{"id":74954,"date":"2015-09-25T11:00:35","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T17:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=74954"},"modified":"2021-03-16T11:45:20","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T17:45:20","slug":"2015-09-25-landlords-guide-tenant-abandonment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/2015-09-25-landlords-guide-tenant-abandonment","title":{"rendered":"The Landlord&#8217;s Guide to (Legally) Handling Tenant Abandonment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every real estate investor loves a quiet tenant. Quiet usually is synonymous with <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">good<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in that they don\u2019t raise a fuss or cause noise pollution. We always want <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">quiet. <\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, quiet is not always a good thing. Quiet can point to some ominous circumstances as well, and one of those is the issue of abandonment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As real estate investors, our tenant concerns usually have to do with those who are difficult to evict. We think about the trouble-makers, not the silent absentees. Still, silence\u00a0isn\u2019t always a good indication. Whether your tenants are off on an extended vacation or have disappeared without a trace, due diligence is required to ensure that you don\u2019t end up with a big problem down the line. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are in the long-term buy and hold side of the real estate investing business, you will more than likely deal with the scenario of abandonment or possible abandonment. You will most likely struggle with the decision-making process of &#8220;Do I enter the property or not? Do I take the property back or not&#8221; The situation of abandonment is only made worse when the tenant abandons possessions they no longer want as well. They leave behind furniture, books, magazines, clothes, records, paperwork, and even trash, and sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between what is and is not trash! \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When faced with these types of issues, there are a few things to keep in mind.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/02\/3-ways-benefit-abandoned-possessions-previous-tenant\/\" target=\"_blank\">3 Ways to Benefit From the Abandoned Possessions of Your Run-Away Tenant<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Tenant Privacy Rights<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to tenant privacy, owners and managers need to make sure they\u2019re playing by the rules. That means:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Give proper written notice before any property inspection<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoid impromptu visits and inspecting the property <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">too <\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">frequently<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don&#8217;t enter without permission or a tenant present<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don&#8217;t allow maintenance, services, contractors, or workmen in unaccompanied<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inspect at unreasonable hours of the day<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Always\u00a0include time and date on notices<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As your tenants, they are guaranteed a right to a certain level of privacy. That\u2019s good! But if the management isn\u2019t attentive, valuing privacy can turn into neglect, both of the property and in keeping track of the tenant. We\u2019re not talking about <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stalking<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> here\u2014but there <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are <\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cases out there of tenants who just up and leave without a word, and that has to be investigated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are they on vacation? Did they move in with someone else? Are they in the hospital? Worse? Surprisingly, it can be difficult to find out. Owners find themselves in a situation where the tenant has vanished\u2014along with their rent payments\u2014and don\u2019t know quite what to do. But never fear! If you find yourself with a disappearing tenant, you <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can <\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">take action.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Handling a Disappearing Tenant<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are circumstances in which management can enter the property without permission from the tenant. Generally, these are in emergencies in which person or property is in immediate danger (fires, burst pipes, medical emergencies, so on and so forth). In many places, that\u2019s really it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are state laws that can allow for managers and landlord to enter the property during extended absence for maintenance reasons. In most places, this is seven days, but it <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">does <\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vary by state law and may be disallowed entirely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The exception is if you suspect <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">abandonment. <\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Utilities being turned off, rent payments ceasing, neighbors noticing the tenant hasn\u2019t been around or seeing them moving furniture, and being unable to reach and communicate with the tenant are all red flags of abandonment. If you suspect that the tenant has abandoned the property, the property can be entered legally without permission to verify the situation. Even if the property hasn\u2019t in fact been abandoned, the evidence to suggest it is valid justification.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still, verifying that the property was abandoned doesn\u2019t solve your problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/01\/looking-for-abandoned-houses-ask-for-steve-johnson\/\" target=\"_blank\">How to Identify Abandoned Houses for Investing<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Do You Have a Plan for Tenant Abandonment?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Anticipate it with your lease.<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> At what point would you consider the property abandoned? Two weeks without occupancy or communication? Work an acceptable timeframe into your lease so you can plan for these instances. Just remember that it being in your lease doesn\u2019t mean it trumps tenant-landlord law or personal property disposal laws.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Check for the keys. <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the tenant left the keys behind, you can assume they\u2019re forfeiting their occupancy. If they aren\u2019t there and the property has clearly been abandoned, change your locks like you would after any tenant.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Survey the property. <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What was left behind by the tenant? Beware when too many personal belongings (if not all of them) are still in place. Tenants who abandon their rental usually take their things with them. Check to see what\u2019s left\u2014is it a few things? Just trash? How fresh is the food in the fridge or cabinets, if any? Remember to check into your state\u2019s personal property disposal laws before throwing out anything.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Talk to an eviction attorney. <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The last thing you want is to end up in a lawsuit. When in doubt, consult an attorney on the best course of action in the case of abandonment. If the property is truly abandoned, move on as quickly as possible to clean the unit and fill the vacancy. Remember to document the process so the tenant doesn\u2019t show back up and file a wrongful lockout claim.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Search for closure. <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you can\u2019t get in contact with the tenant themselves, see if you have any emergency contacts on hand. At the very least, you should be able to find out if they\u2019ve moved out. More than just worrying about a rent payment, you can also determine their whereabouts and whether or not their loved ones are aware of the situation. While we don\u2019t want to think about worst case scenarios, people do disappear under suspicious and tragic circumstances. If you can\u2019t track down a contact and the tenant left their things in the property or there are otherwise suspicious circumstances, you may need to file a missing person\u2019s report with the police.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tenant abandonment can be incredibly frustrating, but as always, anticipating the problem beforehand, planning in advance, and knowing your local laws are the best preparation for any given situation.<\/span><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Have you ever dealt with a disappearing tenant? How do you deal with these types of situations? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Share your experience in the comments below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every real estate investor loves a quiet tenant. Quiet usually is synonymous with good, in that they don\u2019t raise a fuss or cause noise pollution. We always want quiet. However, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":75045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-landlording"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}