We had renters leave a lot of their stuff behind after moving out...what can we do?

Question

The renters that we had as tenants on our ranch moved out over 4 months ago and left the shed and storage area full of paint, tools, and boxes. We had a van that they left on the property towed away because it was blocking a drive. They never had a lease of any kind. We have notified them 16 times in person and every time it has been another excuse. Can I just throw their stuff out on the street or dispose of it. It is holding up someone else moving in. Thanks!!!

Answer 1

Whether they had a lease or not is irrelevant, they were legal tenants.

You need to look up your state's laws regarding abandoned property.

Usually, you must send written notice for the person to claim their property within the time allowed per the law - it can be anywhere from 30 days on up depending on your state.

If the person does not claim their property per the notice then you can do whatever you want with it.

Failure to follow the law can lead to you being sued.

Answer 2

You put it in the lease that all refunds of security will happen after all cleaning has been completed.  Should the cleaning cost be more than the security they will be responsible for any shortage.  Just be careful because you can only charge them for True cleaning cost.

Answer 3

um yeh just throw the stuff out its ur property and as long as they arnt still paying rent or w.e for all these months then w.e is left behind is no longer theirs and u can do with it wat u will

Answer 4

i believe legally you must send a notarized list of stuff they left behind by certified mail, giving them a reasonable amount of time to claim there items.If they do not claim there items within the specified time you can remove the items, you must also inform them of what you are going to do with their items if they do not claim them i.e. trash,charity, curb or what have you.  

Answer 5

You can call a hauler and they will clean-up after the dirty renters.  

Answer 6

Send them a certified, return receipt requested letter.  Demand that they remove the items within 30 days.  Explain to them that failure to remove the items will result in their disposal.  You can also, if you want, tell them that as of the receipt of the letter, storage fees in the amount of *** per week shall commence.