Sometimes you have to evict your tenants or they just up and leave spontaneously. It does happen, and it’s unfortunate. It can be a chaotic and frustrating experience in and of itself. You have to scramble to find new tenants, all while trying to spruce up the now-vacant property.
And if all that wasn’t hard enough, sometimes people leave stuff behind. Now, conventional wisdom may cause you think that because that property has been abandoned that it’s fair game. You may think you can sell it or keep it or give it away. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. As a landlord, you have some responsibility in properly taking care of those abandoned goods.
First of all, if you find that property has been left behind, you’ll need to do some assessments. While you can get rid of perishable food items without worry, your freedom pretty much ends there. The next step is to inventory everything left behind; a written record is fine, but pictures are even better. If there are items that may be of higher value, you may even want to consider bringing in someone to appraise the property.
Depending on the circumstances of the previous tenant’s departure, there may be monies that have yet to be resolved. They may owe you last month’s rent and you probably haven’t given them their deposit back. This property can be used as incentive for the whole issue to be resolved.
Contact the former tenants – both directly and by certified mail – letting them know about the property. Give them an appropriate amount of time (30 days is usually fine) to come and reclaim the property or you reserve the right to sell it and keep the revenue. If they respond by saying they don’t want the items or you can do with them what you will, it’s best to get that in writing.
After 30 days, if they refuse or don’t claim the property then you can begin to sell or donate their property. Again, you need to keep meticulous records about each item and every dollar amount in order to best protect yourself. You can use this money to recoup your losses or to reinvest back into the property.
The best step you can take, however, is actually to avoid abandoned goods from ever becoming an issue. Include in the initial lease or renter’s agreement language regarding abandoned property. You should still include a grace period of 30 days or so, but this will limit the hassle involved if it does end up becoming an issue.
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