Option 1: Apply to the Tenancy Tribunal

The landlord can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for an order on how to deal with abandoned goods.

The Tribunal can order the goods to be:

• disposed of
• returned to the tenant, or
• sold by the landlord.

The Tribunal can also order that the landlord uses any money from selling the abandoned goods to offset any claims the landlord has against the tenant.

Landlords must give the Tribunal the tenant’s address for service. If an email address was included as an address for service, this can be used. If the tenant cannot be served with notice of mediation or a hearing, the Tribunal may not be able to hear the matter.

While waiting for a Tribunal hearing the landlord must store the goods.

More information on applying to the Tenancy Tribunal after the tenancy has ended

Option 2: Decide whether to store, dispose of, or sell the goods

Personal documents

If the items left behind are personal documents, the landlord must securely store them. If the documents aren’t claimed after 35 days, the landlord can either continue to store them and await any claims by the tenant or give them to the police and get a receipt.

All other goods

For any other abandoned goods that are not personal documents, the landlord must take reasonable steps to assess how much these are worth.

• If the goods are worth less than the cost of storing, transporting and selling them, the landlord can immediately dispose of these goods.
• If the goods are worth more than the cost of storing, transporting and selling them, the landlord must secure the goods for at least 35 days from the date they took possession of them. After 35 days, the landlord can either:
  • continue to store the goods and await any claims by the tenant
  • sell the goods at a reasonable market price.

Some abandoned goods may come from a property contaminated by methamphetamine (or the goods themselves may be contaminated). In these cases:

• The landlord should factor any extra costs of decontamination and testing when determining if the goods are valuable enough to be stored. This is in addition to any costs of storage, transport and sale.
• If the contaminated goods are worth less than the total (including these extra costs), the landlord can immediately dispose of the goods.

Sometimes it is not possible to store, transport, test or decontaminate some goods despite the landlord’s reasonable efforts. In these cases, the landlord should keep evidence of their efforts to store or decontaminate the abandoned goods before disposing of them. The landlord can then produce this evidence in the event of a dispute with the tenant.

Selling abandoned goods

If the landlord sells abandoned goods, they can deduct the cost of storing and selling these from the total money made. The landlord must then pay any amount left over from selling the goods with Tenancy Services, in the same way a bond is lodged. The landlord can also apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to reclaim from this money anything else the tenant owes them (such as overdue rent, damage repair, or cleaning costs).

If the money made by selling the abandoned goods does not cover the costs of storing, transporting and selling them, the landlord can seek the rest of the money from the bond. To do this:

• If the tenant left less than 2 months ago, the landlord can submit a bond refund form.
• If the tenant left more than 2 months ago, the landlord must apply to the Tenancy Tribunal.

If the bond is not enough to cover the remaining costs, the landlord may then seek to recover the costs directly from the tenant.

If the landlord is claiming any money made by selling the goods, they must include a copy of the Tribunal Order supporting their claim, and the bank account details where the funds should be deposited. The tenant has 1 year to claim any remaining money from Tenancy Services.

Lodge your bond online(external link)