Stuff behind after being evicted

[Jorge Vazquez]

I've been dealing with a situation in Florida where tenants leave their stuff behind after being evicted, and it got me thinking about how we, as landlords, handle this. The law here gives us some directions, like dumping the stuff at the property line right after eviction, sending out notices if it’s not an eviction case, and even selling off items if they're worth more than $500. But let's be real, it often doesn't go down by the book.

In my 20 years of experience, chasing after tenants who owe rent to pick up their old couch seems... well, not worth it. And honestly, I've never seen a tenant win a case over this; judges aren't usually on the side of tenants who haven't been playing by the rules.

So, how do you guys deal with left-behind belongings? Do you stick strictly to the law, or have you found some practical shortcuts that work? What's your experience been like?

Looking forward to hearing your stories!

[Theresa Harris]

Honestly, I put it out on the curb and put a free sign on it. If it is garbage, then I haul it to the dump.  Not worth my time to chase them down or store their junk and if they left it behind, they clearly don't care enough about it.