UK Landlord Forum / Life

My property is let through an agent. It was let from Jan 4th 2019 and the tenant paid 6 weeks deposit and first month up front. Feb rent was due on 4th and didnt arrive till 28th. Tenant contacted me directly and asked if he could skip March rent and pay more each month to catch up - I refused on advice of agent. No rent in March. April 9th tenant told man who does the garden that he was off on holiday for 3 weeks to Bali. April 14th, one month rent paid. I have not heard from tenant since. Agent has tried contacting by email text phone but no response. Agent has reported him missing to the police. On May 14th agent put an 'abandonment notice ' on property and served a section 8 in his absence. The abandonment was up on May 31st. The agent says there is no point in applying to court for possession as the likelihood of his coming back is small. However, I need to move on and have decided to advertise as a holiday let. I need to change locks and move his stuff out of the house. This afternoon the agent, with my approval, bagged up all his clothes and put them in the garage. I have questions...
1. Does the abandonment notice mean automatically that I have possession back?
2. Do I still need to go to court for repossession?
3. Do I have to keep his stuff for 6 months or is it the responsibility of the agent?
4. If I relet it and he suddenly reappears, can he have the property back (he now owes 3 months rent, 4 months in aweek)
Finally, it turns out that the agent just put him in without proper checks. Have I any recourse against the agent?

I think - unless others come along with a firm legal view - that you work on the balance of probabilities here and, in that light, I'd assume you're in the clear to do whatever you want with anything... including belongings now (although I might retain those in the garage for some longer time, not 6 months though - it isn't going to be the responsibility of the Agent, that much is certain - I'm surprised they even went in and bagged things up for you).

The Tenant has reportedly informed someone (hearsay, I suppose - but I expect you effectively have a witness) that they were going on holiday and they should have been back by the end of April... that's a long time ago. I think you can proceed to changing locks, re-letting and, eventually (soon) disposing of his belongings (are we saying it's only clothing, not furniture?).

1. I've read they're not very legally useful in tenancy terms, but I have no experience.
2. I doubt it, there's no defendant and although that's sometimes the case, you wouldn't have this person turn-up, so you'd get possession.
3. Shorter time, I'm sure... 60 days (one third of that time)... something reasonable, but you should try to inform the ex-Tenant (via some last known address!) of this.
4. No. I think the behaviour of the Tenant (ex-Tenant) is documented well enough to be an implied offer of surrender, which you'll have accepted by taking posssession.

It would be nice and much cleaner if you or the Agent had been given the keys.

Recourse against the Agent? Well, you'd like to think so, I don't hold out much hope... like I'm advising you, they seem to operate on the balance of possibilities - just get someone in there and hope it turns out OK.

I would just proceed as planned,I think you can be pretty certain that is the last you will hear of him.If the stuff has any value,you may in time be entitled to sell it towards the arrears,but I would get legal advice first.Hope you are changing your agent? Forget trying to sue them,they are bullet proof in my experience. I prefer slagging them off locally,and voting with my feet.

On the balance of probabilities, I would say you would be find guilty of illegal eviction if the tenant resurface in the near future. What you think is the chance of the person reappearing is one you have to ask yourself.

Legally, there is no such a thing as an abandonment notice.

For all you know, the guy's been arrested or fallen ill while on holiday, which is why you haven't heard from him. You're likely to be fine risking treating it as an implied surrender if he have clearly left, but if all his stuff was still there......

Do any of the circumstances that might have happened to him mean he does not need to pay rent or communicate with his Landlord as to his whereabouts or issues?

That lack of any information coming back is why I came down on the side of the circumstances lead towards implied surrender and my doubt is that a Court would recognise that too. The OP does not stress whether he or the Agent have been trying to make contact with the Tenant via established means, but if that has happened and nothing has come back it adds further weight to the Landlord taking what is a common sense approach. If nothing was to ever come back... how long does one wait?

The previous behaviour of the tenant leads one to believe he is flakey.The fact that he is not responding,and had been reported missing would I am sure be considered defence in favour of the landlord.He does not mention if the stuff left is valuable,it might be a load of old tat.He could afford a holiday,but not pay his rent,so I don't think the landlord has to bust a gut to cover himself.If he has been arrested or taken ill he will have more to worry about than taking legal action over some possessions. 

I've never been to Bali. But I suppose I pay my bills... so why would I ever get to?

For there to be an implied surrender, there need to be action (by both parties) inconsistent with the continuation of the tenancy. Action, I don't think inaction counts. It is a defence against illegal eviction for the landlord to prove that he had "reasonable cause to believe" that the tenant have left. That's why I suggested it's different if in addition to no contact, landlord turned up and find the place empty. Like HEAVYKARMA said, we don't know the content of the possessions mentioned. If it's just rubbish, then sure, that should be fine. But if there are possession that one wouldn't expect someone to leave behind, whether from a monetary or sentimental perspective, then it's much harder arguing that the landlord had reasonable cause to believe.

Thanks Hippogriff, HeavyKarma and KTC
There are so many possibilities as to this tenant and his disappearance that I am uneasy about letting again without a court approved repossession. The tenant has a previous prison sentence  (manslaughter) and several CCJs - none of which the agent bothered to find out about. Agent also tells me he has no previous address for him, just an email. Sadly I live 250 miles away so all this is difficult . I persuaded a friend to go in today and look at the condition of the belongings left. There are many quite expensive shirts, expensive aftershave and trainers, no cheap stuff, except in the 2nd bed which looks like it all came from a charity shop. Puzzling. Its not the type of stuff that you might leave behind unless you could afford to or you left in a hurry. There was opened correspondence which the agent obviously ignored or didnt bother to read. Most of it was court appearances scheduled, one saying that if he failed to turn up again, he would automatically lose his driviing licence. Another re-scheduling a court appearance to 3 days at the end of April (which if he was indeed on holiday he would have missed) That was for GBH.
The agent says that he contacted the police, but if the tenant has been imprisoned, wouldn't the police have told us?
I do not want this guy suddenly reappearing and suing me for re=letting the property. The agent has given me a solicitor (theirs I presume) to contact to go to court for repossession and they have quoted between £1500 and £3000 to me - I cant afford this.
Is it possible to complete court papers myself for repossession or must I have a solicitor to represent me? I cant see the tenant contesting it.
PS  There are 'dubious substances'  in boxes in the property, possibly connected to steroid use. I am out of my depth with the whole situation

Almost certainly he has skipped bail,done a runner.Shirts and toiletries are not important enough for him to reappear and kick up a fuss,he probably stole them anyway.There is a sleazy side to Bali,so he may be feeling at home there.I would not spend more money,I would change the locks and relet.Put his stuff into storage somewhere for a couple of months.Be grateful he has gone. I hope you are not planning to use the same agent again?