How to Inventory Goods Left Behind and File the Collection Notice

Keys are back. The tenancy has already ended. An open suitcase sits in the hallway and there is no forwarding address. Do not bin it the same day. Photograph and list what was left, log every contact attempt, and send one collection notice that names the goods, where they are held, how to collect, and the date after which you will sell or dispose. Keep notice, proof of send, invoices and a proceeds note in one leftover-goods file.

Saturday, one let in York. Keys came back yesterday. Gwen finds an open suitcase in the hallway and no forwarding address. The problem is treating that suitcase as skip-day junk. Typical mistake and risk: book a skip before Monday viewings and treat a Camera Roll of empty rooms as the file. She photographs the bag as it sits, lists it, logs every call and email, and posts one notice to the let itself.

The Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 Schedule 1 does not set 14, 21 or 28 days. Paragraph 6(2) requires a reasonable opportunity to collect. Paragraph 6(3) sets a three-month floor if a sum in respect of the goods was already due — a storage bill on that notice can lengthen the wait. A sale notice must be in writing and sent by registered letter or recorded delivery.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

When to start the leftover-goods file?

Start only after a lawful end and the keys are already back. Write that keys-back date on the leftover-goods tab before you move a sock. If the tenant has merely stopped answering mid-tenancy, stop. Recovering possession is a different job.

Do write the date before you lift the suitcase. LetCompliance, 17 July 2026, puts the same gate first: if the tenancy has genuinely ended and possession is back, deal with the goods; if they have simply stopped showing up, do not assume they have gone. The keys and fobs handover file already recorded that return. Open this tab the same afternoon.

How do you photograph and list leftover belongings?

Photograph the goods as they sit, then list them room by room, including loft, shed and garden. Note condition. Separate obvious rubbish from belongings before anything moves. CIA Landlords, 10 March 2026, wants a video walkthrough and an itemised list.

Do photograph before you bin waste. CIA Landlords, Independent Landlord (28 July 2026) and the NRLA tenant-possessions note treat open food, packaging and half-used toiletries as waste after a photo. If it could pass as a belonging, list it on the notice.

A typical mistake is treating an open suitcase as check-out clutter. The house walk against the last report is the tenancy check-out report, not this leftover-goods list. In practice, store photo albums longer than packaging. If it is a pet or a car, stop and get advice.

What to do if there is no forwarding address?

Send the written notice to the last known address — often the let itself. Schedule 1 paragraph 8(b) of the 1977 Act uses last known address as the proper address. Log every other method you actually used: email, phone, guarantor, each with date and method. No forwarding address is not a skip ticket.

Do post to the rental even if you expect redirection to fail. For example, Independent Landlord says if the only address is the rental, send it there. Section 12(3)(b) still allows a sale after reasonable steps to trace or communicate. The contact log is those steps. Do not treat a blank forwarding box as a reason to freeze, and do not treat it as a reason to bin.

What to put on the collection notice?

One written notice names you as the bailee — the person holding the leftover goods. Give sufficient particulars of the goods, the place they are held, and that they are ready for delivery. Add how to collect, any amount already due in respect of the goods, and the date on or after which you propose to sell or dispose.

Do combine collection and sale into one letter if you post it as a registered letter or recorded delivery. Schedule 1 paragraph 1(4) allows that combined notice when paragraph 6(4) is met. Collection-only notices may be delivered, left, or posted. A WhatsApp “come get your stuff” is not that letter. Porter Dodson photographs a door copy as extra, not as the sale-notice method.

How do you send the sale notice and where do you hold the goods?

A sale notice must be in writing and sent by registered letter or recorded delivery. Keep the proof of send on this tab. Extra copies by email or taped to the door go in the contact log with photos. They do not replace recorded post. Hold the goods somewhere the former tenant can actually collect from.

Do not move the suitcase a county away and call that ready for delivery. A LegalAdviceUK thread flagged a unit 150 miles from the let as not a reasonable collection place. Shergroup treats email as extra, not the sole method. The file runs keys back → photograph and list → contact log → one notice → recorded or registered post → hold somewhere collectable → account for proceeds.

Where do leftover-goods sale proceeds go?

Section 12(5) requires you to account for proceeds less costs of sale, on the footing of the best method of sale reasonably available. Where the statutory sale notice was given, sums payable in respect of the goods that accrued due before that notice are deductible. Keep a proceeds note on this leftover-goods tab. Do not pour the money into the rent ledger.

Do keep invoices and the proceeds note with the notice and the proof of send. Landlords Portal, 27 July 2026, says do not raid leftover-goods proceeds to clear rent or damage. Clearance invoices can later clip into a deposit dispute evidence pack. Leftover unpaid energy or water sits on the leftover unpaid utility bills file, not in the suitcase tab.

Success bar: keys already back, a dated photograph list, a contact log, one notice with the Act’s fields sent by registered or recorded post, proof of send, invoices, and a proceeds note off the rent account. Verify that checklist, then stop. An IziRento workspace can hold this leftover-goods tab, photo references and the notice PDF.