Q & A: Tenant vanishes after notice, what now?
October 1, 2008
Q: We served a “Pay Rent or Quit” notice to our tenant. They moved out. Is the property considered mine? Do I legally have the right to go in and remove left over junk and clean for new tenants?
A: If the tenant has obviously abandoned the property, you are entitled to take possession and dispose of any junk left by your previous tenants. There are several ways to determine if the tenant has abandoned. The best way is if everything has been removed. Another is if neighbors saw the tenants moving and the tenants told them they were leaving.
In order to protect your property, you have the duty to enter it to ensure that the tenant has indeed abandoned it as it seems.
About the Author: Bob Cain
Some 30 years ago Bob Cain went to a no-money-down seminar and got the notion that owning rental property would be just the best idea there is for making money. He bought some. Trouble was, what he learned at the seminar didn’t tell him how to make money on his rental property. He went looking for help in the form of a magazine or newsletter about the business. He couldn't find any.
Always ready to jump at a great idea, he decided he could put his speaking and writing skills to work and perform a valuable service for other investors who needed more information about property management. So Bob ferreted out the secrets, tricks and techniques of property management wherever he found them; then he passed them along to other landlords.
For over 25 years now, Bob has been publishing information, giving speeches, putting on seminars and workshops, and consulting for landlords on how to buy, rent and manage property more effectively.
