Torts Notice: A Landlord’s Guide

The Torts Act 1997 applies when a tenant has left items in a property.

This Act outlines the rights and responsibilities of landlords regarding items left by tenants. A notice should be served by the landlord to the tenant detailing a specified amount of time to collect the items.

This notice will also include contact details and a description of the goods.

The Act allows a landlord:

1. To ensure that the tenant cannot claim compensation for items disposed of without following the correct process.
2. To have a clear title to the items, as follows, the Act will ensure that the landlord will gain the right to dispose of or sell the items without risk.
3. To have peace of mind, handling abandoned goods transparently helps avoid disputes, protects your reputation, and ensures compliance with the legislation.

If a landlord does not have an address for the former tenant or if a landlord does not know who the goods belong to, the landlord would have to argue that they have been abandoned and therefore can be disposed of.

The landlord must be able to satisfy that they have made reasonable enquiries before disposing of the goods, and the above process should still be followed, with the exception of the notice. Extra caution should be taken to ensure the goods do not belong to a third party or are rented. 

The final point to take away is that it is very important that a landlord does not dispose of abandoned goods without following the correct procedure, as the landlord may be liable to pay compensation to the owner of the goods.