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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Lodgers are generally nice ..

I have written quite a bit here about problem lodgers, eviction and the like, as these are things which worry people, and which have therefore been popular topics on the blog. However it is important to remember that most lodgers are lovely.

I had six years of taking in lodgers, before I got married. Most of them were charming. They were mainly students from our local university (UEA), although later I put up a few new staff members from my firm (this was before I went solo) at the request of the HR people.

I had a great time with them. With the foreign students (mostly Spanish, Austrian and German) who were here on English language courses, I had to provide meals and talk to them, which was great. Many of them also borrowed my books – Winnie-the-Pooh was very popular I remember, and most of them bought a copy to take home with them. Some of them took me out for a meal before they left to say thank you.

So I am really glad I got them all to write in my visitors book before they went. They enjoyed it too, and always read what my other visitors had written before.

The guest, or visitors book

You may be able to get a visitors, or guest book at your local stationers or department store. However if you can’t find one don’t worry. Any hardback notebook will do. You will need to have four columns, one for the date, one for their name, one for their address and one (the biggest) for comments. For a small book you will need to take it across both pages or you will not have enough room.

I used to bring out the book the day before they left, and leave it with them for a while.

Have you had good experiences with your lodgers? Do you keep a visitors book to remember them by? What sorts of things did they write?

PS I had a quick look on Amazon and found this >> Visitor Book which you might want to consider – there is a recommendation from a landlord!

PAT stands for Portable Appliance Testing.

A portable appliance is basically any appliance with a plug attached to it. For example personal computers, and their equipment (monitor, speakers etc), kettles, irons, leads, cables, toasters, printers, etc

There is a very good and informative web-site here from which you can see that PAT testing is mainly an obligation of employers as part of providing safe working conditions.

However your lodger will expect to be able to switch on his bedside lamp without having it blow up in his face, so you might want to think about it if you rent rooms to lodgers. As a supplier you should comply with the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994.

If someone supplies electrical appliances as part of a service (in your case the renting of a room) they need to make sure that they are safe. New items should be all right for a while, but if you are renting out a room to a new lodger and you are using appliances which have been used before, perhaps by your previous lodger, it is worth making sure that they are safe. Portable appliance testing will do this.

In particular:

• if there is any damage to the cable covering
• if the plug is damaged
• if any of the joints are taped or look damaged
• if the coloured insulation of the internal cable cores show where they enter plug?
• if the appliance seems to have been used in conditions for which it is not suitable (e.g. if it is wet)
• If there is any damage to the external casing of the equipment or are there loose screws or parts
• if there is any evidence of overheating (e.g.. burn marks or discoloration)
• if the off/on switch is damaged

Or indeed if you are just a bit worried, you should get your portable appliances tested. Best to be safe than sorry.

Getting Portable Appliance / PAT testing done

In order to make it cost effective, you should get all your appliances done at the same time, perhaps after one lodger has left and before the next one moves in. It is not hugely expensive, you can expect to pay about £25-35 which will cover testing about 10-20 appliances. You can find companies which do this online or in Yellow Pages, plus there is a helpful directory here. Some companies specifically advertise a service for landlords.

Finally, make sure that you keep a record of the appliances tested, so if there is any problem later you can prove that you have had it done.

Have had your appliances tested in this way? Have you ever had any problems where you wish you had? Did you have any problems finding a suitable firm to do the testing?

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I am pleased to announce the opening of the Lodger Landlord Shop!  This is a separate part of the site where you can purchase documents, forms and letters.

At present the only items there are a lodger agreement and a letter of authority.  Although these are arguably two of the most important documents you will need.

Lodger Agreement: As discussed on Day 15 a lodger agreement is important to keep a record of what was agreed with your lodger and to set out clearly the terms and conditions of the contract made.

Housing Benefit letter of authority: This is for landlords with lodgers on benefit.  The letter needs to be signed by the lodger and sent to the benefit office, otherwise they will refuse to speak to you about your lodgers benefit application, citing the Data Protection Act.  Even though the application is for your rent!

All our forms and documents are electronic – we do not sell any printed forms by post.  Payment is via pay pal, and then you will then be directed to a page where you can download the form that you have bought.  Simple!

An additional feature is that if we carry out any upgrades to a form within 12 months of the date you bought it, we will let you have the new version free of charge.   All you  need to do is contact us with details of your purchase and we will either email the form to you, or send you a link to where it can be downloaded.

I will be drafting more documents for the shop and loading them up in due course.  If there is anything you would particularly like, please do let me know.

Documents and record keeping
Although not yet as bad as tenancies, there can still be quite a lot of paperwork involved in renting out a room. It is possible to do things just on a handshake, but this is not really recommended.

This is probably a good place to list all the paperwork which could be involved, up to the time when your lodger moves in. It is a good idea to keep all of these (or as many as you have) together, perhaps in a folder or drawer in your desk.

• Insurance policy (discussed on day 3)
• Gas safety inspection certificate, if you have any gas appliances (discussed on day 5)
• Receipts and other documentation (e.g. instruction booklets, warranty documents etc) relating to the furniture and items in your lodgers room
• Any PAT certificates for electrical appliances (see day 6)
• HMO license documentation if you need to get an HMO license (see day 7) (this will not apply to the majority of lodger landlords)
• Advertising paperwork, copies of adverts etc
• Any notes taken from your initial conversation with your lodger (see day 10)
• Interview notes and the form completed at the interview (day 11)
• All references and reference reports obtained
• Any other notes, memoranda of discussions prior to accepting the lodger (may be important if you ever have a disagreement about what was discussed at this stage)
• The lodger agreement,(day 15) together with any ‘house rules’ (day 14), both signed and dated (by the lodger – he should have copies signed by you)
• Any inventory used (day 16), signed and dated, together with signed copies of any photos used
• A signed standing order form (note that if rent is paid in cash, you should give a rent book)
• A letter of authority to the Housing Benefit office for lodger on benefit/local housing allowance (see day 13)

That is quite a wadge of paperwork!

Note that you will find helpful reference letters, a lodger application form, checklists and (if you get the plus pack) a lodger agreement form in our >> New Lodger pack.

Future paperwork could include:

• Insurance renewal paperwork
• Next years (and subsequent years) gas safety certificates
• Any letters and notes from and to your lodger relating to his lodgings
• A note of any agreements, for example if you reach agreement for an increased rent

Rent Records: You should also keep a record of all the rent paid, with a record of the date it was paid. Otherwise, if you lodger misses a few weeks, it might be difficult to work out exactly how much he owes you.

It is also a good idea to get into the practice of keeping a note of any ‘significant events’. For example if your lodger behaves badly, even if you decide to put up with it for that once, keep a note of what happens and the dates, just in case you want to refer to them later.

How long should you keep paperwork?

The lawyers answer, is for a minimum period of six years after your lodger moves out. The reason for this is that the ‘limitation period’ for most legal claims is six years from the time the contact ended. You will also need to keep paperwork for tax purposes, and this should also be for six years.

My advice would be to keep everything for as long as possible. Then you will not be inconvenienced by not having it if you need it.

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What is your experience of the things in this section? Are there any other documents I have missed out from this list? How long do you keep your paperwork? Do you have any advice for other lodger landlords on record keeping?