Can i get rid of my ex lodgers belongings - its been a year since they moved out?!?

Question

Ex Lodger has left DVD Player, Home Cinema Amp, TV, Speakers and assorted CD's and other bits and pieces in my house. He owes me a months rent anyway. I have told his parents stuff has been left but had no phone call back or contact of any sort. When does ownership pass of these items? How long must i wait? Can i throw them away or sell them? Whats the Legal Position?

Wot if ex lodger turns up with a notice period that i give? do i return goods knowing that he owes me rent?

I dont have his address only parents address? there was never a contract signed when he lived at my house.

(Actually this is on behalf of my girlfriend, lodger lived in her house!!!!)

Answer 1

I would say that as its been a year that you are perfectly within your rights to bin the stuff - BUT I would recommend that for legalities sake you should now start warning both him and his parents of a date when you intend to bin/sell the stuff.

Set a date in a month's time (30 days is enough notice for anyone in my book) and then contact the ex lodger and his parents BY PHONE AND BY LETTER. You need to legally cover yourself by being able to say that you warned them in person (ie on the phone) and officially (ie by letter).

Then when 10 days are left, contact them again.

Then the day before, contact them one last time.

Then sell the lot on ebay :)

Good luck!!

Answer 2

I am a property manager in Ohio. We must hold items for a max of thirty days. But this is only if the unit was abandoned and a notice was posted. You have tried to contact that person to no avail. It has been a year you have legal possession of the items that were left. You can do what you want with them.

In resonse to the other questions posted:
Wot if ex lodger turns up with a notice period that i give? do i return goods knowing that he owes me rent?

Even thought he owes rent you can not legally get his belongings. If he turns up during the required time you gave him in a written notice you must give him his belongings. You will have to take him to court to get your rent money.

I dont have his address only parents address? there was never a contract signed when he lived at my house.

You may to go to small claims. I suggest calling a lawyer to see exactely what you are allowed to sue for. Be sure to explain it was an oral agreement and there was no legal contract written up. Also explain that his belongings were left for over a year. Good Luck

Answer 3

Techinically speaking they belong to you now and since your lodger owes you money, you are in a position to do what you want with them. I would contact them once more, if you still get the same response, which it sounds as though you will, then if you don't want any of the items, then you can sell them or rather than throw them away, give them to a charity.

There is nothing they can do about this unless you have a written agreement of some sort, saying you are looking after them.

Answer 4

Providing they were a LODGER and not a TENANT you can get rid of them, or claim them as your own!

Unfortunately, lodgers have no legal rights in the UK. With a tenant you have to notify (28 days) and allow them to collect their belongings. Lodgers have no rights, in fact you can simply move all of their stuff out and tell them they need to find a new place to stay at any time, which sucks if you are a lodger but works for landlords!

If he owes you rent, you may be able to sell the goods but I would be wary of doing this in case he tries to pull some stunt such as reporting the goods stolen etc. In the long term you will be able to get over this easily, as in effect he left them with you 'In lieu of rent' but in the short term you MAY have to deal with the police investigation etc.

My advice would be to sell the stuff or give it away to anyone who would want it, or even give it to a charity shop for them to sell, while you enjoy the rosy glow of a good deed done. As regards the unpaid rent, you can take it up through the small claims court. You should be able to do this even if he isn't contactable, via his parents, and your local CAB should be able to assist if you don't know a friendly solicitor.

Good luck with everything,

Chris

Answer 5

One year is way past the time limit. You must make an attempt to contact the actual owner, not the parents, though that was a good attempt. Write a CERTIFIED (they have to sign for it proving they received it) letter and keep a copy with a date of the lodger's future pick-up date. 30 days would be sufficient to receive and respond to said letter. 30 days is also sufficient time to pick up the items if they want them. If you hear nothing, the stuff is yours to deal with any way you want. I had this situation once. As long as you document everything in writing, this covers your butt in court because this person has abandoned said property and you have no obligation to "store" it any longer.

Answer 6

Send a letter by recorded delivery care of his parents' address listing the items. Tell them that they have been in your premises for a year and that unless you receive a response within, say fourteen days, you will presume that they have been abandoned. Remind them that rent is owing and that you feel that you are entitled to sell these items in order to recover it rather than bring a legal action against him for recovery of rent. If there is no response, then you have done everything possible in order to trace him and even if he were to turn up later on and bring a claim against you, you would be able to counterclaim for the rent. It sounds like a win-win situation for you.

Answer 7

Been there! I contacted a solicitor who told me to write to ex lodger's next of kin (Parents), telling them that she (it was a female in my case) owed me 2 months rent as in so much money, insist that i had contacted them before and should they ignore this letter (Sent registered post) I would have no alternative but to sell her belongings in a bid to recover what was mine(Unpaid rent) I also stated in my letter that i had contacted my solicitor (Named him) And was acting on his advice, and were they to have any questions, to address them to him within the next 4 weeks after which i would sell her stuff to try recoup what she owed me. They contacted me immediately, refused to pay anything towards back rent then contacted me again and sent me £10 telling me they were coming to pick up her stuff and they would pay more later on. Solicitor told me to say no! And inisist that none of her property would be returned until they had paid in full. in my case she had also damaged and wrecked a few things in my home. I hoped they would buy it because what she owed me far outweighed what she'd left behind. Eventually i had to settle for 1/2 the money as otherwise i would have had to take it to the small claims court and pay for it!

Answer 8

send a certified letter to his last address (or parents) and give them 7 days to remove the items. Tell them they will be disposed of if they have not been picked up by that time. Put in there that it has been a year, and detail what was left. Keep a copy of the letter and the return reciept - you should be fine

Answer 9

After a certain amount of time, which in this case that time has definitely passed, it is considered abandoned by the party.
Make sure you keep records of you're trying to contact the person, phone records, letters anything you can for future reference. Just leave yourself a paper trail so to speak in case they ever try to pull any legal action against you. In the meantime...sell the stuff if you'd like, or give it to charity..
Good luck..! !

Answer 10

Dunno about the legal side my friend but i would just stick anything worth selling on ebay and put the rest in the bin. I had a similar problem with a lodger who was too lazy to go and find work(or sign on) when he lost his job. He owed about 200 quid. he moved back with mummy but left all his gear at our place. I just got all his stuff, mixed it all up into a horrible tangle, stuck it in black bin bags and left it on his doorstep. They think they can take advantage because they have no responsibility, its so annoying isnt it.