Abandoned Tenant Property Notice
The notice a landlord gives a former tenant about belongings left behind. How long the tenant gets, how the notice must be delivered, any dollar threshold and where sale proceeds go are all set by your state.
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Introduction
An abandoned tenant property notice is the written notice a landlord gives a former tenant about belongings left in the rental after the tenancy has ended. It lists what was left, says where it is being held and what storage may cost, and sets the date after which the landlord may sell, donate or dispose of it. Where a state has a procedure, following it is what protects the landlord: goods sold or discarded without the notice, or before the date in it, can leave the landlord owing the tenant their value. Four things change from state to state and decide what your notice says. The number of days the tenant gets, and whether the count starts at personal delivery, at mailing or at posting. Whether goods below a set dollar value can be handled on a shorter or simpler path. Whether the statute prints a form or lists required contents. And where the money goes if the goods are sold. A few states have no statute on this at all. Select your state for the governing section, the reclaim period, any value threshold and the rule for sale proceeds.
Key Things to Know
- 1
An abandoned tenant property notice is sent after the tenancy is over, not to end it. It goes to the former tenant, and often to anyone else the landlord believes owns some of the goods, and it gives them a last date to collect their things. It is a different document from a notice to vacate or anything in an eviction case, which deal with possession of the unit rather than with what was left inside it.
- 2
Be sure the tenancy has actually ended before treating anything as abandoned. Statutes that define abandonment usually require more than an empty-looking unit, such as unpaid rent combined with a period of absence, a returned key, a surrender, or possession handed back by the court officer. Removing belongings while the tenant still has a right to the unit is a different and much more serious problem than a defective notice.
- 3
The reclaim period is counted from the notice, so the way you deliver it changes the date. Statutes commonly allow a shorter period for a notice handed to the tenant and a longer one for a notice sent by mail, and some require mailing to more than one address. Write the actual calendar date into the notice rather than a number of days, and keep proof of when and how it went out.
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Value matters. Many statutes set a dollar figure, judged on the landlord's reasonable belief about resale value, below which goods can be kept, donated or thrown away instead of being sold at a public sale. Some keep personal papers, photographs and keepsakes off that faster path whatever their value. Photograph the goods and keep a written inventory, because the value judgment is the one most likely to be questioned later.
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Describe the goods well enough for the owner to recognize them. A locked trunk or a taped box can usually be described as such without opening it, but anything left out of the notice may fall outside the protection the statute gives the landlord. Where your state prints a form, use its wording, including any statement it requires about what will happen to the goods.
- 6
Storage is the landlord's responsibility in the meantime. Expect a duty of reasonable care, a right to charge reasonable storage before releasing the goods, and in some places limits on that right, such as a short grace period with no charge, or items like clothing, work tools and identity documents that must be handed back without payment. Perishable food, animals and hazardous items are usually treated separately.
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If the goods are sold, the proceeds are not simply the landlord's to keep. The usual order is costs of storage and sale first, then in some states unpaid rent, and the balance goes to the former tenant, is held for a fixed period, or is paid to a public office where the tenant can claim it. Keep the sale records and the accounting, because the tenant can ask for them.
Key Decisions
The Tenancy
Most procedures apply only once the tenancy is over and the unit has been vacated. How it ended can also decide which section applies, because some states treat goods left after a court officer returns possession under a separate rule.
The lease expired or was ended and the tenant moved out
The most common case. The notice can usually go out as soon as the goods are found.
Most Common OptionThe tenant appears to have abandoned the unit
Check your state's definition of abandonment before treating the goods as abandoned. It often requires unpaid rent plus a period of absence.
The tenant handed back the keys or surrendered in writing
A surrender ends the tenancy. Some states treat returned keys as a signal that remaining goods may be handled more simply.
A court officer returned possession after an eviction
Some states route these goods through a separate section with its own periods and storage rules.
The Property Left Behind
Many states set a dollar value, judged on the landlord's reasonable belief, below which goods may be kept, donated or discarded instead of sold at a public sale. The value also decides which statement the notice must contain in some states.
Little or no resale value
Photograph it first. Low-value goods often qualify for the simpler path, but personal papers and photographs may still need to be held.
Most Common OptionSome value, such as furniture or electronics
Plan for the full procedure, which in many states ends in a public sale after advertising.
A vehicle, recreational vehicle or manufactured home
These usually have their own notice and sale rules, sometimes involving a lienholder or a public agency.
I am not sure
Inventory and photograph everything and assume the full procedure until you can make a reasonable valuation.
Notice typically has to go to anyone the landlord reasonably believes has an interest in the goods, and some states provide a separate form for these owners.
No, it all appears to belong to the tenant
Send the notice to the tenant at every address you know.
Most Common OptionYes, rented or financed items
Rent-to-own furniture, leased equipment and financed vehicles usually mean a copy of the notice to the owner or lienholder.
Yes, a roommate or other occupant
Notice each person you reasonably believe owns part of the goods.
I do not know
Note any labels, contracts or paperwork that point to an owner, and notice that owner too.
Sending the Notice
The reclaim period usually runs from delivery, and statutes commonly give a longer period for a mailed notice than for one handed over. Some require more than one address or method.
By first-class mail to the last known address and any other known address
The usual method. Keep a certificate of mailing and count the longer mailed period.
Most Common OptionHanded to the former tenant in person
Usually the shortest period. Note the date, time and who delivered it.
Posted at the unit as well as mailed
Some states require posting in addition to mail. Posting alone is rarely enough.
By email as an extra channel
Where allowed, email is usually in addition to mail, not a substitute for it.
Abandoned Tenant Property Notice Requirements
The Former Tenant's Name and Every Address You Know
The tenant's full name as it appears on the lease, the last known address, any forwarding address, and any other address where the landlord knows the tenant might receive mail. Several statutes require the notice to go to more than one address, and some require a copy to the vacated unit itself. Collect these before drafting, because the reclaim date depends on how and where the notice goes out.
Anyone Else Who May Own Part of the Property
The name and address of any person the landlord reasonably believes owns some of the goods: a roommate, a rent-to-own company, an equipment lessor, or a lender with a lien on a vehicle or home. Many procedures require notice to these owners too, sometimes on a separate form. Leaving a known owner out can remove the protection the statute otherwise gives the landlord.