UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi, I would appreciate some advise on our tenant please.  He gave notice to move out so his tenancy should have ended on 17th June.  He has not paid rent since 17th June. 

Unfortunately he has not handed the keys over or moved all of his possessions out.  He initially said that he would move out the following week after the notice period ended.  He ignores requests to hand over the keys or make a reasonable plan to pay the outstanding rent.

He now says that he effectively moved out mid May and has not been living there properly since.  Where do I stand legally if he says he's moved out but has not handed keys over or moved all of his stuff out?  I would like to change the locks as he states he has moved out.

I'd be grateful of any advise.

Jim

If the tenant served valid notice ending on 17th June, the tenancy ended then. So you can change the locks and retake possession of the property. You can change the locks and contact the tenant to make arrangements for them to collect their belongings (they don't have to be allowed back into the property to do that).

The tenant doesn't owe rent after 17th June.

Quote from: jpkeates on July 15, 2025, 11:01:56 AMThe tenant doesn't owe rent after 17th June.

Could the landlord seek mesne profits? - not necessarily with the expectation of actually getting paid but it might encourage the erstwhile tenant to get his act together and clear out properly.

In theory, a tenant who holds over can be the subject of a claim for mesne profits. So yes. But to ensure that they're not seen as a form of rent, they should probably be claimed in arrears once the value is known.

If the holding over continues long enough, the landlord might want to make an interim claim, but, again, that feels risky.

One issue with mesne profits is that they exist more in theory than in reality. So any risk is difficult to quantify. So it's best used as a threat for leverage, as you suggest.

In this case, I'd simply change the locks. That's not great legal advice (which is handy, because I'm not in any way qualified to give that), but it's what I'd do. The risk of a claim for illegal eviction feels as theoretical as someone paying mesne profits in this case.