Getting Your Property Back After You Move
Before a landlord can get rid of your belongings, the landlord must send you a written "Notice of Abandoned Property." The notice must be personally delivered to you or sent by first class mail to your last known address.
Be sure to give the landlord a forwarding address where you can get mail, otherwise the notice will go to the old rental unit you just moved out of.
Yes, but they must send you a "Notice of Abandoned Property" first. (The landlord is allowed to throw away food or other things that will go bad without sending you this notice.)
If you get a "Notice of Abandoned Property," contact your landlord right away. It is best to contact landlords in writing (by email or text) so you can prove that you contacted them.
If the "Notice of Abandoned Property" was sent to you…
- By mail: You have eight days to contact the landlord.
- In person: You have five days to contact the landlord.
If you miss your deadline, the landlord can:
- Get rid of your property, or
- Charge you for the cost of getting rid of the property (for example, dump fees).
If you contact the landlord by your deadline, the landlord must give you 15 more days to pick up your items.
After these 15 days, the landlord is allowed to sell or get rid of your property.
No. When sheriffs evict with a "Notice of Restitution," they do not take or store the renters’ belongings.
Your landlord will do that, but only after the sheriff has evicted you.
It depends.
- If you were evicted (you moved after a court judgment): The landlord cannot make you pay storage fees in order to get your property back. But the landlord can try to make you pay the fees later.
- If you moved out without an eviction. Then the landlord can charge you for storing property that you left behind.
Talk to a lawyer. You can find legal help using our Referral Database.