Handling abandoned tenant property

There are many reasons why tenants vacate houses and leave behind their property. Issues ranging from travelling to faraway places, arrests, lack of money for rent or even death among others may force a tenant to leave his or her property in a house for a long time without informing the landlord.

Tenants who have vacated houses and left their property behind have often lost such property to the house owner as they will dispose of or sell the property on grounds that they need to earn money from their houses and get new tenants. However many landlords who have carelessly handled such issues have faced the wrath of law hence a need to follow the right procedure to handle such property.

Milly Nassolo, a lawyer with the law firm Lubega, Ssakka and Company Advocates says a landlord is not supposed to dispose of or sell property left behind by a tenant unless he or she is authorised.

“The point of law is that property belongs to the owner. If I use my money to buy property, it belongs to me so if I don’t have any agreement with you to take away my property, then as a tenant I have a right to sue you,” Nassolo says.

In some cases landlords have decided to keep the property in safe places and rent out the house to others as they wait for the tenants to return.

However this reckless act has come to haunt some landlords as tenants return only to claim that some of their belongings are missing hence forcing the landlord to pay through the law.

Grace Mukiibi who owns a rental apartment in Lubaga Division is a victim of the above scenario but she says through the help of the Local Council committee, she managed to escape being framed by her tenant.

She says her tenant who owed three months’ rent went missing for over six months. With the help of the Local Council committee, the property was registered item by item before being kept in the store.  The tenant returned with the full amount of rent thinking she still had access to the apartment only to be told that it was rented out to another person. On checking her property, she complained that some items were missing including cash. But since the Local Council executive members witnessed all the proceedings, they managed to protect the landlady. Mukiibi thus warns landlords to be careful with tenants’ property.

“It is so stressful when a tenant escapes and leaves behind property, however this may be a trap by that tenant to land you into problems. As a result, a landlord should not handle such property without guidance from authorities,” she cautions.

What should be done

Most tenants leave behind property when they owe the landlord rent balances. Nassolo stresses that it is recommended to wait for the tenant for at least three months before reporting the issue to the Local Council committee and even the police. However, you should do this after trying all the possible means to reach out to the tenant. Evidence of failure to contact the tenant should also be revealed to the Local Council before requesting them for a go ahead to empty the house and get other tenants.

“The landlord himself has to make sure that he made all the reasonable research and approach to try and reach the tenant but the tenant never showed up. He has to prove this,” Nassolo says.

In the statement, the landlord should reveal how much money the tenant owes and if he or she will be able to earn it from selling the property.

At times the landlord receives less from selling the property compared to the amount owed, but since the former is absent at the time, it is advisable to settle for less compared to receiving nothing at all. But if the tenant returns, he will be forced to pay the amount due and storage costs.

Good communication is crucial

Normally Local Council committee members call upon landlords to first make announcements through public means of communication like radios, televisions, newspapers among others, calling upon the missing tenants to return for their property.

Peter Busuulwa, a secretary at the Kintu Zone Local Council in Lukuli Makindye says, through such announcements, tenants are called upon to report to the landlord normally not later than 14 days after the announcement.

After this period of time, the Local Council executive members will get in touch with the area police.

“In presence of a representative from the police, the Local Council members present open the house and register all the property before it is stored in a safe place,” Busuulwa says.

He adds that those in presence should put their signatures on the list where the property is outlined. This will help to show that the property was handled in a rightful way by the right people and none of it was misplaced.

Sell of property

The Local Council Act of 2006 allows local leaders and the landlord to auction the property after keeping it for six months. Busuulwa says such property is at times kept for over a year. He adds that none of the Local Council members should buy any of the property and if the money received exceeds what the landlord owes the tenant, the chairman is authorised to keep the balance and gives it to the tenant once he returns.

“None of the executive members should buy any of the property during the auction as it may be seen as a conflict of interest,” Busuulwa adds. Sale of property can also apply when the tenant returns but cannot pay the due rent and other costs including storage.

“If the landlord earns less from selling the property compared to the debt he is owed by the tenant, now the Local Council committee will have to sit both parties on a round table to see that they peacefully settle accounts,” Busuulwa says.