Question 1

Can an Oklahoma landlord throw out leftover items that have no value?

Accepted Answer

Only within the terms of 41 O.S. Section 130(A). It applies once the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the dwelling unit or been lawfully removed through eviction proceedings, and only where, in the judgment of the landlord, the property has no ascertainable or apparent value. In that case the landlord may dispose of it without any duty of accounting or any liability to any party. Perishable property may be disposed of in any manner the landlord considers fit. Everything with an ascertainable or apparent value goes to Section 130(B), which requires the certified-mail notice first. Because the line rests on judgment rather than a dollar figure, an inventory and photographs taken when possession was taken are the record of why an item was treated as valueless.

Question 2

How must an Oklahoma landlord send the notice about a former tenant's property?

Accepted Answer

By certified mail to the tenant's last-known address. That is the only delivery method Section 130(B) names, and it applies whenever the landlord judges the property to have an ascertainable or apparent value. Keep the certified mail receipt and the return or tracking record with the inventory, since they show the letter went out and when. The statute does not mention posting on the door, publication in a newspaper or email as substitutes, so those are not addressed in the statute.

Question 3

How long does an Oklahoma tenant have before belongings count as abandoned?

Accepted Answer

Section 130(B) gives two pieces. The notice must say that if the property is not removed within the time specified in the notice it will be deemed abandoned, and the statute leaves the length of that time to the landlord. Separately, any property left with the landlord for a period of thirty days or longer shall be conclusively determined to be abandoned. The statute does not say whether those thirty days run from the date of the letter or from the date the landlord took possession, so a landlord who specifies a removal date no earlier than thirty days after both avoids relying on either reading.

Question 4

Who pays for storing an Oklahoma tenant's belongings, and how much?

Accepted Answer

The landlord must store the property in a place of safekeeping and take reasonable care of it under Section 130(C). If the tenant removes it within the time limits, Section 130(D) entitles the landlord to the cost of storage for the period it remained in the landlord's safekeeping, plus all other costs that accrued under the rental agreement. Storage in the vacated unit itself may not exceed the fair rental value of the premises. Storage with a commercial storage company includes the actual charge for storage and for removal from the premises to the place of storage. The statute does not say whether the landlord may hold the goods until that cost is paid.

Question 5

Do Oklahoma goods left after eviction proceedings follow a different procedure?

Accepted Answer

No separate procedure appears in the statute. Section 130 covers, in the same subsections, a tenant who abandons, one who surrenders possession, and one who has been lawfully removed from the premises through eviction proceedings and leaves household goods, furnishings, fixtures or other personal property behind. So the certified-mail notice, the place of safekeeping, the fair rental value cap on storage in the unit and the thirty-day line apply to goods left after a lawful removal just as they do after an abandonment. The forcible entry and detainer sections in Title 12 contain no separate provision for the goods.

Question 6

Can an Oklahoma landlord be held liable for disposing of a former tenant's property?

Accepted Answer

Section 130(E) works both ways. A landlord may not be held to respond in damages in an action by a tenant claiming loss by reason of the landlord's election to destroy, sell or otherwise dispose of the property in compliance with the section. If the landlord deliberately or negligently violated the section, though, the landlord shall be liable for actual damages. During storage, Section 130(C) also makes the landlord responsible for a loss caused by the landlord's deliberate or negligent act. Compliance, in other words, is what earns the protection.

Question 7

Can money from selling an Oklahoma tenant's goods be kept by the landlord?

Accepted Answer

Section 130 does not address it. After the thirty-day line, the statute lets the landlord dispose of conclusively abandoned property in any manner the landlord deems reasonable and proper, and Section 130(E) mentions an election to destroy, sell or otherwise dispose of it, but no subsection describes a sale, an advertisement, an accounting of proceeds, or where any surplus goes. Because the statute is silent, a record of what was sold, for how much, and the storage and other costs claimed under Section 130(D) is worth keeping, and attorney review is available if a sale is planned.

Question 8

Does Oklahoma treat a deceased tenant's belongings the same way?

Accepted Answer

No. Where a tenant who is the sole occupant dies, 41 O.S. Section 130.1 applies instead. The landlord may remove and store the property and must turn it over to the person the tenant designated, or another person lawfully entitled, if asked before it is discarded. The landlord may discard it only if a written request was mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the designated person asking that the property be removed, the person failed to remove it by the thirtieth day after the postmark date, and nobody claiming the property made contact before the discard date. A written lease may set a different procedure.

Oklahoma Abandoned Tenant Property Notice

Find out where you stand in Oklahoma

Introduction

Key Things to Know

Key decisions before you file

Customize your Abandoned Tenant Property Notice Template with DocDraft

Oklahoma Requirements for Abandoned Tenant Property Notice

The Trigger Under 41 O.S. Section 130

Your Judgment of Ascertainable or Apparent Value

A Place of Safekeeping and Reasonable Care

The Storage Cost, Capped in the Vacated Unit

The Mandated Statement That Unremoved Property Will Be Deemed Abandoned

Certified Mail to the Last-Known Address

The Thirty-Day Line

Costs on Removal and the Record After the Period

Frequently Asked Questions