Tenant Stole My Furniture

[Schooler]

Hi all,

we recently ended our three year lease with a housing association.

the specs of the lease were that we had to provide a bit of furniture, this mainly being a few drawers and a few beds.

as the tenant was a transferring tenant they had a few items, they needed a few bedroom items, we decided to let the housing association buy this and bill us for this which was fine.

Now we have just found out the tenant has taken all the stuff worth about £500.

we have tried speaking to the housing association but they have pointed us to a clause which is as follows :

"any liability to repair replace or renew the furniture floor coverings and curtains (if any) referred to in clause 4 (4) or to redecorate the interior of the Property during or at the end of the tenancy created by this Lease"

i can understand if the furniture is there but in a very bad state but its not even around and taken by the damn tenant.

can anyone help or point me in the right direction

thanks in advance

[olgaga]

Presumably the clause you pasted makes you, rather than the HA, liable - it doesn't actually say.

If so, I think there's probably nothing you can do except persuade yourself that after 3 years you probably would have had to replace it anyway, even if it had been left.

[schobe]

Perhaps ask them to show you evidence that the furniture needs replacing. Absence of said furniture is hardly proof. That indicates theft rather than being broken or suffering from wear and tear.

Also say you are planning to report the theft to police. I would.

[Schooler]

the clause was in the section where it states the end of lease, these are the rules so to speak

the furniture was i think in pretty good nick, hence the tenant took it with her....plus it was quite a bit.

2 single bed bases, 4 bedside cabinets and i think 2 or 3 double wardrobes.

they were all new.

i am going to write to the head of the company, explain to them this is theft as well as tell them i am in the process of reporting it to the police as well as tell them i am planning to take them to small claims court as i had a agreement with them and not the tenant.

anything relating to wear and tear i can understand that being flooring curtains etc etc but items missing is theft. will this be ok as the first step ?

thanks for the replies so far