Who owns tenant's abandoned property?

Tenant left several pieces of furniture when she moved out 2 years ago without consent. Some pieces are in use by current tenant. Two years later she calls and wants them back. Who owns these items now? I have offered her the piece that the current tenant is not using but which I kept in storage. I find it difficult to accept her argument that she is entitled to any of it to be honest. Thoughts?

Charge her two years' storage?

Well ok, that's what I told her I would do, but does she still have a legal claim?

Anyone who calls 2 years later for these items, are trouble.. there’s something not quite right in the fact they don’t see the wrong in it.

Give them what was their property at the time if you haven’t binned it, and be glad your not still renting to them.

chippengael said:

she moved out 2 years ago without consent.

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A tenant doesn't need landlord's consent to move out Did she leave without giving legal minimum notice?

chippengael said:

does she still have a legal claim?

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An Garda Siochána will have zero interest in this. She could maybe send you a solicitor's letter. But unless there are receipts, pictures and some kind of written agreement she would struggle to counter any claim you make that you own them.

After reading the above OP I will be adding a clause to all new tenancy agreements that items will be charged storage at x amount per month or sold, donated after x amount of time if not collected and that the property is returned as vacant possession

You could just say there was noting left behind and put it back in their court to pursue it further.
If the tenant left without giving proper notice then they they still owe you.

RTB states
Sections 37 and 194 - Deemed Termination of Tenancies
"However, the tenant remains liable to pay rent for the correct period of notice that should have been given."

Threshold state when a tenant wishes to end a tenancy you must give notice of termination in writing. (Email, text or verbal notice is not valid under the law). The amount of notice you are required to give depends on how long you have been in your tenancy. The normal notice periods are:



Not sure about the law in Ireland but in the UK you need to hold onto them and only dispose after following a procedure according to https://www.landlordvision.co.uk/blog/tenant-leaves-belongings-behind/

Can she prove they are hers?

If they're damaged you're as well off to let her have them back

Had a similar situation dumped them if she says she wants them back I'll show her the bill of 6,900 for fixing the house after her 8 month stay.

Play Dumb, and say those bits of furniture are the present tenants bits.

noproblem said:

If they're damaged you're as well off to let her have them back

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Shell most probably say they were perfect when she left.

Laughahalla said:

After reading the above OP I will be adding a clause to all new tenancy agreements that items will be charged storage at x amount per month or sold, donated after x amount of time if not collected and that the property is returned as vacant possession

You could just say there was noting left behind and put it back in their court to pursue it further.
If the tenant left without giving proper notice then they they still owe you.

RTB states
Sections 37 and 194 - Deemed Termination of Tenancies
"However, the tenant remains liable to pay rent for the correct period of notice that should have been given."

Threshold state when a tenant wishes to end a tenancy you must give notice of termination in writing. (Email, text or verbal notice is not valid under the law). The amount of notice you are required to give depends on how long you have been in your tenancy. The normal notice periods are:

Duration of Tenancy	Notice Period
Less than 6 months	28 days
Not less than 6 months but less than 1 year	35 days
More than 1 year but less than 2 years	42 days
More than 2 years but less than 4 years	56 days
More than 4 years but less than 8 years	84 days
8 years or more	112 days

Not sure about the law in Ireland but in the UK you need to hold onto them and only dispose after following a procedure according to https://www.landlordvision.co.uk/blog/tenant-leaves-belongings-behind/

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Here its drive to dump and drive away without them, especially when she breached the contract.

When I said 'without consent' I was referring to her leaving her things in the house. Sorry if that was not clear. I am aware that a tenant does not need a landlord's consent to quit the property!!

She gave appropriate notice to quit, but there was no agreement about duty of care of her property beyond the end of her tenancy. I don't dispute her original ownership. The question I ask is, who owns these items now in the eyes of the law? If she is the owner, then sure, I could claim for storage. If I am the owner, then the point is moot, so ownership is the key question.

chippengael said:

The question I ask is, who owns these items now in the eyes of the law? If she is the owner, then sure, I could claim for storage. If I am the owner, then the point is moot, so ownership is the key question.

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Morally, she is the owner but she owes you something for storage too.

Did you try to contact her when she left about the items she left or did you adopt a wait and see approach??
My thinking about ownership would be if you did try and contact her and she ignored you, well she abandoned her property
and they are now yours but if you didn't try to contact her well no matter what you think of her and her property they are still hers
Don't know whether my thinking is correct but that's the way I'd look at it

If you admit that the items are owned by her then are you not leaving youself open? She could claim that they are not in the same condition she left them in and you used them to your advantage. Could she then charge you rent or insist that you buy them from her?

In my view she abandoned them. She cannot now claim or prove ownership.

That the items once belonged to the tenant is simply a fact. The question remains, do they still belong to the tenant now?

Friend of ours had a tenant who left theie rented house full of personal property, toys & bicycles, clothes shoes & boots, photo albums, school books, medicines, dvds & cd's, pots pans & crockery, duvets, pillows, bedlinen & towels, curtains, the house was packed with stuff. It took a specialist cleaning company two days & two people to empty the house & the attic which was full of stuff for christmas, halloween, suitcases, cots & other baby equipment. The tenant didn't pay rent for the last four or five months and then just disappeared. The owner had to get a locksmith to open the door to get into the house. They sent numerous texts about the tenants belongings and left messages but got no reply.
They contacted the RTB who said to send text notification (& keep copies) giving the tenant X weeks to collect their property with a warning that if it was not collected or arrangements made to pick it up somewhere suitable, then it would be disposed of. Owner sent more texts and left voice messages but never heard from the tenant. Eventually after a few more weeks, everything went into a skip.
Pretty bad behaviour on the tenant's part to leave a house in that state and not pay rent for months then walk away leaving the owner to pay for a cleaning company and a skip to dispose of all their rubbish.