UK Landlord Forum / Life

hi all, i wonder if anyone can advise me, please? i think my tenant has left my property. i called in today as one of the neighbours phoned me to tell me the tenants Christmas tree lights had been on continually since Christmas day., that he hadn't seen my tenant at all,and that he was concerned the lights would overheat and cause a fire.

when i entered the property there was post piled up behind the door,and the house clearly was not being lived in.

my problem is this - if she has gone,what do i do with her stuff? i hope she has gone, she was a liar and a con - artist,and she had been given notice to leave mainly because of unpaid rent. how long do i need to wait and see if she does return?

i really need to be advertising for a new tenant.

thanks in advance, annecrum

If I were you I would get rid of her stuff and change the locks.

The trouble is locking her out and throwing her stuff away is illegal if the tenancy is still in operation. After all, coming back from a couple of weeks' holiday to find the landlord has changed the locks and dumped your stuff in the street isn't nice.

It becomes a question of whether there's enough evidence to suggest that the tenant has surrendered the tenancy. Was the notice to leave a formal Section 21 /Section 8? Has it run its course? Did the tenant drop the keys back through the letterbox?

If you have a means of getting a message to your tenant, explain that it's in her interests to let you know that she's surrendered the tenancy. Otherwise, if the tenancy is still in operation, she's still liable for the rent. (Not that you'd stand much chance of getting it!)

Quote from: Maurey on January 11, 2018, 08:20:31 PM
If I were you I would get rid of her stuff and change the locks.

Worst advice.............ever.  That would constitute illegal eviction which is a criminal offence.  https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/eviction/what_is_illegal_eviction

Well she had been given notice. And we don't know much detail from the original post about the length of tenancy, any legal processes in place...

'Given notice' a section 21 with some dates on it does not entitle you to get your property back, only a possession order on the back of it would.  There are professional tenants out there that play landlords like a fiddle.  I'd change the locks once I'd have a deed of surrender signed or a possession order granted.