When has a property been abandoned?
When a tenant quits a property without notice the property is considered to have been abandoned. If a property has been abandoned, we can recover properties without going to court. Tenants have six months to raise an objection.
A property has been abandoned when either -
or
We can take action to end the tenancy if we think that the tenant has left their home without telling us and they do not intend to return to live there. This action is called abandonment proceedings.
We can only use this procedure if it appears that the house has been abandoned. If it appears that the tenant is using the house as a second home or is letting someone stay there without permission, we must use normal eviction procedures.
If we want to end the tenancy because we think the tenant is no longer living in at the property, we must send the tenant a written notice, called an abandonment notice. This tells the tenant that we think they have abandoned the property. This should be sent to the tenant’s last known address. The notice must give the tenant at least four weeks to let us know that they are still living there, or that they are staying away temporarily but intend to return.
During the four week notice period, we must make inquiries to find out if the tenant has left the property. For example we can:
If the tenant is a sole tenant and at the end of the four weeks' notice the tenant has not contacted us and we have finished carrying out our inquiries, we will serve the tenant with another notice stating that the tenancy has been ended.
However, unlike a sole tenant, a joint tenant must be given a further eight weeks' notice after the final notice is served before their tenancy comes to an end. Simply serving the notice does not end their tenancy. In addition, a copy of the notice must be sent to all other joint tenants.
What happens once the tenancy has ended?
We can enter the house and change the locks and secure the property. The property will be assessed to ensure that it is of a standard to be relet.
What will happen to any possessions?
In certain circumstances, we have a legal duty to store any possessions for a period of six months. The minimum period of storage is 28 days. If the value of the tenant’s belongings is more than the storage costs, we must keep them for six months, but will recharge the tenant for the storage costs. We will complete an inventory of the belongings and arrange for their storage.
However, if storage costs come to more than the total value of the belongings we do not need to store the belongings.
The tenant can collect their belongings from us, up to six months after the tenancy has ended. At the end of six months we can sell or dispose of the belongings.