New Jersey Abandoned Tenant Property Notice

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   New Jersey's abandoned tenant property notice is the written notice N.J.S.A. 2A:18-73 requires before a landlord may dispose of tangible goods, chattels, manufactured or mobile homes or other personal property a tenant left on the premises. Its contents are fixed by 2A:18-74: the property is considered abandoned and must be removed from the premises, or from the place of safekeeping, by a stated date or it will be sold or otherwise disposed of; what the landlord may then do with it; and, for a residential tenant, that goods claimed in time are released without payment of any unpaid rent.

2. 2

   The act applies only if the landlord reasonably believes, under all the circumstances, that the tenant left the property with no intention of asserting any further claim to the premises or the property, and one of two events has happened: a warrant for removal has been executed and possession restored to the landlord, or the tenant has given written notice of voluntarily relinquishing possession. An empty unit alone is not one of those events. A nonresidential lease signed by all parties with specific disposal terms takes the commercial case outside the act.

3. 3

   Delivery is specified. The notice goes by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by receipted first class mail, meaning first class mail with a certificate of mailing, not certified or registered mail. It is addressed to the tenant's last known address, which may be the premises, and to every alternate address the landlord knows, in an envelope endorsed "Please Forward". For a manufactured or mobile home, copies also go to the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles and to any lienholder whose security interest is recorded there.

4. 4

   The removal date must be not less than 30 days after delivery of the notice, or not less than 33 days after the date of mailing, whichever comes first. A manufactured or mobile home gets not less than 75 days after delivery or 78 after mailing. If the tenant answers in writing or orally by the stated day that the goods will be removed, the tenant has until that day or 15 days after the written response, whichever is later, before the property is conclusively presumed abandoned.

5. 5

   Once the notice is sent the landlord shall store everything in a place of safekeeping and exercise reasonable care, though perishable food may be promptly disposed of and an animal control agency or humane society must be allowed to remove pets or livestock. Reasonable storage charges are allowed, including a commercial storage facility's actual charge plus reasonable removal cost, but reimbursement may not exceed the fair market value of those costs in the locale of the rental property.

6. 6

   After the date passes, conclusively presumed abandoned property may be sold at a public or private sale conducted under the Uniform Commercial Code provisions at 12A:9-601 et seq., destroyed or otherwise disposed of where the landlord reasonably determines storage and a public sale would probably cost more than the sale would bring, or handled by selling items of value and disposing of the rest. Abandoned motor vehicles fall outside the act, as does property governed by the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.

7. 7

   From the proceeds the landlord may deduct the reasonable costs of notice, storage and sale and any unpaid rent and charges not covered by a security deposit, then remit the remainder to the tenant with an itemized accounting. Good-faith compliance with every requirement is a complete defense to a tenant's claim for loss or damage. A landlord who seizes and retains the goods without complying loses any right to storage and removal costs and faces up to twice the tenant's actual damages under 2A:18-82.

New Jersey Requirements for Abandoned Tenant Property Notice

• An Executed Warrant for Removal or a Written Relinquishment

  N.J.S.A. 2A:18-72 opens the procedure only after a warrant for removal has been executed and possession restored, or after the tenant has given written notice of voluntarily relinquishing possession. Record which event happened and its date, and keep the tenant's written notice if that is the route.

• A Reasonable Belief the Tenant Will Assert No Further Claim

  The landlord must reasonably believe under all the circumstances that the tenant left the property with no intention of asserting any further claim to the premises or the property. Write down the circumstances, such as returned keys, a forwarding address or a statement from the tenant.

• Certified or Receipted First Class Mail in a Please Forward Envelope

  Send the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by first class mail with a certificate of mailing, to the last known address and every alternate address known, in an envelope endorsed Please Forward, as N.J.S.A. 2A:18-73 directs. Keep the receipt or certificate.

• The Statement That the Property Is Considered Abandoned, With a Removal Date

  State that the property is considered abandoned and must be removed by a date not less than 30 days after delivery or 33 days after mailing, whichever comes first, or 75 and 78 days for a manufactured or mobile home, or it will be sold or otherwise disposed of (2A:18-74a.).

• The Three Disposal Options and the Unpaid Rent Statement

  List the options in 2A:18-74b.: public or private sale, destruction or other disposal on a low-value determination, or selling items of value and disposing of the rest. For a residential tenant add the 2A:18-74c. statement that goods claimed in time are released without payment of any unpaid rent.

• Copies for a Manufactured or Mobile Home

  Where the property includes a manufactured or mobile home, send a copy of the notice to the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles and to every lienholder whose security interest is recorded with that Division. A lienholder that responds and then fails to act within the time may be treated as if it had not responded (2A:18-76b.).

• A Place of Safekeeping and a Storage Cost Record

  After notice, store all the goods in a place of safekeeping with reasonable care (2A:18-75). Record the location, the storage charge and the cost of moving the goods there. Reimbursement on removal is limited to reasonable costs no greater than their fair market value in the locale (2A:18-77).

• Sale Accounting and the Superior Court Deposit

  Deduct only reasonable notice, storage and sale costs and unpaid rent and charges not covered by a security deposit. Remit the rest to the tenant with an itemized accounting, or, if the tenant cannot be found after due diligence, deposit it into the Superior Court under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-80.