Should we suspect that a resident has abandoned their property without formally serving us with notice, we will investigate to confirm whether this is the case. A property will be considered abandoned if the resident has been absent from the property for more than three weeks and clearly has no intention to return.
Signs that indicate a property has been abandoned can include:
- the rent not being paid or housing benefit/ universal credit stopping
- the tenant no longer being registered for council tax, having requested to be removed from the electoral roll or informing utility companies that they are no longer responsible for payments
- the gas, electric or water supply being disconnected due to non-payment
- most, if not all, of the tenant's belongings being removed from the property
- a large amount of post accumulating
- the property not being secure, but no report of this having been made by the tenant
- the garden being poorly kept or overgrown
- neighbours passing on relevant information indicating abandonment
We will make every effort to contact an absent tenant and understand whether they have an intention to return to the property, whilst warning them that their tenancy is at risk. If the resident does not wish to return to the property, we will encourage them to end the tenancy by serving a notice to quit.