Things left behind by seller

[Pandapawson]

We bought a house in March. The vendors stated on the fittings and contents form that the lights in the hall and stairs were not included. On the back of that we also took our lights from the property we sold.

Before completion we got a handyman round to take our lights down and replace with a cord and flex. We also booked the handyman to come to our new house on the day of completion to put our new lights up. We told our sellers not to bother with a cord and flex.

However, when we moved in the lights were still up. The agents said they hadn't understood that the removals people didn't do this for them (which is odd as we used the same removal company and they made it very clear that you would have to instruct a separate person to do this).

Our handyman wasn't keen to take them down in case he damaged them, plus it would cost us an extra £200 for him to take them down.

So they have stayed in place.

At what point would you refuse to give them back? It has been over two months. I emailed the agents after a couple of weeks and I also put a note in with some post we received for the sellers about 4 weeks ago and sent it to their solicitor (I do not have their contact details).

How much longer would you give it? Would you do anything else?

Sounds like they don't want them back, you've been more than generous.

Stick them on ebay / facebook marketplace?

you need to give them notice and you need legal advice as to what exactly you are allowed to say, but the principle is something like if the items are not collected by xx date, they will be disposed of.

I think you have made reasonable attempts to give reasonable notice. I would send one final message to the solicitor to state that the following items (detail them) not removed from the property on the day of completion will be removed and discarded 14 days from the date of the letter, as there has been no agreement that you will store them, and for the avoidance of any doubt you are not offering to do so.

Strictly speaking if they did not take them on completion then legally they became yours. I queried this with our sol when we bought a property and various curtains/blinds/lampshades stated in the forms as not included remained there. We later moved again and took some of that stuff with us as I quite like it!

In our new house the former owner had left a set of golf clubs in the loft. I waited two years to see if he would ask for them back, then sold them on ebay.

I think legally they have 6 years to chase you for “debt”, but as you’ve made many written attempts to rectify the situation, I can’t see much more coming out of this.

I think it’s an involuntary bailee situation?

If so, email again to give formal/reasonable notice eg 30 days notice to collect the lights (and to make good any damage) else the lights will be sold or disposed of. They may say that the light fittings are yours as it’s not worth the hassle. Or they may follow up.

If they don’t collect the lights, you have to try to sell at a reasonable price vs just immediately throwing them in the trash. Again it’s due to being an involuntary bailee.

I’d assume they don’t want them. But as previous poster says, send a final email through the estate agent saying that you’ll dispose of if they’re not collected by x date. It’s a really easy job to take a light fitting down - I can do it in about five minutes with a screwdriver, I certainly wouldn’t be paying anyone £200 to do it! Just take them down and store in a box until the time is up.

Sorry, where it says estate agent, read solicitor.

Strictly speaking if they did not take them on completion then legally they became yours.

I am not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure that this is not true.
They remain the property of the vendor, and that is why you need ot send the correct letter saying they will be disposed of in xx days.

Ok, I don't actually mind the lights - they are a bit footballers' wives for my taste (one is over the stairs and is a huge feature light that I wouldn't choose personally but having lived with it for a bit I think it would look bare without anything there) and the four others match - I did not think about it really as we only have three from our old house and I cannot find a matching one at the moment so I would need to decide on what to replace it with.

The feature light is the one I am worried about taking down as it is big and has several glass shades. I don't really know where I would keep it.

I guess I am happy for them to stay as long as they are ours and no one is going to come knocking for them in a year or equally happy for them to be taken but now, so I can sort something else out.

I can't find them online to find out how much they cost - the sellers were just finishing their renovation when their circumstances changed and they had to sell up and so half the house has been finished to a super high spec (kitchen and bathroom) and the other half has cheap fittings (see yesterday's thread about roller blinds 😂) so they could be £1k or £100. I suppose we could offer £200 or so for them, just to make it all legal.

Don't offer to pay!

If they don't collect after giving them notice, then they are yours.

Anything left in the house after completion belongs to you.

I guess I am happy for them to stay as long as they are ours and no one is going to come knocking for them in a year or equally happy for them to be taken but now, so I can sort something else out

If you don't mind them, or care if they take them now - why can't you just leave them where they are & see what happens?

I am going to ask my solicitor to write to theirs setting 28 days for them to remove them or they become ours.

I just don't like the uncertainty of whether they are ours or not.

I wouldn't be offering any money for them and, to be honest, by this stage I'd probably have just binned them. When we moved, our vendors left all sorts of shite in the house, including a washing machine full of wet towels. I thought absolutely nothing of chucking it all in a skip. In fact, I wish I'd have charged them for the skip hire. You seem to have done plenty to attempt to return their property to them and they don't seem bothered. They know where you live if they'd have wanted the lights back.

Surely the agreement was that they would take them at point of sale. They didn't and are now in your house and therefore I would say they are yours.

@AmandaHoldensLips

Anything left in the house after completion belongs to you.

again, no it doesn't automatically belong to you.

In practice most people leave it behind because they don't want it. Butif someone turns round and says I wanted that, you are in a tricky position.
As a PP said it is something like a involuntary bailiee.

So, to be sure, you must tell them to collect or it will be disposed of.
Not worth bothering if it is something you know they don't want, liek curtains or a carpet, but definitely worth it if it is expensive, so it doesn't come bakc to bite you.

But you don't have to pay for it!