Tenants leaving a rented property
In England, many tenancies include a clause requiring tenants to inform their landlord if they leave the property for an extended period (usually 14 to 30 days or more). Where such a clause exists, a tenant’s failure to notify their landlord would be a breach of the terms of their tenancy.
In Wales, if a contract holder chooses to leave the property for 28 days or more, they should inform their landlord. As in England, this requirement will typically be set out in their contract, and failure to do so may result in the contract holder breaking the terms of their occupation contract.
A tenant will still owe rent until the tenancy is ended correctly or the landlord relets the property. A landlord could deduct money from the tenant’s deposit or apply for a court order to claim what is owed.
Investigating tenant abandonment
The landlord must make the necessary checks to confirm that the tenant has abandoned the tenancy. It could be that the tenant is on a long holiday, in hospital, or undergoing a short prison sentence. Some ways that a landlord may obtain evidence as to whether or not abandonment has occurred include making enquiries by:
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speaking to the neighbours
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checking to see whether the keys have been returned
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finding out if the rent is still being paid
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contacting a relative for information on the tenant's whereabouts
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finding out if belongings or furniture have been removed from the property
How can landlords end a tenancy or occupation contract due to tenant abandonment?
The landlord must be sure that the tenant has surrendered the tenancy by abandonment before letting the property to somebody else or changing the locks (ie repossessing it). The best way to do this is by contacting the tenant to ensure they are abandoning the property. Returning the keys is another clear indication from the tenant that they are agreeing to surrender the tenancy.
In Wales, landlords can, under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, use a specific statutory notice procedure to repossess abandoned property without a court order. However, in England, under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, landlords must generally obtain a court order to safely repossess a property if the tenant hasn't formally surrendered it.
Repossessing an abandoned property in England
The landlord may seek possession of an abandoned property based on a valid ground for eviction under a Section 8 notice. For example, rent arrears. The amount of rent arrears that allows a landlord to take possession depends on the frequency of rent payments outlined in the tenancy agreement. For example, if rent is paid monthly, notice can be given after rent is three months in arrears.
For more information, read Evicting a tenant.
Repossessing an abandoned property in Wales
From 1 December 2022, following changes introduced by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, a landlord of a property in Wales needs to serve only two notices to their contract holder if they believe that they have abandoned the property.
The first notice should tell the contract holder that the landlord wishes to end their occupation contract if they do not receive confirmation from them in writing within four weeks that they have not abandoned the property. During the four-week notice period, the landlord must investigate the suspected abandonment by making all enquiries required to ensure they’re satisfied that abandonment has occurred.
If, at the end of the four-week notice period, no confirmation is received from the contract holder and the landlord is satisfied that abandonment has occurred, they can serve a second notice to the contract holder to terminate their contract and can repossess the property without a court order.
Contract holders may challenge repossessions of this type within six months of the landlord’s recovering possession if, for example, they had a good reason for not responding to the first notice or the landlord failed to investigate the suspected abandonment before repossessing.
A landlord may wish to take photographs of the notice as proof that they have informed the contract holder of their intention to regain possession of the property. Notices must be served either in person or left in an obvious place at the property. It’s also good practice to have an independent witness attest to the situation (ie the abandonment and the repossession) in writing when repossession occurs.
Other methods of repossessing property in Wales
The notice and repossession procedures outlined above should only be used if the landlord is sure (or has very strong reason to believe) that the contract holder has abandoned the property.
If the landlord wants to end a tenancy but is unsure whether the contract holder is living in the property or not, it may be best to end the tenancy by issuing a ‘no fault eviction notice’, ie a Section 173 notice for Wales, rather than run the risk of unlawful eviction proceedings (especially if the contract holder has left their belongings or furniture in the property). If the landlord relets or repossesses the property, they also run the risk of being charged with breaching the terms of the occupation contract.
When can a landlord enter an abandoned property?
A property may appear clearly abandoned, but until the tenancy has legally ended, a landlord’s rights to enter the property are limited. In such situations, the landlord can generally only enter the property under the following circumstances:
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the property is in an insecure condition
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there is fire or flooding in the property
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electrical or gas appliances could cause damage or danger to the property
In these circumstances, the landlord should invite an independent witness to confirm the condition of the property and the situation in writing.
Do not hesitate to Ask a lawyer if you have any questions or concerns about tenant abandonment and how to recover abandoned property.
