Evicts tenant: Move items to storage or leave in house?

[Chris McKenzie]

I have a tenant eviction tomorrow in NJ. Does anyone have a thought on either moving their stuff to storage versus leaving in the house for them to remove?

My understanding is they have 30 days to remove before it’s considered abandoned. Tenant can choose 1 8-hour period within the 30 days to come back to get contents.

Alternatively I can have it moved to storage and they have to pay me back for fair market value for move and storage in order to get belongings.

Advantage is that house can be cleaned and Re rented quicker vs waiting. I also avoid them potentially damaging the property while back to get their stuff. Downside is the cost but seems like that can be covered as long as it’s fair market.

Any thoughts?

Thank you!

Chris M

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Chris McKenzie:

The law confirms the tenant violated the lease and needs to move out, then they require you to store their belongings for a month? Ridiculous.

I would put it in storage. If the law allows, I wouldn't give them the location or key for the storage until they paid me what they owed, to include costs for storage and my labor for moving them. But I"m sure NJ has a law against that.

[David Friedman]

A month of missed rent will likely be more than the cost of storage regardless of where the property is in America. If the law allows you to move it and you can do it without damaging their personal items, I would move it.

[Henry T.]

Do not let him back in the house ever. Put it in the backyard under a tarp with a surveillance camera on it.

[Chris McKenzie]

@Henry T. I wish it were that easy but suspect the wouldn’t meet the requirements of “safekeeping”. I’ll ask around and see what people say. I don’t really want her or her friends back in the house though.

[Theresa Harris]

I'd get it out of the house. Then there is no reason for them to go back and you can get to work cleaning it up and ready to rent.

[JD Martin]

Never give an evicted tenant any reason to be back on the property. Suck up the cost and move everything to storage. 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Chris McKenzie:

The law confirms the tenant violated the lease and needs to move out, then they require you to store their belongings for a month? Ridiculous.

I would put it in storage. If the law allows, I wouldn't give them the location or key for the storage until they paid me what they owed, to include costs for storage and my labor for moving them. But I"m sure NJ has a law against that.

[Chris McKenzie]

@Nathan Gesner

I can leave their stuff at the house and not pay to move to storage but I don’t really want them back in the house again. If I do that, then they get 1 day to come back and remove it. After that it’s considered abandoned and I call destroy or sell. Alternatively, if I move to storage they would have to pay for reasonable cost to move and store before getting access to it.

[Ron Brady]

@Chris McKenzie We ejected squatters in Burlington County last year and the laws re: home resident personal property for ejectment and evictions are the same per our attorney then.

The relevant guidance is: https://www.state.nj.us/dca/di...

Important:

- You have to notify the tenant in writing that they have property

- They have 30 days after written notice to get their stuff

- They have to pay for the costs you've incurred to pack and store their stuff before they get it back

We realized we had to choose to either A) pack and store their stuff, risking losing that money if they never reimburse us but getting the property turned and on the market faster or B) saving on packing and storing but delaying a return to market.

We chose A, hired a team to pack and store stuff in a storage cube we rented in the driveway. This allowed us to get into and turn the property faster. Squatters never got their stuff.

If you want the name of our very good Maple Shade based attorney, PM me. Good luck.