods and
- provided you have failed to trace or communicate with the bailor with a view to giving him the notice, after having taken reasonable steps for the purpose,
- you are entitled to sell or dispose of them.
My normal advice is to instruct a tracing company on a no trace no fee basis, and to keep the letter where they say they can’t trace him (if they do trace him, you can send the letter).
It is important however that you do not just chuck the things away. If the lodger comes back and is able to prove that the good they left behind were valuable, they will be able to sue you for compensation. Best to get someone independent to take a look at them to confirm that, for example, they are just rubbish.
Anything valuable should be sold for the best price (often selling at auction is a good idea). If the items are small, for example jewelry, it is perhaps best not to sell them at all but just to keep them. If they are not collected within six years, then you can dispose of them safely as the lodger will no longer be able to bring any claim against you.
Make sure that you keep a careful record of everything you have done and keep it safe. Just in case.
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If you are a landlord or a tenant, you will help and guidance on Tessa's other sites, Landlord Law and the Landlord Law Blog.
Hi there
My ex-lodger, although she has moved, has still not removed her items from the flat. She has made several promises to come back and remove them, I have taken days off to accomodate these requests and she has simply not shown. I found out that after taking the day off on a Friday at her request she went away for the weekend instead of keeping out appointment. She is supposed to be sending a man with a van tomorrow but all attempts to contact her for an approximate time have failed. if again, she does a no show – where do I stand? I have no-where else to store her stuff as its a 2 bed flat. Do I still need to go through the above process? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
it is safest to follow the procedure set out above, as then you cannot be criticised. However suggest that in the letter you set out details of the appointments she has missed (and perhaps any expenses you have incurred). In view of these, probably just a 14 day notice period (or even 7 days)would be sufficient.
That’s great thanks – thought it was probably ‘safest”. Thanks also for a great site – there is a lot of great information here in straightforward plain english. Very easy to understand and not get wrong!
Thanks again!
What should one do in a case where the lodger was arrested and sentenced for over a year in prison???
The legal situation will not be changed just because the lodger is in jail. So arrange for your notice to be delivered to him via the prison service (contact them, they should arrange this for you), then it will be up to him to arrange for his things to be collected.
I would suggest though that you give him a bit longer than normal as it will be less easy for him to arange this.
I let out 2 rooms and a 2nd bathroom to lodgers, they then share the rest of the house. In their contract it states that they must continue to pay full rent untill all of their possesions are removed from the premises. I have only had one occasion where some one left some of their property for two weeks. As they paid a month in advance it cost them 2 weeks rent.
Hello, what a great web site for information. I had a lodger who ran up over £300 in rent. He paid weekly in advance. I had not seen him for four weeks and on the fith week he came back to collect his belongings without any indication of paying the back rent. I refused him entry on three counts: 1, non payment of rent 2, being caught in my friends bedroom going through things and 3, taking food. In addition had been warned serveral times about leaving the kitchen in a mess. Was I correct in doing this. I have no idea of a forwarding address.
Kind regards
Paul
You are not really entitled to hang on to his possessions as security for payment. See the post above.
Hi Tessa,
I have a situation where a friend had a lodger without a contract. The lodger left without notice and oweing 1 months rent. The landlady changed the locks and discovered the lodger had tried to enter the property while she was out to collect her belongings.
The landlady has tried to make contact with the lodger but she ignores all calls and texts.
Can the landlady sell the lodgers belongings to make up for the lost rent?
Thank you,
Zara
@zara Your friend does not have the right to sell the items unless she has followed the procedure set out in the blogpost above.
Hi Tessa, my tennant has been evicted due to her behaviour, the police have accompanied her to collect some items it was then agreed she woudl collect her remainder belongings last Saturday, she has not done so. I have now given her a deadline of this weekend. I am sure many are valuable, however, she is making no effort to collect. I have boxed and tagged them under advisement of the police and and currently have them in the hallway and takign up most of the living room (she has many belomgings!) Can you advise me what to do if she does not collect.
@Sylvia This site is for lodgers rather than tenants (my Landlord Law site http://www.landlordlaw.co.uk is for landlord and tenant matters) but the procedure regarding dealing with property left behind is the same. If they do not respond to the letter, you are entitled to dispose of the goods, under the provisions of Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977.
But as I say, if they have any value you need to sell for the best price and be able to prove this if any claim is ever made against you later. Maybe seek advice of a local auction house about this.
Many thanks Tessa, I believe she is technically as lodger as she lives/lived with me in my home. She keeps sending me legal jargon referring to herself as a tenant and her tenants rights to her home (my home) and it is confusing me. She has now insisted on collecting her items today with less than 24 hours notice and on a time i told her i was already not free but have dropped everything in the hope i get my home back.
Tessa,My father has had a lady friends property in his home for a year now,she has gone back to Hungary where she lives and has made no effort to return for these items of furniture laptop,tv etc.Is he in his right to send a letter to her and then dispose of them.I have to say he is 83 yrs old.thanks.
Yes, he needs to send the letter. It is unlikely that she will return to collect the things, but it means that if she ever complains about it later he has a defence. Keep a copy of the letter and proof of posting.
Hi Tessa,
How can I enforce return of my key when the lodger has moved out, left possessions and is being unresponsive to communication: phone calls, text messages and email to personal and work email addresses?
The lodger vacated over a month ago and has promised to return keys and collect goods on three separate occasions, but has not come good on these promises.
@Mia Practically speaking you probably can’t enforce this as a county court claim (the only way you can legally enforce anything) would be wholly inappropraite. The other solution is to change the locks and deduct the cost from the deposit.
So far as dealing with his possessions left behind – follow the procedure in the post above.
i have a lodger, the rent was due 5 days ago.
She went away while i was at work that day.Friday.
4 days later still no rent sent to my account but she usually was a day or two late. on 4th day i txt her, a very friendly txt, and asked her to check it had gone through from her side,
She said she was not feeling great but i said the rent was still due please. She then txt she wouldnt pay and would move out.
I relpied fine but the rent was due as we had agreed a months notice on either side.
She has refused to pay.
She said she was coming over to get her things today.
I said that was fine but she needed to at least give me rent for the time between rent being due and today. very reasonable i thought.
from previous letters I understand that i cant hold her belongings as alternative to rent arrears, but what are my rights? both in terms of allowing her acccess to my property.
And claiming rent
The article above discusses what rights you have regarding other people’s property.
I am afraid that if someone refuses to pay (ie rent or whatever), the only option you have is to go to the courts and get a County Court Judgement, This is why having a deposit is often a good idea.