4. Does the landlord have the responsibility to keep the belongings for a certain period of time if the tenant has indicated that they will collect them?
In this situation, the landlord should definitely not throw away the tenant’s belongings outright. Otherwise the landlord may risk being accused by the tenant of conversion or even stealing of the properties.
Unless the parties have otherwise agreed, the landlord is not obliged to retain the tenant’s belongings inside the subject property. If the landlord has decided to move the belongings to a storage, it is advisable to take inventory of all the items left behind and well document the logistics process. With the advancement of technology, it is not at all difficult to take photographs or even videos of the items and during the process.
Depending on the wordings of the tenancy agreement, the landlord may be able to set-off logistics and storage fees reasonably incurred against the rental deposit on hand.
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