Last owners wanting back items they left behind.

I’m not sure why you would need to ask this question, although interesting, because you haven’t given it away and provided they will come and collect it or pay for it to be collected then I can’t that see that there is problem or a legal issue. It’s very easy, when moving house, what with the stress and chaos this brings, to accidentally leave something. I know this because I’ve moved house 15 times. I do think though it might have been cheaper for them to go out and buy one rather than hire a solicitor to send you a letter. Maybe it has some sentimental value.

We moved to our current house 35 years ago and the following day my husband realised the lawn roller had been left behind and he decided to go and collect it, with the new owner's permission. We'd only moved half a mile away, but there's a fairly steep hill in between. He dragged the heavy roller all the way up the hill and left it in the hedge at the side of the house where it resides (buried somewhere in undergrowth) to this day.

Louella12

We had a 12 foot blow up snowman that you plugged in and glitter flew everywhere. It was for some big event.

They didn't want him back because we did ask and he puts in an appearance each Christmas.

😂😂😂
Brilliant!

We moved to Rssex in the 80’s and never looked in the attic for about a year as too busy with 3 little children and both working. One day we both decided to put stuff in the attic so went up there to find hundreds ( no exaggeration ) of porno magazines . We threw them down the stairs with a view to putting them in the bin ( had no car then ) and it took quite a few bin duos to get rid of them . Rather embarrassing. We knew where the former owned his shop and felt like going into tell him what we found but didn’t . He was lucky his wife never found out I think . He spent rather a lot of money on them I should think . We were a bit hard up then - perhaps we should have sold them but no e bat or buyers sellers market then .

The seller of our last house was ambulance man
We found lots of work pages detailing the emergencies he had attended .addresses.treatment etc.
We had arranged to have our mail re-directed for a month after we moved but they hadn't bothered.
I never had their new address .they didn't want to giv it to me. So after a couple of months I started to return to sender..after six months a just threw it in the bin

Recently bought a house which had been unoccupied for well over a year however there were still a few items in the house (freezer, wardrobe and large free standing cupboard). Also lots of stuff in the outbuildings. The previous owner's parents came and removed everything apart from the three items in the house ( our solicitor stipulated this as a condition of sale)I don't know how they managed without a removal van as there was so much. The freezer was no use to me as I already had one so it went on freecycle and was uplifted the same day. The wardrobe I really liked anyway so was glad they left it and the huge cupboard in the utility room is ideal for storing linen. When my son moved into his second house he was assured that the rubbish in the garage would be removed but it wasn't. The solicitor said it was only worth pursuing the previous owner if the removal of the stuff cost more than £500. Luckily a friend took the dozens of paving slabs and my son used my trailer to take the rest to the dump. When he bought his third house he was delighted when the previous owner left some lovely pieces of furniture behind as the chap was moving from a five bed house to a two bed flat.

Here is a site that tells you how to deal with belongings a tenant leaves behind.

www.landlordvision.co.uk/blog/tenant-leaves-belongings-behind/

Bluesmum, similar here, albeit ages ago. Dh was working in the Middle East at the time and the vendor was seriously annoyed with him for beating her down on the price. She said, ‘You are not in an Arab marketplace now!’ (She was German, so pls imagine the accent.)

So even though I had let her stay for 4 days after completion, since her new house wasn’t ready (my solicitor had a pink fit) and although she knew I’d be moving in on my own with a very small baby, she took out all the light bulbs, took down every curtain rail and sundry other things that were screwed in, that should have been left.

We had same but a full length hall mirror on wall! They knocked on the door and just asked if they could have it..I was on mat leave at time so I said to cime back when my hubby was home. When he came in from work I toldhim, he was annoyed as they had no right but I said take it off wall and give them it...he did but personally I think they had a bit of a nerve...

Thanks DrWatson, but as a retired solicitor I know all about it.

For Flapper & GSM, this website has lots of info about items left behind, some differences between owners and tenants too. Of course, if it's a property sale, much will depend on the contract terms!! www.sellhousefast.uk/blog/guide-keeping-goods-left-behind-previous-tenants/ [and all this info could differ abroad]

When we moved into our current home the vendor asked us not to dig in a certain spot in the garden as the urns containing their pets ashes were buried they. They asked if we did need to could we bury them somewhere else in the garden. Couldn't understand why they didn't take them with them.

we moved and put a lot in storage. then we moved again and a different firm moved our belongings. lots went missing but which removal firm was to blame? the people in your situation are lucky that you have the items and they were not half inched by a removal firm!

Moved 3yrs ago and left bookshelves, storage bed in loft it had (a velux window & floor), our children had used it as a playroom, they buyers were a couple with young children. They were happy for us to leave the items. After about a week we realised the removal men had forgotten to bring our garden storage box that was full of beach items for holidays and garden umbrellas, chairs.
I contacted the couple and they kindly left it in the garage for us to collect (along with mail that belonged to us)

Annma chicken I assume that was some time ago, as nowadays you are not allowed to leave dangling wires and you now have to fill in an immensely detailed form specifying exactly which fixtures and fittings are being left and which are being taken.

