[steffb503]

I have a tenant with a month to month lease. He has not paid rent in 3 months. He has been served with 3 day notice and 30 day notice. He has since physically left, moved into hotel. But all belongings are still here. I have not gotten the keys back. How long must I wait to remove his stuff. Do I need to proceed with a court date. At this time I do not know where he is to even serve any more papers.
Please help
Steff

[J_9]

If you are in the states you may remove his belongings and put them in a storage facility, but you may have to have a police officer there to witness this, and you should probably make a detailed list of everything and I would include serial numbers for high-ticket items.. As far as serving him some states allow that you post the necessary court documents in a public place such as a post office as well as in the local paper for a specific amount of time. This amount differs for every locality.

Hopefully one of our rental managers, such as Rickj will respond better to your questions.

[RickJ]

I would not remove his stuff. He could easily claim something is missing - or cause grief in other ways. Proceed with the court date and get the set-out order to cover your you-know-what.

[LisaB4657]

File a lawsuit for eviction. After you have obtained a judgment for possession from the court, mail a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the tenant's last known address. Make sure you put on the envelope "Forwarding and Address Correction Requested". In the letter inform the tenant that they have been evicted but that some of their property remains on the premises. Then say that they have 30 days to make arrangements to get their property. If they don't make such arrangements within 30 days then their property will be disposed of.

[Fr_Chuck]

Since you already have a court date for eviction, go ahead with it.

After you go to court they will have a officer come over and witness everything being put to the curb. ( that makes it legal and you can't get sued or accused of stealing anything)

[J_9]

Oops, Sorry Rick, I tried but got the spread it around again. LOL

Anyway, I knew you would correct me on this since this is what you do for a living, and you are 100% correct, I see this on People's Court all the time. Shame on me.

[excon]

Hello steff:

Until he is evicted, it's HIS home. You may NOT enter, nor can you dispose of his belongings. AFTER he is evicted, it's no longer his home. The eviction process will involve someone from the court or the sheriff dept. They will oversee his belongings being removed. You don't need to store them, however. Just put 'em on the street.

excon

PS> As a landlord, you should be familiar with your states landlord/tenant law - INTIMATELY familiar. After all, you wouldn't play Monopoly without knowing the rules, would you?

PPS> I forgot. You don't have to know where he lives, because you can serve him by publication. I'm sure you have a journal that posts that kind of stuff. Depending on your local court rules, you may need to publish the summons three different times.

[heidicat]

Wow this gives them time to get mad and tear up your property! I love how the laws protect no good losers... I'm out of the rental biz for good... id rather let a friend live there for free.