Landlord Feels Tenant is a “Horder”!
Question
I did my quarterly safety inspection on a unit last week, the first for this tenant, and found that the tenant has an unusual amount of junk throughout the unit – my newest tenant appears to be a “hoarder.” I couldn’t see the floor in many areas of the unit. What if anything can be done about a tenant that has so much junk? I am particularly concerned about flammable items near the wall gas heaters. Also, they have ants that are probably because of food items left out and we cannot call in the pest control because of all the stuff.
Answer
First, I congratulate you on doing regular inspections of your units, as too few landlords do so. Hopefully, your inspections are for more than safety related, as inspections can also catch unreported maintenance problems that, if not corrected, can become costly (e.g., leaky plumbing). Regular inspections can also uncover lease violations and other potential problems (e.g., unknown pets and prohibited smoking, even illegal activities).
You can certainly require that a tenant maintain his unit in a safe and healthy condition. If it is your opinion that the “clutter” creates a dangerous situation you can serve a notice to correct. If you have a clause in your lease agreement that deals with the way the unit must be maintained (a common clause in a good document), refer to the specific clause as well as general safety principles. If there is no clause in the lease, refer to general principles. Many states include such issues in their landlord-tenant statutes and some local governments have their own requirements.
However, keeping both legal and landlord-tenant relations in mind, be absolutely sure, before pursuing any action, that the clutter really represents a true safety hazard or other problem rather than housekeeping practice that is beneath your standards. A tenant who pays the rent on time and causes no other problems except having a cluttered apartment interior that really doesn’t bother anyone except you is far preferable to a neat-freak tenant who is always late with the rent or is selling drugs from the unit. Other than if the clutter created a true danger to my property, I would not hassle an otherwise acceptable tenant.
You might consider seeing if the fire department for the location will do an inspection of your units in order to have an official opinion one way or the other regarding the issue. Fire departments will often do such voluntary inspections free of charge with no penalties for violations found. Some insurance companies will provide a similar service. Such inspections provide additional liability protection for a landlord as well as provide ammunition for pursuing your complaint regarding housekeeping.
Regarding the ants, even if the clutter does not represent a safety issue you would have the right to require that the floors be cleared of clutter on the day when pest control treatment is scheduled. You should provide written notice of the treatment the number of days in advance required by your lease agreement or state law, whichever is greater. If the pest control person must make a separate special trip because the stuff prevent treating the unit, you could probably bill them for it. Failure to cooperate might provide grounds for eviction, but it might depend on the judge. However, keep in mind that such actions will not likely improve landlord-tenant relations.
If you decide to serve the tenant with a notice, LandlordOnline.com has one available titled “Warning Notice To Resident Re: Housekeeping.”
********
Question 2
I am a relatively new landlord who has not previously experienced the issue of my question.
A tenant gave notice more than a week ago via my cell phone message service that she would vacate the unit by the end of her lease this past Sunday. It is now Friday, 5 days later, and she has not yet turned in the keys and does not return phone calls or respond to messages left at her work place. Looking through a window I can see that there is still some of her furniture and other things in the unit. What must I do before entering the unit and what do I do with things left there?
Answer 2
You did not provide the name of the state for your rental property, so I can only answer in generalities.
The most basic issue is whether or not possession has been returned to you. This in turn depends on the intent of the tenant, clauses in your lease agreement, the law of the state, and what events have occurred that might indicate the tenant did not plan to return to the property.
Events that prove that the tenant intended to return possession to the landlord can include (1) termination of the lease term where the lease agreement does not provide for automatic renewal or the tenant did not meet the conditions stated in the lease agreement for staying beyond the term end, (2) and what the tenant stated when giving notice of intent to have vacated, with the latter being provable, and (3) return of the keys and other such items such as garage door openers.
Some states have statutes that specify procedures the landlord should follow when not certain that the tenant has abandoned the rental premises. This may include posting of a notice on the property for a certain period before taking possession.
When you can remove personal property left by the tenant and what you can or must do with the property depends on the intent of the tenant, perhaps the clauses in your lease agreement, and the specific laws of your particular state. Laws related to abandoned property vary considerable among states. A landlord should not be in a hurry to donate, sell or otherwise dispose of any items without knowing the relevant laws of the particular state.
At one extreme, a state does not have a specific law regarding abandoned property. At the other extreme, a state has a statute spelling out detailed procedures for dealing with abandoned property that must be followed even when the lease has expired, all personal property except for a few items has been removed, and the tenant is almost certainly no longer occupying the premises. These procedures often include the requirement of putting the belongings in secure storage, providing notices to the tenant in accordance with that state’s law, holding a public sale of the abandoned property, and providing an accounting of the sale proceeds to the tenant, along with giving the tenant any funds in excess of what the tenant owed the landlord for rent and damages.
Some states do allow a landlord to keep or sell abandoned property if the tenant owes the landlord money. This is known as an automatic lien on the tenant’s possessions. The landlord should keep in mind that he may be seizing possessions that may not be paid for and the merchant for those items has a superior lien ahead of any lien interest the landlord may have.
In order to reduce the uncertainly regarding items left on the premises in spite of the above discussion, it is of benefit to include a lease clause stating that any items left on the premises beyond the date of termination of tenancy shall be considered abandoned and may be disposed of as the landlord sees fit without contact with the tenant. Abandoned property laws of many states might have priority over such lease clauses, but such clauses can still have value before some judges. Even if that isn’t certain, the clauses will likely discourage tenants from pursuing the matter to begin with.
Information regarding both possession and abandoned property for your state can likely be easily found by searching the Internet. However, I advise that you both (1) view multiple search results and (2) consider as most reliable those Web sites of the state governments (usually a consumer protection or specific landlord-tenant law related site) and/or landlord or tenant association sites.
However, if the landlord is uncertain regarding the issues he/she should consider consulting a competent attorney who is knowledgeable and experienced in the particular subjects of possession and/or abandoned property laws.