Picture the scene
You notice that your tenant is behind in their rental payments. You go to the property to speak with them however the tenant has disappeared. You have a look through the letterbox, only to see a pile of unopened mail and a house that appears to have been abandoned. You reach the conclusion that all signs point to the tenant having vanished, sadly without thinking to tell you first. So what happens when a tenant disappears?

You change the locks, dispose of any remaining belonging and prepare to re-let the property. So far so good, right?

If only it were that simple
Unfortunately, there is something you need to be aware of before you go ahead and repossess the property. In order for a tenancy to be legally terminated, you will need either termination in writing from the tenant or an order for eviction from a court. At the point where you repossess the property, if you have neither, you could find yourself on dangerous ground.

Housing associations and local authorities are fortunate enough to have been gifted with the ability to simply serve notices in situations where the tenant appears to have abandoned which enables them to legally terminate a tenancy.

As a private landlord, you are not so lucky and similar provisions are not available for assured or short assured tenancies. This is an area that could and should be clarified by law so that private landlords do not find themselves in such a predicament.

But back to your dilemma
You may decide just to recover the property and take the risks that come along with not legally terminating a tenancy; risks that could include a claim by the tenant for harassment or unlawful eviction. You will not be alone and other landlords will also proceed on that basis. However all should be aware of the potential consequences if the tenant re-appears.

Have you encountered any disappearing tenants? Have any come back to haunt you?

For more information or advice please get in touch with our LetLaw team.