What to do when tenants leave belongings behind

Sometimes when tenants move out, they don’t take everything with them, which puts the landlord in a bit of a tricky situation. It might seem simple to take the items to the tip, or even to sell them. However, even though the belongings have been left behind, they still belong to the tenant, and the landlord needs to be very careful about disposing of the items.

This blog post explains what the law says about dealing with belongings that tenants leave behind when they move out, and a few practical tips on what to do.

I deal with the practicalities at the end of the tenancy in my bestselling book, The Good Landlord Handbook*, in addition to every other stage of a tenancy in compliance with the Renters’ Rights Act.

If you have questions, you can ask me at twice-monthly livestreams in my membership, The Independent Landlord Hub.

What the law says about tenants’ possessions left behind

Harrison Ford rented a flat in Elgin Crescent, London in 1976, when he was filming Star Wars. He left behind a number of items, including the above script, which the landlord sold at auction for £8,500 in February 2024, along with some other memorabilia from the filming of this classic movie.

While we don’t know the ins and outs of whether Harrison Ford consented to this, this was before the important piece of legislation, the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, came into force in 1981. Under the 1977 Act, the landlord must keep safe any items left behind a tenant for a reasonable period of time and to take reasonable steps to trace the tenant before disposing of them. The Act should be read in conjunction with the tenancy agreement.

Check the tenancy agreement for terms about items left behind

The landlord should check the tenancy agreement to see if there is a clause that sets out the landlord and tenant’s agreement about what should happen with items that are left behind.

It’s easier to navigate the Torts (Interference with Goods Act 1977 if there is a record of what the parties consider a reasonable time to store items left behind. For instance, the Assured Periodic Tenancy template in The Independent Landlord Hub stipulates that items which are not removed from the property within 14 days after the end date will be deemed to have been abandoned.

How can landlords protect themselves when tenants leave things behind?

Here is a list of things that landlords can do to protect themselves from claims by tenants about items left behind:

• Take photos / videos of all the items the tenants have left behind.
• Make an effort to trace the former tenants, using social media, email, and telephone, and ask them to come and collect the items left behind.
• Draw up a list of the items and categorise as rubbish, low value items and high value items.
• Dispose of the items that are clearly rubbish, eg packaging, old house plants, anything broken, and take photos of the disposal.
• If anything is to be sold, obtain a written quotation for the items, including the costs of sale.
• Where a house clearance service is needed, and the items are not valuable, make sure you get this in writing, and keep a copy of any invoice.
• If you can’t get hold of the former tenant informally by text, social media or email, send a formal Section 12 Notice to the last known address of the former tenant that complies with the 1977 Act asking them to collect them within (say) 14 or 21 days from a given address. (Check to see if the tenancy agreement sets out timescales). The notice must contain descriptions of the items, and say that low value items will be disposed of, and anything that is valuable will be sold, if the items are not collected by the date. Add that they will be responsible for costs of storage, disposal and sale.
• Store all items other than rubbish items safely for the relevant period.
• If the former tenant says to throw it all away, ask for it in writing or at least record the agreement by email or text, and ask for them to confirm agreement.
• In case the person is away or has changed their email address, hold onto sentimental items such as photo albums left in a box in a loft.
• Keep detailed records of everything you do.
• Remember, the tenant can ask for the proceeds of sale up to six years after you send the notice, so don’t spend the proceeds of any sale!

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Guide to sending a Section 12 Notice under Schedule 1

What is a Section 12 Notice?

Unless the items are clearly rubbish (eg broken items, half-used toiletries, packaging), in which case the landlord should dispose of them, Schedule 1 of the 1977 Act requires the landlord to send a Section 12 Notice to the tenant asking them to collect the goods, with a list/description of the items and details of where they are held.

The Section 12 Notice must be delivered in person or sent to the last known address of the tenant. Sometimes tenants set up post redirection when they leave, so if the only address the landlord has is the address of the rental property, the landlord should send it by post.

If the landlord intends to sell items left behind by a former tenant, Schedule 1 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 requires the landlord to send the Section 12 Notice to the former tenant, with a list/description of the items, details of where they are held, and the date after which the goods will be sold. The notice should give the tenant “reasonable opportunity of taking delivery of the goods” before they are sold. The Act states that the Section 12 Notice must be in writing, and sent by post in a registered letter, or by recorded delivery.

Provided that the landlord takes “reasonable steps” to trace the tenant in order to serve the notice, they can sell the goods. The proceeds of sale technically belong to the tenant, but it would be reasonable for the landlord to deduct costs of sale and set off any rent arrears or other damages.

Template Notice under Schedule 1 and Section 12 Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977

Here is a template letter which landlords can send under Section 12 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, as required by Schedule 1 (Uncollected Goods) of the 1977 Act.

