{"id":3355,"date":"2011-12-09T10:42:26","date_gmt":"2011-12-09T09:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=3355"},"modified":"2016-02-03T09:34:57","modified_gmt":"2016-02-03T09:34:57","slug":"drafting-leases-advice-%e2%80%93-tenant%e2%80%99s-property","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=3355","title":{"rendered":"Drafting Leases advice \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Tenant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s property agreements"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most tenancy agreements stipulate obligations on the tenant to remove all of its goods at the end of the agreement. There is no guarantee, however, that the tenant will oblige in this. By leaving goods at the property, the landlord can inadvertently be put in a position he or she likely didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t predict.<\/p>\n

The biggest potential issue for landlords is that they could find themselves unintentionally becoming \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbailee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 of the tenant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s goods. The Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 (the ‘Act’) states that the landlord must take reasonable care of any uncollected consumer goods belonging to the tenant. As the goods are under the care and control of the landlord, the Act states that the landlord is considered as the bailee of the goods.<\/p>\n

This potentially unfortunate situation can be avoided with careful planning and foresight with regards to drafting the lease. We would advise that landlords consider adding a clause to the agreement that deals with the procedures the landlord will take in the event of uncollected goods being left in the premises. Such a clause should also deal with the costs that would be borne by the landlord in handling these goods.<\/p>\n

Of course, any such clause must adhere to the Act. In drafting this clause, we would advise that you include the following points:<\/p>\n