Two first-time homeowners were embarrassed by the former occupant of their property after moving in and discovering that the person had removed the baseboards and transported them to their new residence.

Twenty-two-year-old Elise Wassell relocated to her new residence along with her boyfriend, George Larder, who is 23 years old, and their eight-month-old daughter, Sofia Larder, on June 5.

Everything was fine until the couple, originally from Southampton, Hampshire, discovered that all the baseboards in the lower level of the property had been removed and were gone.

Images and video taken at the location reveal the exposed walls after the planks had been removed.

The bewildered single parent mentioned that the seller had only left part of a window trim in their kitchen — the remainder was missing.

Ms. Wassell, employed as a claims consultant, mentioned that her legal representative has been communicating repeatedly with the vendor’s lawyer, although the seller has declined to provide comments or offer compensation.

As per Co-op Legal Services, determining whether an item is a fixture or a fitting can be done by envisioning flipping the house over and checking what comes loose.

Their approach implies that skirting boards are typically viewed as fixtures or fittings because they do not easily come off and are firmly attached to the structure — although this seems like a questionable category.

After Ms. Wassell expressed her anger on TikTok, viewers had differing opinions, with some labeling the act as “extreme.”

Nevertheless, some people argued that if the former owners had purchased and paid for them, they belonged “to them to take.”

A woman from close to Southampton, Hampshire, stated: “We purchased a home; we had inspected it three times before, so it wasn’t as though we had simply bought it based on a picture.”

Clearly we got the keys and arrived. There weren’t any baseboards. We said, ‘What’s going on?’

‘It wasn’t ever communicated.

I just chuckled because I thought, “Surely not.” Is that something common? Do people actually remove baseboards? Have you ever been completely puzzled?

And after that, I thought, ‘Were they actually present?’ But they really were.

It was the day we relocated, and the worst part was the terrible weather too. It was pouring rain, and you know how sometimes it feels like everything just pushes you past your limit.

They left half of one in the kitchen. Why did you not take them all if you needed to?

You fail to grasp just how dirty it becomes without them. It got so bad that what remained was nothing but dust. It was entirely plaster. Everything was repulsive.

The infant is moving across the floor, we required their presence.

It continues to bother me when I recall it, as I encountered them face-to-face; they were very kind. They were aware that we have a daughter and similar details.

The pair went six weeks without baseboards, but fortunately, a family friend installed some new ones on July 18 for £300.

Ms. Wassell mentioned that her best-case scenario would be receiving compensation for these expenses, although she is unsure whether she will actually get the funds.

She shared a clip regarding the incident on TikTok, and it has been watched over 1.6 million times.

She stated, “My perfect result would be receiving our money back. However, I believe this outcome is now out of reach.”

Everybody kept telling me to check my contract. It seems the baseboards are considered fixtures and fittings, which come standard with the property.

I believe they mention that if you turn a house upside down, whatever doesn’t drop out will remain. Clearly, baseboards won’t come falling out.

I believe it’s fairly common to let them go, yet many individuals claimed it’s completely typical to keep them. I responded, ‘Wow, that makes you a terrible person.’

Over 2,700 remarks were posted by TikTok users, with perspectives being split.

A user wrote: “Many people claim it’s trendy to remove the baseboards, but they’re clearly crazy. You’d obviously keep them.”

One person stated, “Carpets are extremely inexpensive and often very dirty in older homes. Simply take them out and proceed.”

Another person stated: “I support taking down some of the things I posted, but doing away with skirting boards is going too far.”

A fourth person stated: “I mean, if they’re baseboards purchased using their own funds, then they certainly have the complete right to remove them?”

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