moved into a house with garage full of previous owners stuff/tools and bits of old cars.. can i throw it away?

Question

can the previous owner take legal action in gaining compensation for any of his belongings i throw out? how long can he expect me to not have use of my own garage for?.. it is rammed full of junk. Want an answer from someone in the know.. a legal person please.
i do not have a forwarding address for him.. just a mobile number that he doesnt answer.

Answer 1

Well, did you buy the house- if you bought the house everything in it is now yours if he made no arrangement with you over it. If you are renting it you have a slighty different problem. If no mention has been made between you and him or between you and an agent then sling it- his own fault.
I am assuming as this is the UK AND IRELAND board then you are from the UK.

Answer 2

If you bought the house and he left the stuff after moving out, then he abandoned it. Legally the stuff is yours. Check your local laws about abandonment to make sure that the proper time has elapsed without word from the item's previous owner. But your post suggests that some months may have passed and you could be safe to say the stuff is yours.

If you're renting the house then legally the stuff belongs to the landlord and it is his responsibility.

By the way, don't just trash the stuff. Put the stuff up for sale on Craig's List or eBay. Old car parts are always wanted by someone. Even if you just give it away it will be used and won't take up land fill space. At the very least find a salvage yard or a scrap metal yard to take the parts.

Answer 3

I'll assume you are the new owner, not renter, of the property, and that it's located in the USA.

Those items were abandoned and are now your property. Which in turn means that if there are environmental toxins (gasoline, oil, solvents) you will be the generator of the waste. If not disposed of properly, at a proper site, you have potential criminal exposure.

You should not have closed title with this stuff in the garage, because you are now an "involuntary bailee" and have an obligation not to destroy or throw the stuff away.

There should be a HUD-1 settlement statement with the seller's address. Send a certified letter notifying him to pick up the stuff within thirty days or you will deem it abandoned and do whatever you feel like doing with it. Alternatively, if you don't have the seller's new address, send it to the old address (that's right, 'cos he should have filed a change of address with the post office) and if he does not receive it, well, you did everything reasonable under the circumstances.

Answer 4

i suspect you're in the UK - if you were in the USA you'd use the term 'cellphone', not 'mobile'.
I think all the answers above have something to offer in terms of sensible practical advice.

You want to know your position under English Law - well, it's very simple.

As at the date of completion, unless there has been any specific agreement to the contrary, the house and everything within it become yours (techncially a sizeable chunk of the house belongs to the mortage compnay, but let's not go there).

So, as to the stuff in your garage, you can sell it, burn it or give it away. It's yours.

The previous owner cannot claim compensation because he was not the owner of any of it when it was disposed of.

As an aside, look at it another way - suppose you sent him a storage invoice after six months - what do you reckon your chances of getting it paid would be?

I rest my case, m'lud.

Answer 5

As a former landlord and house buyer and seller, you have a move in date, the legal time for you to take possession of your property. The previous owner has until that date to remove his/her stuff. Send a letter to him c/o the title company that did the closing, or ask them for a forwarding address. Send 2 letters, one certified, one regular mail.

Some states do not allow you to "profit" from abandonned property. Some are silent. You can possibly pay to haul it away and file a claim in small claims court to try and recoup your expenses. Take good pictures and document everything.

Good luck.

Answer 6

You bought the house you are entitled to throw them away or use them. HoweverwhatI would do is give the owner 14 days notice of your intention through his solicitor. He should have removed his properety on completion of the contract of sale.
Youmayhave a case in damages if you have topay for them to be removed, but you haveenough problems movingintothe house. Doyouneed thatas well? This is known as< " Cover your ****."

Answer 7

ok,well if ur not renting the house u hav all rights to remove his stuff.but if u want 2 b nice about it,tell his answering machine he has at least 48 hours 2 com take his stuff,or u will b throwing it away.but by the way it sounds,he doesnt want anythin 2 do w/ that stuff.but if u throw it out,and he gtes mad,and sues u,u can counter-sue that he didnt com pick it up after u told him he had 48 hours to.good luck.......and try 2 rub in his face a little bit wen u do it,ok?

Answer 8

Check with your solicitor, but normally in the UK anything left in the property after completion becomes part of the deal, and you can do what you want with it.

Have you thought of approaching the vendor to charge him a storage fee until he gets the stuff removed ?

Answer 9

Get in touch with your solicitor before chucking anything out, just to clarify your legal position. I feel sure he will tell you, that unless there was some kind of agreement between yourself and the previous owner, to just get rid of it.

Answer 10

Give him notice - preferably in writing that the stuff is there - itemise it (in a general way) and tell him you will be disposing of it within x days - I would give him at least a weekend so that he can;t say you were unreasonable. Then you can get rid of it any way you like.