Binning Someone Else’s Shit in My Garage

[ConcreteUnderpants]

I have a garage not attached to my house (in a row of garages around the corner) that I lent out.

The terms were that he could keep his stuff there and instead of rent, he would fix the roof. He would also put a new lock on it as I’d lost the key and let me keep a couple of things of mine in there (that were already in the garage).

A year and a half on, I finally need the garage myself and have enough money to do the roof myself as I can see that he hasn’t done it. Had to break in myself as he didn’t give me a key to the new lock (haven’t seen him since I first let him have the garage).

It is full of his shit. Apparently (from a man I saw opening his own garage a few doors up), he visits it every few weeks.
Not sure what to do. I am assuming that the stuff in there now belongs to me. It is worth a fair bit (car parts and tools etc) but I don’t want the hassle and expense of getting a skip and clearing it out. Do I leave a note on the door saying you have 2 weeks to clear all your shit out before I bin/ sell it? Do I ‘accidentally’ leave the door open and hope it gets nicked? Advice welcome please.

Basically AIBU to give him a fortnight to empty it and then chuck it if not? I am a bit scared of reprisals if I do this.
I need the storage in a few weeks.

Personally I'd say 4 week''s notice would be needed.

I am assuming that the stuff in there now belongs to me.

It does not.

I would give him a month's notice, and make it clear that at the end of that time, you will be changing the lock, so his stuff needs to be gone.

@AlwaysCheddar has it. Add another lock and a note telling him to contact you, which he will when he wants in.

It's unlikely he'll assert any rights to keep his stuff there once you tell him you need the garage back, but do bear it in mind just in case. Don't go getting the neighbour to have a look if any of the tools are his - stay out of that, it's nothing to do with you. It may take more than a fortnight before he comes back again so leave him a note asking him to call and see you. What do you so desperately need the garage for?

I was trying to remember the "torts" thingee thanks to pp!!!!
Evicting quite legally from house rental you have to do this even after you get bailiffs in -its annoying & (additionally) costly -

Presumably you have secured the door with your own lock, which he won't have a key for. So at some point he will need to contact you to gain entry to remove his crap. At which point you can give him two weeks notice to leave. Unless of course, he takes your lock off and replaces it with another of his...........

Put a CCTV up and a note on the garage in an envelope with his name on -also sent recorded delivery. Then you have evidence if he tried to break it -a ring doorbell would do the job for you. Note Dear X There seems to be some items in here that are not mine. Locks will be changed in 14 days -if you have not removed any items they will be binned.' Then you have video to keep of him receiving the letter. '

Job done. and keep CCTV there and don't leave your stuff in it whilst you ask him to empty it -he will probably nick it.

Do not mention any previous agreement -nothing. /nothing at all. Keep it simple else I'm afraid you might have a lengthy court case ahead and he will do some damage to get in and damage your stuff.

Think I would put a note (in a waterproof wallet) on the garage door, saying that he can no longer use the garage after 4 weeks. To pop the key through your letter box by x date. If you hear nothing after 4 weeks then change the locks and put an extra padlock on it. Tip the lot.

If you gave him a contract or anything to that effect in writing -you are buggered.

You need to serve him actual notice. I’m guessing 30-60 days after he receives the notice. A note on the door of a place infrequently visited with 14 days notice is not going to hold up in court. If the only way you can do notice is a note on the door, I would err on the side of more time.

The cctv is a good idea for proof of notice, but you still have to provide more than 14 days after receipt.

Put an alarm on it

And a note telling him he needs to contact you about the disposal of his property from your garage

I need it and I’m pissed off that he has been using my garage, rent free, not done the repairs agreed, not given me the key and fucked off

You have created this situation. You did not get a signed rental agreement, you didn't ask for any rent, you didn't put a time limit on him using it. You 'say' you agreed he would fix the roof, but that isn't written down and a deadline wasn't agreed (his word against yours)!

You have now broken his lock to get into to a garage he was legally using. If you dispose off his stuff you will be in the wrong and he could call the police and sue for the cost of replacing them. Sticking a notice on the door is not enough (as you have no guarantee he will see it). You need to make contact with him personally and give him at least 1 months notice. If you cant contact him you will have to get a court order to dispose of everything.

I don’t have his contact detail. He lived on the corner at the time, and worked with one of my neighbours, so that was enough for me. He then moved and stopped working with my neighbour (apparently stealing about £500 worth of tools) so I have no way of contacting him

It's rather unfortunate you considered it "enough", since someone who'll steal tools will probably claim he didn't see any note you might leave

On the whole, fitting your own additional padlock could well be the best idea, but otherwise good luck ... you'll probably need it

1. Take your neighbour there to reclaim any stolen tools
2. Leave a note giving him 3 weeks notice

Why on earth would you assume the stuff belongs to you now? That is not how it works. Of course it doesn’t. You need to give him proper notice as others have said.

@ConcreteUnderpants

No I don’t have his contact detail. He lived on the corner at the time, and worked with one of my neighbours, so that was enough for me. He then moved and stopped working with my neighbour (apparently stealing about £500 worth of tools) so I have no way of contacting him.

The rush now is that I need it and I’m pissed off that he has been using my garage, rent free, not done the repairs agreed, not given me the key and fucked off.

You’re pissed off?! Well that’s entirely your fault for letting it happen without a contract in place, not asking for rent, and not even getting a phone number for this guy! Honestly, why do you think you have the right to be annoyed at anyone other than yourself?!

No, you can’t sell his stuff. Yes, you would be a shitty person if you left the door open hoping it would be stolen.

Leave a note, with your contact details, or see if you can google him/find a mutual acquaintance to get hold of him.

Or, actually, @AlwaysCheddar’s suggestion is better.

You can’t assume the stuff belongs to you, that would be theft (why do I even need to explain this? 🤦‍♀️) and to leave the door open to facilitate theft would just be really nasty. You need to give him proper notice to clear the stuff out. Leave a note and give a reasonable amount of time. 2 weeks isn’t enough - if he only goes there every few weeks he might miss it.

You created this situation, you left it for a year and a half, now you are pissed off? No the stuff isn't yours. If you need the garage now you should have thought about this before. I am sure you can resolve it.

Change the locks and put a note with your number so he has to call you. Then wait until he does. It might be a month or six weeks. After that I think you'd have a right to take more drastic action but you need to document everything to show you have made a reasonable attempt to contact him to avoid future hassle.

The terms were that he could keep his stuff there and instead of rent, he would fix the roof

Even though no money changed hands, and even with nothing written down, he could argue this has created a tenancy or a license. Giving him rights in terms of notice to end that and so on. Not the same as for a residential tenancy, but still, as landlord you can't just do anything you like.

At the very least the rules on "bailment" would apply. (Rules around dealing with someone else's stuff).

Of course YANBU. This guy has stored his stuff for free all this time and not fulfilled his side of the bargain. Only on Mumsnet would your reaction be seen as UR. Struth!

Oh please @safariboot. I hardly think he will drag this through the courts. OP has offered this man hundreds of pounds of free storage and he has not fulfilled his side of the bargain. She is perfectly entitled to dump his stuff if he does not collect it ASAP.

Dis you give him any notice that you wanted the garage back before you broke in?! You can’t just do that with no notice. Imagine if a landlord did that with a house!

Change the lock.

Deny everything.

Say the stuff is yours and you have no idea what he's talking about.

Tell him to bugger off.