Your residential tenant vacates their suite but leaves behind more than memories. Landlords stuck with “abandoned” goods may think that they are in the clear to do what they wish with said goods, but should tread lightly and ensure that they are complying with the regulations set out by their province.
Recourse’s goal is to educate landlords across Canada on the Acts and regulations that outline what they can do and how to do it. This deep dive series breaks down the remedies each Province so you can know things are being done the right way.
British Columbia
The province of BC has a detailed process for dealing with abandoned goods outlined on their website. The province puts a lot of onus on the landlord and requires notice to be sent via letters and a newspaper posting before the landlord can dispose of or sell the abandoned goods. Recourse offers versions of the letter and newspaper posting that are tailored to cover all of the provinces requirements.
Below are some questions that landlords in BC should consider before, during, and after the process of dealing with abandoned goods.
Are the items left behind “abandoned”?
The first step a landlord must take is to confirm that the goods left behind satisfy the province’s definition of abandonment as provided on their website. Their description of abandonment is:
A tenancy may be considered abandoned when a tenant gives up the tenancy and possession of the rental unit without properly giving notice to the landlord. It’s not abandoned if the rent has been paid.
The landlord could consider a rental unit abandoned if the rent has not been paid for at least one month and one of the following conditions applies:
- The tenant removed their possessions from the building
- The tenant has told the landlord that they don’t intend to return
- The tenant isn’t expected to return – for example, the tenant has moved into a care home
This seems relatively straight forward but the landlord should proceed with caution if there is any reasonable doubt that the above requirements apply.
Even if it seems clear that the tenant has moved and are not using the premises, if they have paid their rent and not confirmed in writing that they have officially vacated/abandoned you must respect the possibility that the premises is being used to store their goods while they facilitate the completion of their move. Similarly, if the tenant has given any implication written or otherwise that they intend to collect the goods left behind this could cause the courts to rule in favour of the tenant on the basis that the goods have not officially abandoned.
Doing what you can to build as strong of a case as possible that the tenant is not coming back for any goods will be worth the time and effort.
What is the value of the goods left behind?
Once the goods have been deemed abandoned, the landlord must value the goods to determine how they proceed. Depending on the value the landlord will either be free to dispose of the goods or must be stored in preparation of a sale. BC has a relatively low determining value at only $500.00; which means if the landlord believes the value of the goods to be equal to or greater than this amount they must proceed with the legal process towards sale/disposal.
It may seem obvious to look at goods and figure that their value is above or below $500.00 but landlords should exercise caution before jumping to any conclusions. The province simply states that the landlord can proceed with disposal if the goods are worth less than $500.00, but does not go into detail about what kind of backup or proof must be made in support of this determination. People generally value their goods much higher than an outsider may, which means disposal without some concrete backup for the valuation may allow a tenant to come back and claim that the bed frame that you tossed out was state of the art and worth thousands of dollars.
These claims may hold little water and a judge may see through them in court but as most people do not have the time or desire to be caught up in a lawsuit it is usually worth it to shoot down the potential of these claims before they can happen. At very least documenting detailed research on similar goods and even obtaining an appraisal or written opinions from experts to have ready in case a claim arises will usually be well worth the time and cost. Landlords should also take detailed photographs of all of the abandoned goods and document dates and details as they proceed.
What do I do if the value of the goods is above $500.00?
If the goods’ value is above the mentioned amount the landlord must store them or arrange for them to be stored on the tenants behalf for at least 60 days.
During this storage period the landlord must send notice to the tenant along with any interested parties and/or registered lien holders. You can run lien searches on the tenants name and any serial numbers through Recourse HERE. Notice should be sent via registered mail or hand delivered to any last known addresses or those provided by the lien holders in your search. The sale or disposal cannot take place any sooner than 30 days after the delivery of this notice. You can learn more and start creating this notice now HERE.
In addition to the notices sent by mail or hand delivery, the landlord must post a legal notice in a newspaper circulating in the area of the rental suite during the storage period. The notice is intended to inform the tenant along with any interested parties and/or interested purchasers of the intended sale/disposal and must be posted no sooner than 30 days before the sale/disposal. There will be a range in price for posting the notice depending on the size of the publication that you use; you can contact us for a list of publications in your area or get started on your notice HERE.
What do I do after the storage and notice periods have expired?
Once storage and notice periods have expired the landlord may proceed with sale or disposal of the goods. There is no mention of how a sale must take place, so the landlord may use discretion in choosing to sell the goods privately or via public auction.
What if the tenant comes back for their goods before the sale?
The landlord may charge the tenant any costs spent on moving or storing the goods before returning them. Once the costs have been paid by the tenant the landlord must return the goods right away.
Can the landlord keep the proceeds from a sale of the goods?
The landlord can apply the sale proceeds to their costs of moving, storing, sale, and disposal of the goods. They may also apply the proceeds to any amounts rightfully owed by the tenant to the landlord as relating to the tenancy. The landlord should make sure that they have the right to the monies being claimed, and if there is any doubt they may want to consult with a lawyer for clarification.
Any funds left over must be paid to the administrator of the BC Unclaimed Property Society in accordance with the Unclaimed Property Act.
How long do I have to keep record of this action?
The province requires the landlord to keep records on file for at least 2 years after the goods were returned, sold, or disposed of. Records may include descriptions of the goods, any notices or correspondence with the tenant, any research information or valuations of the goods, where and how long the goods were stored, all details of the sale including how the funds were paid out and disbursed, and all dates of any sale, returning of the goods to the tenant, disposal, etc.
For more information on this process you can view British Columbia’s Website. Documents offered by Recourse to get started can be found HERE.
For lawyer or auction house referrals you can contact us for free HERE.
