Dealing with a tenant’s abandoned goods
You are the landlord of a commercial property, your tenant’s tenancy has ended and the tenant has left or abandoned the property.
The problem is, some of the tenant’s goods remain at the property. What do you do with these? Can you keep them, or can you just throw them out? The answer isn’t so simple, and as is often the case with all things legal, there is a process to be followed.
When are goods considered abandoned?
A landlord is required to give reasonable notice to the tenant to collect their goods and advise what will happen to them if they are not collected within the specified timeframe. Such a notice should state that the tenant has at least 28 days to collect the goods and pay any ‘relevant charge’, failing which the landlord will dispose of the goods.
Goods will be considered to be abandoned if the tenant has not collected, taken delivery, nor given directions as to the delivery of goods within 28 days after receiving the above-mentioned notice. They may also be considered abandoned if a landlord cannot locate or communicate with the tenant for the purpose of organising collection or delivery.
Applicable Legislation
The Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 sets out how a landlord should deal with the tenant’s goods that remain at the premises, referred to as ‘uncollected goods’, and breaks down the process into three distinct categories of:
- Low value uncollected goods (goods are of a value of less than $200);
- Medium value uncollected goods (between $200 and $4,999); and
- High value uncollected goods (equal to or more than $5,000)
Whilst the process is similar for all three (3), there are notable differences with each and understandably there is a more thorough process required for those higher valued uncollected goods, before they can be unilaterally dealt with by the landlord.
Preparing the necessary notice
Preparing the necessary notice generally requires obtaining instructions on:
- a description of goods;
- the address for the goods to be collected;
- the cost of any relevant charge (delivery/storage cost); and
- the date on which the goods must be collected.
Whilst the Notice period is 28 days irrespective of the value of the uncollected goods, it should be noted that in the event the Tenant cannot be located or communicated with (i.e. the Landlord is unable to communicate the Notice to the Tenant after making reasonable attempts to do so) there is a sliding scale in terms of the length of time that the Landlord then has to wait before disposing of the uncollected goods. This scale is as follows:
- Low value uncollected goods – 60 days
- Medium value uncollected goods – 90 days
- High value uncollected goods – 180 days
Tisher Liner FC Law act for many commercial landlords and are experienced in providing detailed advice in relation to uncollected goods, specific to the landlord’s circumstances.
If you are a landlord faced with this issue and need some guidance in the process, please give our office a call on (03) 8600 9333 and ask to speak with Senior Associate Lawyer, Stefan Chelper or Principal, Rob Oxley.
