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Abandoned apartment? Change the locks at your peril
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Landlord and tenants’ rights are often vague territory for all parties concerned. Landlord Residential Possession matters, specifically, remain unclear and, therefore, require legal guidance to ensure that affected individuals are acting within the correct legal parameters.
In February of this year, the Court of Appeal ruled against a landlord who was not within his/her legal right to unlawfully evict a tenant. The tenant temporarily left the property and the landlord changed the locks. The tenant successfully took back possession of the property, but was subsequently sent to prison. The landlord re-entered the property, changed the locks, and sold it with vacant possession.
During the trial, the landlord stated that he had reasonable belief that the tenant had abandoned the property and surrendered the tenancy. The ‘belief’ alone can be a defence to a claim for damages or unlawful eviction. However, the evidence was not sufficient enough in the judge’s eyes and they found that the landlord had taken a calculated risk by re-entering the property. The tenant had in fact not abandoned the property and the landlord had taken the law into his own hands. The tenant was, therefore, awarded damages.
The landlord took his case to the Court of Appeal, but was unsuccessful as it was ruled that there was sufficient evidence to prove that the judge’s findings were correct.
This case is a reminder that landlords must conduct a thorough investigation when looking to take possession of a property that they believe to be ‘abandoned’.
Without such an investigation and supporting evidence, a landlord will not be able to successfully defend a claim for unlawful eviction. A landlord needs to be able to prove that they believed, and it was reasonable to believe, that the occupier had ceased to reside at the property. Without this defence, a landlord will be found liable of unlawful eviction and ordered to pay damages.
In order for a landlord to avoid this outcome, they should request an order of the court for possession of property.
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