What to do if a tenant abandons a property

If your tenant vanishes into thin air before their tenancy has ended, it’s important to handle the situation with care.

When a tenant mysteriously disappears, it can leave the landlord in a tricky situation.

Whilst it may seem obvious that they have upped sticks and left, how can you be certain that they will not return? For this reason, you cannot simply advertise the property and move new tenants in.

According to law, even if your tenant has stopped paying rent, they are still the legal occupant of the property. This means that tenant’s rights are still in place and you cannot legally enter the property without their permission.

An abandoned property can cause several problems for the landlord, including:

• Loss of rental income.
• The empty property could become a target for vandals.
• Risk of squatters moving in.
• Your landlord’s insurance may become void.

It’s important to act quickly if you suspect that your tenants have abandoned your property by seeking legal advice and following a set process to repossess the property.

Repossessing an abandoned rental property

Steps to take if a tenant abandons a property:

• Don’t enter the property without the tenant’s permission.
• Attempt to contact the tenant to confirm that they have left.
• Perform checks to try to find out if a tenant has abandoned the property.
• Seek legal advice.
• You may then be able to repossess the property either by issuing a Section 21 notice, or, if the tenant has missed rent, you can begin serving them notices of your intention to end the tenancy.

If you suspect that your rental property has been abandoned and require help or advice with regaining possession of the property, give our team of experts here a call.