Abandoned property left by a tenant,(Need Advice ASAP) what Can I do?

Question

I am the owner of a rental home with a tenant's lease that expired on 07/31/08 at 12:00am.She would not participate for a pre inspection on on 07/31/08 or a post inspection on 08/01/08(even though she was there for both) due to her IRATE behavior. She left the house in a mess, items in the attached garage , the back yard,and items on the front porch. Her husband proclaimed that some items were his and they had separated. The police had to be called twice. The police informed me that I could not keep the property that was left after the lease expired. We allowed the husband to pull everything to the front of the home that they wanted and secured and left the home. The husband is now calling to ask for a lawnmower that was abandoned inside the unit. We took OVERenough pictures of everything!!!!!My question: What are my rights now? What is the Georgia Law about abandoned property? Please give resources if possible.

Answer 1

i don't understand why the police told you you couldn't keep what was left behind. Sound like u have quite the mess. With my tenants, i don't use a lease, but once they move it is understood that if they leave anything behind after the move its either trash, or going to good will shelter. I never threw anyone out so i don't know if this all changes once that happens.

If i were you, i'd call the police officer and ask him what your next step should be considering the the husband is now involved.  In Ri abandoned property not claimed by the rightful owner in 10 days goes to the person who is holding it. you could turn it into the police as lost property and wait the 10 days to reclaim it if your old tenants don' t pick it up. that's probably your safest bet, and it keep you legal.

Answer 2

State laws vary widely on this.

Some states allow you to throw it out and charge them for the cleaning.

Some states require you to store it for a certain period of time.

Some require you to give them formal notice before you do anything with it.

You need to speak to an attorney who specializes in landlord/tenant matters in your state.  

Answer 3

You must make "reasonable efforts to provide the tenant with a notice" that

contains the name and address of the landlord and

the place where the property is stored and

informs the tenant that a sale or disposition of the property shall take place

and the date of the sale or disposal, and

further informs the tenant of the right to have the property returned prior to its sale or disposal

Mailing a letter regular first class to the last known address is deemed by statute to be a reasonable effort. If you know of an address "where the tenant might receive the notice" you must also mail the notice there.

You may not hold the tenant’s property for rent. Proceeds of the sale of property may be applied to the landlord’s actual costs of moving and storage.

Excess proceeds must be held for one year. If there was an eviction and a writ of restituion was served, unclaimed the funds must be surrendered to the Department of Revenue.  Otherwise, excess proceeds may be retained by the landlord. This varies from state to state but now you have some idea.