What Is Tenant Abandonment? A Complete Guide for Landlords

In the United States, just under half of all rental properties are owned by individual investors. They own nearly 23 million units in almost 17 million properties. These “mom and pop” landlords aren’t businesses with corporate legal departments so they need good value advice on issues like tenant abandonment.

What is tenant abandonment? What should you do about it? Read on to learn all about it in this easy guide to tenant abandonment.

Tenant Abandonment

What is tenant abandonment? It’s not a frequent problem for landlords but it is something that might occur. It’s best to know what you should do about it if it does.

If tenants move without giving you notice in accordance with their rental agreement such as at the end of tenancy, this could be abandonment. They may stop paying rent. They may even leave some of their belongings.

When a tenant stops paying rent, as a landlord, you have a problem. Having your tenants pay rent means you can meet your financial obligations including maintaining your income and covering your costs. For these reasons, you need to address the problem sooner rather than later.

Why Might a Tenant Abandon Your Property?

There are many reasons why a tenant might abandon your property.

A tenant might appear to have abandoned the property because they have moved away from the area. This could be because they have started a new job elsewhere.

Perhaps they’ve left the property and stopped paying the rent because they have financial difficulties and can’t pay the rent anymore.

Alternatively, they may have an emergency. They might have been hospitalized and be unable to contact you.

It may be that the tenant has simply gone on a long vacation.

It’s important to establish whether the property has genuinely been abandoned and whether the tenant’s absence meets the definition of abandonment as set out in your lease and by state and local laws.

Establishing Abandonment

If you fail to establish that the property has been abandoned you may be at risk of litigation and additional costs. Carry out these checks diligently to avoid problems down the line.

You should have some means of contacting your tenant. Emergency numbers are useful in this situation. Call them to try to establish where the tenant is and if they have left the property for good.

Check if the tenant is still paying the rent. You might discover that, although they seem to have been absent for some time, they are on a long vacation and are still paying the rent.

Investigate whether the utilities are still on and being paid for. You normally need to give 24-hour notice of your intention to visit the property so do this or else you may be in breach of your agreement. 

Make inquiries with any other tenants or neighbors.

After You’ve Established Abandonment

If you do establish that the tenant has abandoned the property you can take an inventory of any items they have left behind. Store them in accordance with state and local laws.

Send a letter to the tenant notifying them that you have their belongings and what they must do to reclaim them. State a deadline of up to 45 days, what they will be charged for storage, and the list of items. You may also explain what you will do if the belongings are not claimed.

If you establish tenant abandonment you can go ahead and do what you need to do to get another tenant. Have your end of tenancy cleaning company prepare the property for a new tenant and move a new tenant in.

Move on

Follow these steps for a safe and legal transition between tenants. Once you establish tenant abandonment, it’s clear that your tenant has moved on. It’s time for you to move on too. 

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