In a recent eviction, the renter did not clean out her personal property from the premise. We gave her the required written legal notice asking her to get her property. She did not come forth. We put in in storage. She now wants "some" of these possessions. It has been more than 21 days since she was given notice. We have labor and storage charges due in the amount of about $400.00. Question: Can we withhold her property until she pays the assorted storage costs and can she "pick and choose" the items she wants and leave the rest of the junk for us to deal with?

Did you rent a commercial storage facility or did you simply put the stuff away somewhere on your property? The former would have been the best thing to do; simply don't pay the storage fees and let the former tenant worry about it.

If you still have the stuff in your possession, some states prohibit a landlord from claiming a possessory lien on such personal property. Thus we need to know where you are.