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Distraint

The right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant which is in the premises being rented, as collateral against a tenant that has not paid the rent or has otherwise defaulted on the lease, such as wanton disrepair or destruction of the premises.

A common way to distrain against a tenant is by changing locks and giving notice to the tenant.

A legal action to reclaim goods that have been distrained is called replevin.

The summary holding of a tenant's goods and chattels for unpaid rent is also known as distress.

Historically, to attempt to steal or take back goods which have been lawfully distrained constituted an old common law criminal law offence called rescue.

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Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.

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