I have just purchased a house and found that when I moved in, the curtain rails, towel rails and even the loo roll holder had been removed by the seller. Is he allowed to do this?

During the course of your purchase, your solicitor should have obtained a list of fixtures and fittings included in the sale and you should ask to see a copy. If the seller stated on his list that those items are included, then you can certainly ask him to return them. If your solicitor did not obtain such a list, then the test is whether the item is there for the benefit of the property or the benefit of the item. For example: a picture hanging on the wall is for its own benefit, a curtain rail is there for the benefit of the property in order that you can hang curtains at the window and should be included. Put crudely, any items nailed down should stay - in the absence of any agreement to the contrary - and anything not nailed down can be removed by the seller. However, check with your solicitor and bear in mind that if your seller proves difficult, the cost of recovering those items could outweigh the cost of replacing them.