What do you do when Tenant abandons property?

Question

What do you do when the Tenant leaves personal property behind? Do you trash it? Put it in storage? Sell it on ebay?

It's not unusual for tenants to move out - or be kicked out - and leave personal property behind. I've found abandoned weapons, cars, furniture, clothing, and even personal records or photos. It's important to know what you are allowed to do with anything left behind.

This story isn't a great example. I suspect we're missing some details, but the Tenant had paid rent through June. It's hard for the Landlords to argue that she abandoned the property when all her belongings were there and rent was paid up.

News story: Landlord Couple Accused of Felony Theft for Dumping Tenant's Belongings

Mike Dymski · Answer

The people that don't understand that the market (our residents) already force owners to self-regulate; so, the only thing more regulation adds is more cost to residents (it's a government tax on them).  I'm proud of the US but our government never gets this kind of stuff right.  Never.

Felony charges may result in prison time for these owners.

Theresa Harris · Answer

As is where I have some of my rentals and they require 10 days. I think others have said in some states, rent isn't late until the 5th and the landlords changed the locks on the 4th is not good.

Kevin Sobilo · Answer

@Nathan Gesner, I'm guessing they filed this as a criminal charge because it was an illegal eviction coupled with the taking of their possessions. So, the landlords entered a property that was not theirs to possess and took belongings from it.

If they had an eviction (possession order), then the property would be theirs to possess and I'm guessing any mishandling of the tenants belongings would be considered a civil matter.

That reasoning makes sense to me because if the tenant broke into the landlord's home (a property the tenant has no right to possess) and took the landlords belongings it would be a crime.

Owen Dashner · Answer

In the US, many states have a minimum amount of time that personal property needs to be stored before it can be disposed of.  But each state is different, so whoever experiences abandoned property should at least review the state landlord-tenant laws related to personal property. It may be worth consulting a real estate attorney if the laws are ambiguous.

Jay Thomas · Answer

It's outrageous that the landlords would act in such a way. Evidently, they knew she was still living there and yet felt it was acceptable to intrude on her privacy by throwing out her belongings. This is an unacceptable violation of her rights as a tenant and should not be tolerated. It's understandable why she is so angry and upset with the situation; nobody deserves to be treated this way. Hopefully, she will be able to resolve this issue with her landlords quickly and without further disruption or distress.

Ultimately, this whole incident shows how important it is for tenants to know their rights when dealing with landlords: what actions are appropriate and which are not? As much as possible, tenants should strive to protect themselves from being taken advantage of. Unfortunately, this type of situation can occur even in the most unexpected circumstances and it is important to be prepared for anything.  By understanding their rights, tenants can ensure that they are treated fairly and respectfully.  In this way, they can better safeguard themselves from exploitation and unfair treatment.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Yes, I suspect we're missing some background. The tenant was at a funeral? I can't tell you how many times I've heard that excuse from a Tenant that's behind on rent! And it's usually a funeral for their Great Aunt that they haven't seen in 20 years. Then you check their facebook or Instagram page and see they were in Cancun.

Will Fraser · Answer

Those mugshots though . . .

Natalie Schanne · Answer

@Nathan Gesner - I had a tenant leave behind almost all his stuff when he lost his job and moved back to California. I confirmed with him that it was abandoned and he wasn’t coming back, then I disposed of it. One of the things was like a 60” OLED TV which I used to furnish one of my AirBNBs. He was young and I assume he didn’t care about any of it. You know, the type that can roll into town, buy everything he needs at target or Walmart, then roll out of town and leave it all behind.

I believe in this case the other side of the story is - the landlords found the house in a state of poor repair. It is unclear how long they’d neglected to check up on it. When the tenant didn’t pay July rent, they took steps to clean out the property to repair it. It is unknown whether the landlords had already given notice to the tenant to move out on June 30th. Would that change the story at all? Not really in the eyes of it being against the law to throw away someone’s stuff while they’re still there. Was the tenant really at a funeral? Do we feel more generous to a tenant that was at a funeral versus one that blew July rent money at Disney World? This is only the tenants side of the story. It is probably filled with half truths. There’s no justification why the tenant did not pay rent for the first week of July. Yes, the landlord broke the law by throwing away stuff without filing for formal eviction and getting authority to do so by following the correct procedures or receiving a written communication from the tenant that they’d abandoned the property. Yes, I would be devastated as a customer to lose all my personal belongings. I think this landlord tenant relationship broke down a long time ago and was probably acrimonious.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

There are people that would like to regulate Landlords.

The laws in Australia are so difficult to navigate that about 75% of all rentals are professionally managed. In America, less than 25% are professionally managed. As laws increase, we'll see those numbers go up.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

The locks were already changed on July 4th and three days later the stuff was in a dumpster. They didn't even wait a week for the Tenant to respond or pay rent. They should know better.

My state is very Landlord-friendly and the shortest possible timeline is 15 days.

What do you do when Tenant abandons property?

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