Hi Need some advice and want to know where do I stand legally. My tenants while vacating my flat left their couple of furnitures, kitchen and bathroom stuff. refusing to collect them inspite of informing them. Am I legally allowed to hold back their deposit until they take their stuff back?
Thanks in advance
Sat
This is an issue that comes up regularly. You should give them 2 weeks to collect, and then you can dispose of the items and claim the cost of disposal against their deposit.
Take pictures of the belongings and keep records of emails/phone calls etc of your attempts to contact the tenant to support your claim.
Your tenancy agreement should tell you how long you must keep the goods, although you are allowed to move them elsewhere so that you can re-let. You must keep making efforts to get them to collect and give them the deadline. I would hold onto the deposit for now and deduct the costs of disposal if they dont collect.