Hi, I am enquiring about the time frame for the storage of property and being legally able to sell the abandoned property. We have contacted the owner and visited the premises on several occasions to no avail. Can I sell it after a certain amount of time?
QLD Unclaimed Abandoned Property - Legal to Sell?
- Thread starter Claire Clifford
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- abandoned property
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Sophea
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Hi Claire, what are the circumstances? Is the premises where the property is stored yours? Were they ex tenants? Did you have any sort of lease or other agreement with them?
Hi Sophea. A friend of ours dropped off some peewee motor bikes over 12 months ago. They are stored here at home. My husband does small repairs on small engines. The bikes owe him money as in parts labour etc.The owner has been either ignoring our visits/phone calls. They are taking up space and I just wanted to know if we can legally sell them to recover our losses. He has a buyer. So just wanted to know if we are able to do so. Thank you.
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Sophea
Guest
Hi Claire,
There is actually a Sale of Unclaimed Goods Act (Qld) which provides that in a bailment situation (i.e. where someone drops off property to you for a purpose, and you hold it for that purpose) uncollected goods may be sold. However there are a few things you need to do before you are allowed to sell them. These are set out in section 6 of the act which you can find here: https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/D/DispUncGoodA67.pdf Its a little longwinded and complex.
Here is a simplified explanation of the rules: Rules about uncollected goods | Your rights, crime and the law | Queensland Government
There is actually a Sale of Unclaimed Goods Act (Qld) which provides that in a bailment situation (i.e. where someone drops off property to you for a purpose, and you hold it for that purpose) uncollected goods may be sold. However there are a few things you need to do before you are allowed to sell them. These are set out in section 6 of the act which you can find here: https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/D/DispUncGoodA67.pdf Its a little longwinded and complex.
Here is a simplified explanation of the rules: Rules about uncollected goods | Your rights, crime and the law | Queensland Government
Does this act apply if you are not a registered business? My husband does this as a hobby. However, we have still not been paid for the parts we had to buy.
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Sophea
Guest
The act doesn't say anything about applying only to businesses that are registered. I think it would still be a bailment at law.
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Sophea
Guest
If you want to be rid of the bikes can you just take them to the owner's house and leave them there?
Don't know where he lives because he dropped them off. All we have is a phone number and a nightclub where he worked
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