Tenant skipped town and left a bunch of property

[Vladimir Lukyanov]

Situation: tenant has been renting for 1.5 years, and then suddenly moved out, leaving his personal property that he couldn't take with him.  Stopped communicating. Obviously didn't give a 2 month notice. Whatever the reason -- it's not the question.

My question is: how long am I stuck with his belongings before I can get the property ready for the next tenant? Do I have to proceed with eviction steps? can I box his things and clean the property before the eviction finalized? I'm in MO

[Janice Carter]

Vladimir, 

If a tenant vacates without notice and leaves personal property behind, you generally do not need to file an eviction if they have clearly surrendered possession. However, you cannot immediately dispose of their belongings.

Best practice is to 1) Document that the tenant has vacated with photos, dates, lack of communication. 2) Provide written notice to the tenant’s last known address stating the property was abandoned and giving a deadline to claim their belongings. 3) You may box and store the items and clean/secure the unit but do not discard or sell items until the statutory notice period has passed.

If you want to re-rent quickly and avoid liability, many landlords store the items and charge reasonable storage costs.