UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi,  could someone help me clarify the situation regarding a tenant's moving out date.  If the tenant leaves the property, say on 1st January, without giving you any notice but leaving a huge amount of her possessions behind, what date is considered to be their end of tenancy date for the purpose of informing the relevant utility companies, council tax collectors, etc?  I'm confused because if the tenant leaves possessions behind they legally are obliged to pay rent until such time as they are removed so if you have to give them one months notice in which to collect them does this mean that the date they are entitled to pay the bills for is 1st February or is it just easier to take the meter readings on the day they move out and tell the utility companies etc. that the tenant is responsible for paying the bills up to 1st January, ie. the date she moved out?

Is this a currently valid AST or had it gone onto a periodic tenancy? Although it is not very polite to do so,I understand that a tenant can just leave on the last day of an AST,without notice.If periodic one month is required as notice from the tenant.If she has done a flit while an AST is still going,she is required to continue paying council tax and utilities until someone else moves in.Some councils will still lean on the landlord to pay however as it makes life easier for them.How have you ascertained that she has actually left,did she contact you after the event?

Thanks very much for your reply. She did have an AST which had 5 months left to run. She informed me after she moved out that she was ending the tenancy, returned all the keys etc (but without giving me any notice). So, presumably I need to contact the utility companies and council tax office, just not sure what to tell them. Also, in regards to the electricity and water, the house had been left in a terrible state so I am myself using electricity and water in the process of cleaning. Also it's likely that they won't be able to contact the tenant as she refused to give a new address.

She still owes the rent until such time as the lease expires,or you release her from the obligation.It is up to you to decide whether it is worth trying to trace her to pursue money owed.Personally,I think I would be concentrating on getting the place fit for a new tenant.If you have no means of contacting her I would post a notice on the door (taking photos) giving say 2 weeks notice before removing the items left behind.Assume she made no mention of her possessions when she handed the keys back? You may have to wait some time to get the deposit paid to you if she cannot be traced.It is not your problem to chase her on behalf of the council or utilities.

Many thanks for your reply but my main concern is at what point do I tell the council that I am responsible for paying the council tax as opposed to the tenant who's left? I just don't know what the cut off date should be.

Quote from: Carla on January 04, 2020, 08:24:19 PM
at what point do I tell the council that I am responsible for paying the council tax as opposed to the tenant who's left?

If the tenancy was of a fixed term of at least six months which appears to be the case from your "had 5 months left to run" response, then the tenant is legally responsible for the council tax until the end of the tenancy. If as seems to be the case she is offering a surrender which you have accepted, i.e. taken possession so you can clean up to let it out again, then the tenancy have ended when you took possession. So you have been liable for the council tax from and including the day you took possession.

Yeah that's what I thought but I just wanted to check before I contacted the council. Many thanks for taking the time to reply.