What do I do when a Tenant leaves the apartment and leaves their property behind?

Amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20) providing for disposition of abandoned personal property is amended 3.23.11 by adding a section to read:

Section 505.1.  Disposition of Abandoned Personal Property.--  

(a)  At the time a tenant has relinquished possession of thereal property, the tenant shall remove from the premises all items of the tenant's personal property. For the purposes of this section, a tenant shall be deemed to have relinquished possession of the premises upon any of the following:

(1)  Execution of an order of possession in favor of thelandlord.

(2)  If the tenant has physically vacated the premises, removal of substantially all personal property and the providing of a forwarding address or written notice stating that the tenant has vacated the premises.

(b)  Upon relinquishment of the premises under subsection (a)and the acceptance of possession of the real property by the landlord, the tenant shall have ten days to contact the landlord regarding the tenant's intent to remove any personal property remaining on the premises. If the intent is conveyed to the landlord, the personal property shall be retained by the landlord at a site of the landlord's choosing for thirty days. If no communication is made to the landlord within ten days, the property may be disposed of at the end of the ten days at the discretion of the landlord.

(c)  If personal property remains on the premises following the relinquishment of the premises by the tenant, the following shall apply:

(1)  If there is acceptance of the real property by the landlord under subsection (a)(1) and the writ or order of possession contained notice of the provisions under subsection(b), the landlord shall not be required to provide further notice to the tenant.

(2)  If there is acceptance of the real property by the landlord under subsection (a)(2) and the lease or lease addendum contains notice of the provisions under subsection (b), the landlord shall be required to provide written notice to thetenant that personal property remains on the premises and must be retrieved by the tenant. The notice under this paragraph shall give the tenant ten days from the date of postmark of the notice to notify the landlord that the tenant will be retrieving the personal property. If the intent is conveyed to the landlord, the personal property shall be retained by the landlord at a site of the landlord's choosing for thirty days from the date of postmark of the notice. If no communication is made to the landlord within ten days, the property may be disposed of at the end of the ten days at the discretion of the landlord. The notice shall also include a telephone number and address where the landlord can be contacted and shall identify the location where such property can be retrieved. The notice shall be: (i)  sent by regular mail to the tenant's forwarding address, if provided, or if no forwarding address is provided then to the formerly leased premises; or (ii)  by personal delivery to the tenant.

(3)  If the lease or lease addendum does not contain notice of the provisions under subsection (b), the landlord, in addition to complying with the requirements of paragraph (2), shall send notice to any emergency contact that may have been provided by the tenant in a lease agreement.

(4)  Any notice required under this subsection shall also contain information that the tenant shall be required to paycosts related to the removal or storage of property retrieved by the tenant after ten days under subsection (f).

(d)  At all times between the acceptance of the premises bythe landlord and the expiration of the ten or thirty dayperiods, the landlord shall exercise ordinary care with regardto any personal property that the former tenant has left in oron the real property. 

(e)  After the appropriate time period under subsection (d)has expired, the landlord shall have no further responsibilityto the former tenant with regard to the personal property andmay, in the landlord's discretion, dispose of the property. Ifthe personal property is sold and proceeds exceed anyoutstanding obligations owed to the landlord, the proceeds shallbe forwarded to the tenant by certified mail. If no forwardingaddress has been provided to the landlord by the former tenant,the landlord shall hold the proceeds for thirty days and ifunclaimed may retain the proceeds.

(f)  If the landlord has issued the notice to the tenantunder subsection (c), the landlord may choose to store thetenant's personal property at another location within reasonableproximity to the leased premises. If the landlord elects to havethe property stored at another location, the landlord may removethe property from the premises by any means reasonablycalculated to safeguard the property for the time periodrequired under this section. A tenant shall not be required topay any costs related to the removal or storage of the propertyby the landlord, if the former tenant retrieves the personalproperty within ten days of the date of postmark of the notice.
If the former tenant retrieves the personal property after tendays of the date of the postmark of notice but before the thirtydays, the tenant shall be required to pay any reasonable andactual costs related to the removal or storage of the propertyby the landlord for that time period.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.

(From Liberty Insurance)

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