Before I go to the police to report a theft by a former tenant, I should be grateful to know if thefts of a landlord's furnishings by a tenant are a criminal or civil offence.
If it is civil, the police will ignore the matter. Some years ago, an employee stole from me, and the police went at 6 am to the employee's address. They took it seriously because the theft came under a breach of trust category.
But under Landlord and Tenant law, I do not know where I stand.
The former tenant does not deny stealing the items, and he is an Uber taxi driver. Uber has given me an email address for law enforcement to contact. Uber will provide the address of a driver to the police if the police contact Uber. But not to me. Uber should know about past theft because if a passenger left an expensive laptop or bag in a taxi, a dishonest driver could deny it.
I worry that the police will not take the matter further if they deem it a civil offence. The items are worth more than £200, which the police give before they are willing to go to shops to arrest shoplifters.
The former tenant had asked me for the deposit back, and like a fool, I did. I could not go to the town where the property was located before he left. He was very personable, but that is precisely the personality of a conman. When I telephoned him about the theft, he shouted me down on the telephone, calling me an idiot and treating me like a dummy.
Many thanks in advance for any information on the law in this case.
