From family members to snakes Ã¢â‚¬â€œ what tenants leave behind

00:00 Monday 22nd March 2010

Finding a practical pot or useful utensil when you move into your new rented flat has its uses. However, some gifts left behind by former tenants can be a little more unpredictable – according to the latest survey released by the Deposit Protection Service (DPS).

Indeed, I’m sure everyone has their own tales of treasury and I am no exception. At the impressionable age of 12, in the attic of my new home, I found a full library of, ahem, top shelf magazines.

According to the DPS survey, the most common items from previous tenants are not the most PC possessions, but include items such as bondage attire, blow-up dolls and various other unmentionables.

And it’s not just unwitting new tenants that have stumbled on a property’s surprise presents; landlords have reported having to act as mediums between the living and the dead, as well as dealing with discarded pets, deceased cats and very much alive snakes!

Kevin Firth, director at DPS stated: “Cleaning up after tenants is often a big job for landlords but this research shows that it is not always just dirt and mess they have to contend with.”

Mr Firth continued: “One landlord told us that a former tenant, a postman, had left behind bags of unopened mail in the attic...while another said that he had been showing a prospective tenant round the property and had found a complete stranger asleep in the bedroom.”

DPS has warned that this lazy method of disposal can cause delay, not just on a landlord’s future renting of a property, but to the previous tenants’ also – possibly jeopardising the return of the rental deposit.

So please, when bubble wrapping the family portrait, don’t forget to pack those leather chaps or more could be lost than just Cowboy Fridays…

Breaking News:

Poll

Do you expect to see less or more second charge mortgage lenders in 2018?

From family members to snakes Ã¢â‚¬â€œ what tenants leave behind

Our Recent tweets