I have the form sitting on my desk at the moment. We will be taaking 2 chandeliers with us, but will have to leave a proper cable with a working light bulb fitting, if not light bulb. I will rpobably put lampshades on them as well.

We had friends who suffered with having the house stripped of fixtures and fittings. The sellers even took the front door lock. So as soon as our friends had pushed the door open and walked in they had to ring a locksmith to come round and put new locks in

Philippa111

Rather pathetic to get an estate agent involved over a garden hose!!
I think most people would just buy another one!

We brought a huge old hosepipe in a very heavy reel when we moved house. We had taken it from my late father in laws house when we sold it after he passed. Doubt we will ever use it but every single time I see it I smile at the choice language he used to use when it jammed, or kinked. He was the sweetest old guy but had a real love hate relationship with that hose yet wouldn't replace it.

When we bought our first house many,many years ago, we hadn't two halfpennies to rub together as it was a seller's market and the horrible vendor had increased the price twice, knowing that we were desperate to buy as our first baby was due in a few weeks. When we moved in, we found that he had dug up and taken every plant from the garden, removed the bathroom cabinet leaving a gaping brickwork hole, removed the undersink kitchen cupboard leaving the sink propped up on a pole, taken away all the fire grates, also all the light fixtures so there were just bare wires hanging from the ceilings. The only thing left was a set of ragged curtains at the front window which we left in place until we could afford to buy new ones. A few months later, there was a knock at the front door and the man's sister was there asking for the curtains back. I'm glad to say that I had the courage to send her away with a flea in her ear.

When we moved into our current house the previous owners were still there! Thankfully(!) there was so much to do we didn’t plan to move in for two weeks.

When my MIL bought her last house the vendor unscrewed the toilet roll holders, took all the ceiling lights leaving dangling wires.Luckily she was having it renovated and everything was renewed ,but I never thought anyone could be such a skinflint.

When we moved into our new house, which had been rented out, we found it to be very dirty and they had left the net curtains which were filthy So a few weeks after moving in I was surprised to find the ex landlady at my front door asking for the curtains.
I said that we had thrown them out as we didn't want them, and that they were dirty. She was very annoyed to hear that. - not because they were dirty but we had the cheek to discard them
She also complained that we had stripped the wallpaper in the hall. Luckily we didn't invite her in, it was as if we were the tenants.

To answer your question OP, my understanding is that when you buy a property the seller is supposed to remove all movable pieces of furniture, the contents of all built in cupboards etc.

Anything the seller had left you are at liberty to dispose of.

However, in a rented property, disposing of the previous occupants' goods and chattels is theft!

So you really need a lawyer to answer the question of the items concerned are vulueable.

A garden hose can be used for washing a car or a trailer, or when cleaning windows and gutters, which is surely necessary whereever you live.

Since the people moved approx 6 to 7 months ago, and you still have the requested items, and they are very polite in their email to the Estate Agent, I would call the Estate Agent and let him or her come and pick up the items.

"Odd request after all this time" ..

When I relocated to Madrid from France 33 years ago, I left a few things, however, my twin daughters and I are the owners of the flat so .. My daughters asked me if I wanted what was left (a couple of jackets), and I told them - just bring to a charity retailer.

Its not only physical property left in a house which can be a nuisance.

Before I bought this house from the LL I lived in it as a buy-to-let. A week or so after I moved in a letter from the former tenant was put through the door. They wanted me to send on to them a large cheque they were expecting. Didnt enclose a stamped addressed envelope so I was supposed to pay for this and act as their post person? Yeah, right.

I knew they had gone bankrupt and had left a lot of debts (including HMCR) so I asked my solicitor what to do as I did not wish to become involved. She advised me to return the cheque to sender as "gone away" because all monies should be disclosed to the trustee in bankruptcy. When the cheque arrived there was no address to return it to. I sent it to the issuing bank with a covering letter.

I had a string of debt collectors looking for the previous tenant, all of whom I sent on to the agent for "further information". Most of them were quite civil and happy to go away once I informed them I was a new tenant and showed them my ID. One was very rude and abusive. Having worked in the debt industry as a student I knew how limited their powers were so I was equally rude back. He left sharpish when I threatened to call the police.

I dont normally snitch or approve of snitches but eventually I got sick of the former tenant leaving me to deal with their mess. I began to reveal the old tenant's new address (where they wanted me to send the cheque) to any DCA agents who called.

In the early 80’s and living in rural Germany, I rented a small farmhouse which was semi modernised. It had an inside lavatory! The walls were plain plasterboard and looked completely out of place, so I plastered them using my hands and the irregular look was perfect.
When I left the owners said I must have paid a fortune for such wonderful work only to leave it behind. Took me 20 minutes, a thin pair of plastic gloves and a couple of pounds of plaster.

Our second London house had no overhead ceiling lights but wall lights in every (downstairs) room sometimes 2 to a wall and when we moved in we found the vendors had removed them all, leaving one bare bulb on a wire on one wall in each room (I understand there is a legal obligation to leave a minimum means of lighting) so although we did not particularly want wall lights we had to go out and buy the cheapest we could find BHS) a total of 18 wall lights we could really not afford. The alternative would have meant an electrician to remove them, fit ceiling lights etc etc
More than happy to leave them when we moved on!