Connecticut Abandoned Tenant Property Notice
Connecticut's 47a-11b notice goes by both regular and certified mail, carries four statements the statute prescribes, gives ten days from receipt to contact the landlord, and thirty days to reclaim possessions before disposal.
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Introduction
Two envelopes, one by regular mail and one by certified mail with a return receipt, carry Connecticut's notice about a unit and the possessions left in it. Under General Statutes Section 47a-11b(b), once all occupants have abandoned a dwelling unit, the landlord may send each of them that notice at the last-known address, stating four things: that the landlord has reason to believe the unit was abandoned, that it intends to reenter and take possession unless the occupant makes contact within ten days of receiving the notice, that it intends to remove remaining possessions and personal effects and rerent, and that anything not reclaimed within thirty days after the notice will be disposed of as the section permits. It must be in clear and simple language with a telephone number and mailing address. Section 47a-11b(d) then requires an inventory and keeping the possessions for not less than thirty days, after which the landlord may dispose of them as it deems appropriate.
Key Things to Know
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Connecticut's notice under Section 47a-11b(b) is the written notice a landlord sends each occupant of an abandoned dwelling unit about reentering the unit and about the possessions and personal effects left behind. It goes to the last-known address by regular mail, postage prepaid, and by certified mail, return receipt requested, and it must contain the four statements the subsection lists, in clear and simple language, with a telephone number and mailing address for the landlord.
- 2
Abandonment is defined in Section 47a-11b(a): the occupants vacated without notice to the landlord and do not intend to return, which may be shown by removal of substantially all of their possessions and personal effects together with either nonpayment of rent for more than two months or an express statement that they will not occupy the premises after a specified date. Section 47a-11b(c) says none of this relieves a landlord who knows, or reasonably should know, that the occupant has not abandoned the unit.
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Two clocks run from the notice. The occupant has ten days from receipt to contact the landlord; if the notices come back undeliverable or no contact is made in that time, the landlord may reenter and take possession, and any lease still in effect is deemed terminated. Separately, the occupant has thirty days after the notice to reclaim the possessions and personal effects.
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Section 47a-11b(d) requires the landlord to inventory the possessions and personal effects in the premises, remove them, and keep them for not less than thirty days. The occupant may reclaim them within that period. The section does not set a storage charge or a dollar threshold, so the inventory is the main record of what was there and what happened to it.
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After the thirty days, if nothing is reclaimed, Section 47a-11b(d) lets the landlord dispose of the possessions as it deems appropriate. There is no public sale requirement and no proceeds rule in the section. Section 47a-11b(e) adds that no entry-and-detainer action under Section 47a-43 may be brought against a landlord who acts in compliance with the section.
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The notice is permissive in form, using may send, but it is the route that gives the landlord the protection in subsection (e). Sending both mailings, keeping the certified mail receipt and any returned envelopes, and dating the inventory are what show compliance if the occupant later says the goods were taken unlawfully.
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Goods left after a court-ordered eviction follow Section 47a-42 instead. They are delivered to the place of storage the town designates, at the defendant's expense. If they are not reclaimed and the storage paid within fifteen days, the town's chief executive officer sells them at public auction after reasonable efforts to notify and one week's posting, pays the net proceeds to the defendant, and sends anything not demanded within thirty days to the town treasury. Check the current text of both sections before relying on any period here.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Abandoned Tenant Property Notice in Connecticut, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Abandoned Tenant Property Notice guide walks through them.
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Connecticut Requirements for Abandoned Tenant Property Notice
Facts Meeting the Section 47a-11b(a) Definition
Record that all occupants vacated without notice and do not intend to return, that substantially all possessions were removed, and either rent unpaid for more than two months or an express statement that they will not occupy after a specified date.
A Separate Notice for Each Occupant
Section 47a-11b(b) sends notice to each occupant at the last-known address. List every occupant and address before drafting.
The Four Prescribed Statements
State reason to believe the unit was abandoned; intent to reenter unless contacted within ten days of receipt; intent to remove possessions and rerent; and disposal of anything not reclaimed within thirty days after the notice.
Clear and Simple Language With Contact Details
The statute requires clear and simple language and a telephone number and mailing address at which the landlord can be contacted. Use an address and number that will actually be answered during the ten and thirty days.
Regular Mail and Certified Mail, Both
Send the notice by regular mail, postage prepaid, and by certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep the receipts, the return card and any returned envelopes, since the ten days run from receipt.
An Inventory and Thirty Days of Keeping
Inventory the possessions and personal effects left in the premises, remove them and keep them for not less than thirty days under Section 47a-11b(d). Record the location and the end date.
The Record of Reclaim or Disposal
Record any reclaim within the thirty days. Only after the thirty days may unreclaimed possessions be disposed of as the landlord deems appropriate. Compliance bars an action under Section 47a-43.
Whether the Goods Instead Fall Under Section 47a-42
Possessions removed after an eviction judgment go to the town's designated storage and are auctioned by the town after fifteen days, with net proceeds to the defendant and then the town treasury. The 47a-11b notice is not the route for those goods.