Section 62 — Residential Tenancies Act 1986: Abandoned goods

62 Abandoned goods (1) Where, on the termination of the tenancy, the tenant leaves any of his or her goods on the premises, the following provisions shall apply: (a) In the case of foodstuffs and other perishable goods, the landlord may, forthwith after taking possession of the premises, dispose of the goods in such manner as the landlord thinks fit: (b) In the case of other goods, the landlord shall, forthwith after taking possession of the goods,— (i) Secure the goods in safe storage; and (ii) Apply to the Tribunal for an order for the disposal of the goods: (c) In any case to which paragraph (b) of this subsection applies, the Tribunal shall make an order— (i) For the return of the goods to the tenant; or (ii) Where that is not practicable, for the sale or other disposition of the goods: (d) Neither the landlord nor any other person shall be liable in any way for any disposition of any goods made pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection or to an order of the Tribunal made under paragraph (c) of this subsection: (e) The landlord shall be entitled to recover, out of any bond held in the Residential Tenancies Trust Account in respect of the tenancy, all costs and expenses reasonably incurred by the landlord in respect of the storage or disposition of any goods pursuant to paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of this subsection or to an order of the Tribunal made under paragraph (c) of this subsection. (f) [Repealed] (1A) Where the Tribunal makes an order for the sale or other disposition of goods under this section, the order shall state the amount (if any) owing to the landlord out of the proceeds of sale. (1B) That amount shall be the amount payable to the landlord by the tenant in excess of any bond held in the Residential Tenancies Trust Account in respect of the tenancy. (2) Where any goods are sold pursuant to an order of the Tribunal made under subsection (1)(c) of this section, the following provisions shall apply: (a) The landlord shall not be liable to any other person in respect of the sale of the goods unless it is shown that, at the time of the sale, the landlord had reason to believe that the goods were not owned by the tenant: (b) The goods shall not be recoverable from the purchaser unless it is shown that the purchaser acted otherwise than in good faith: (c) The proceeds of sale shall be paid to the chief executive, and the chief executive shall— (i) Pay the proceeds of sale into the Residential Tenancies Trust Account; and (ii) Pay to the landlord any amount or amounts ordered by the Tribunal to be owing to the landlord, or the amount of the proceeds of sale, whichever is the lesser: (d) At any time within 1 year after the date of the sale, the tenant may apply to the chief executive for the payment to the tenant of so much of the proceeds of sale that remain in the Residential Tenancies Trust Account following any payment made by the chief executive under paragraph (c)(ii) of this subsection, and the chief executive shall either make the payment to the tenant accordingly or, if there are reasonable grounds to do so, refer the matter to the Tribunal for determination. (e) [Repealed] (3) Nothing in the preceding provisions of this section shall absolve the tenant from any responsibility imposed on the tenant by the tenancy agreement or by section 40(1)(e) of this Act or by any rule of law to remove from the premises on the termination of the tenancy all goods owned by the tenant or of which the tenant is entitled to possession. (4) Any amount paid to the landlord by the chief executive pursuant to subsection (2)(c) of this section shall reduce the amount of any debt payable to the landlord by the tenant. (5) In this section premises includes facilities. Compare: 1952 No 50 s 107B; 1975 No 36 s 7(1); Residential Tenancies Act, 1978-1981 (South Australia),

s 79A Subsection (1)(e) was substituted, and (1)(f) was repealed, as from 18 August 1992, by section 5(1) Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1992 (1992 No 79). Subsections (1A) and (1B) were inserted, as from 1 May 1996, by section 24(1) Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 7). Subsection (2)(c) to (e) was substituted, as from 18 August 1992, by section 5(2) Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1992 (1992 No 79). Subsection (2)(c) and (d) were substituted, and subsection (2)(e) was repealed, as from 1 May 1996, by section 24(2) Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 7). Subsections (4) and (5) were inserted, as from 1 May 1996, by section 24(3) Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 7).