Clarion Housing Association Limited (202533699)

Background

1. The complaint relates to the landlord’s handling of the disposal of the resident’s personal belongings stored in an internal shed. The resident advised that in March 2025 she discovered her possessions had been disposed of while she was in the process of moving out, without prior contact or notice.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the disposal of the resident’s personal items.

Our decision (determination)

3. There was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the disposal of the resident’s personal items.

We have made orders for the landlord to put things right.

Reasons

4. Under the tenancy agreement and the landlord’s Abandoned Goods Policy, it has the authority to remove and dispose of items left at the end of a tenancy. However, this authority is conditional on compliance with the abandoned goods procedure and the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977.
5. Where the landlord considered the resident’s belongings to be abandoned, its policy required an inspection, a signed inventory, photographs, and a recorded valuation. The landlord has not provided evidence that all these steps were taken. If the items exceeded £500 in value, it was required to retain them and serve a valid Torts (Interference with Goods) Act notice allowing at least 28 days for collection. This was not demonstrated. Instead, the landlord relied on a generic “Dear Resident” notice giving 7 days’ notice, unsupported by any valuation of the belongings. The landlord has not shown that a 7‑day notice was justified instead of the 28 day notice or that reasonable attempts were made to contact the resident before disposal. It has therefore not demonstrated that disposing of the belongings on 21 January 2025 was reasonable or in line with its policy. Even where items were assessed as being worth less than £500, the policy still required an inventory and valuation if no Torts notice was served.
6. The landlord was also expected to take reasonable steps to contact the resident directly using known telephone and email details. This was particularly important given the shed had been formally allocated to the resident and was known to be in use. There was no evidence that any direct contact was attempted around that time.
7. In conclusion, disposal should only have taken place after the expiry of a valid 28 day TORT notice and/or reasonable efforts to engage the resident. While signposting her to the insurance process was appropriate once the loss was identified, this does not replace the requirement to follow the abandoned goods policy and legal notice obligations before disposal. The landlord offered the resident £450 in recognition of failure of service. However, this amount has been increased in line with our compensation guidance to reflect the impact of the failings on the resident.

Putting things right

Where we find service failure, maladministration or severe maladministration we can make orders for the landlord to put things right. We have the discretion to make recommendations in all other cases within our jurisdiction.

Orders

Landlords must comply with our orders in the manner and timescales we specify. The landlord must provide documentary evidence of compliance with our orders by the due date set.

Recommendations

Our recommendations are not binding, and a landlord may decide not to follow them.