I’m providing this template letter to be helpful, and am not providing legal advice. By all means take inspiration from the template, but it is important to take your own legal advice as your own situation and the terms of your tenancy agreement may mean this letter is not appropriate for you. More details on my exclusion of liability are in my Terms of Use.

How long do landlords have to keep tenants’ belongings?

The 1977 Act doesn’t set a fixed period. It requires the landlord to store the belongings for a reasonable time and take reasonable steps to trace the tenant, and what’s reasonable depends on the circumstances. A well drafted tenancy agreement does the work for you by fixing the period: the Assured Periodic Tenancy template in The Independent Landlord Hub treats items as abandoned if they aren’t removed within 14 days of the end of the tenancy.

If the tenancy agreement is silent, the Section 12 Notice sets the deadline. Give the former tenant at least 14 days from the date of the notice to collect, or 21 to be safe.

Whatever deadline you set, hold onto anything sentimental or irreplaceable, like photo albums, for longer. A court is unlikely to have much sympathy for a landlord who threw out the family photos two weeks after tenant returned the keys

What about belongings left after an eviction?

An eviction doesn’t change who owns what. Belongings left in the property after the bailiffs have been still belong to the former tenant, and the 1977 Act applies in the same way as it does after an ordinary move-out.

If anything, more care is needed. An evicted tenant is less likely to respond, may not have left a forwarding address, and is more likely to feel aggrieved enough to bring a claim.

Follow the same steps with extra discipline: photograph and list everything, make traceable efforts to contact them, send the Section 12 Notice to their last known address, and store anything of value for the full period.

Any rent arrears can be set off against the proceeds of sale, along with the costs of storage and sale, but keep the records to show your working.

Can landlords charge for items left behind?

Yes. Landlords can charge former tenants the reasonable costs of removing, storing and disposing of things they leave behind. In practice, that usually means a deduction from the deposit, backed by photos and invoices. I explain how deposit deductions work, and what counts as reasonable, in what can landlords deduct from a tenant’s deposit.

If items are sold under the Section 12 procedure, the costs of storage and sale come out of the proceeds. And if the costs exceed the deposit, the landlord can pursue the former tenant through a money claim, although it’s rarely worth the effort for a few bags of junk.

What if tenants leave rubbish behind?

Not everything left behind deserves the full Section 12 treatment. The 1977 Act protects the tenant’s belongings, but bin bags, packaging, half-used toiletries and broken furniture are waste, not belongings. Tenancy agreements usually carve out “waste or refuse” from the storage clause, so the landlord doesn’t have to store any of it.

Gardens deserve a special mention, as tenants sometimes leave more behind outside than in. Rusty barbecues, broken pots, rotting garden furniture and bags of garden waste all count as rubbish, and the same approach applies: photograph everything before it goes, then dispose of it. For a garden’s worth, that might mean a skip, the council’s bulky waste collection or a clearance service. Keep the invoice, whichever route you take.

The photos matter because rubbish is a judgement call. What looks like junk to the landlord might not be junk to the tenant, and if there’s any real doubt about an item, treat it as a belonging and store it.

Practical steps to avoid the problem of tenants leaving items behind

Prevention is better than cure with most things, including avoiding the hassle of sorting out things that tenants leave behind after they move out.

• When a tenant is due to move out, it is a good idea to arrange a visit to inspect the property a few weeks beforehand to point out what they need to do to get back their deposit in full. Take the opportunity to remind them that they must remove everything from the property before they hand over the keys, otherwise you will dispose of it, and charge them for the costs of disposal. Look in the garden, loft and cellar to see if there are any belongings in there. Follow up in writing to remind them that they need to remove everything.
• If the landlord checks the tenants out themselves, the landlord should see if the property is clear. If not, the landlord can ask the tenant what should happen to any items that are still at the property, and record what is agreed. This can be a quick note, or even a video of the tenant agreeing what should happen to items left behind, like a microwave or a lawnmower.
• Ask for their contact details and a forwarding address either when you do the pre-checkout inspection, or when you take the keys off the tenants. If you won’t see them in person, send them an email to ask for confirmation of their forwarding address. Not only will this enable you to return the deposit more quickly, but it means it’s easier to contact the tenants if they leave things behind, and forward any post.
• Check that your tenancy agreement contains useful clauses to help you, like the NRLA assured tenancy agreement that I mention above.
• Keep an eye on the build up of junk in the cellar and loft during mid-tenancy inspections, and remind them that they will have to clear it all out when they leave.

>> Related Post: The end of tenancy check-out: inspection, inventory and checklist

>> Related Post: How to carry out successful mid-tenancy inspections

Final thoughts

Although Harrison Ford’s former landlord was happy to keep (and later sell) some of the things he left behind at the end of filming Star Wars, for most landlords, it’s a hassle having to sort it all out.

Far better to make very clear as part of your checkout procedures that they must take everything with them, and to record any agreement if they are to leave an item behind.

>> Related Post: What deductions can landlords make from tenant’s deposits?

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