Tenant moved out sort of?

[Matthew Steele]

Hi I posted in the past about this tenant, but anyway no payment for January gave 14 day pay or quit in mid January, she said she left but left some of her stuff, her husband called me (they are getting divorced), said he has alot of stuff in basement, boy he wasn't kidding place is filled w garbage and stuff worth money all their personal stuff, what do i do? He said he rented a dumpster for this Tuesday but like I said no rent for January and now we are into February, can I change the locks, I want the stuff gone but in a bad situation, he said he will pay me January rent when he gets money, but I'd hate for them to go and take all the valuable stuff and not pay me and leave me the mess, I probably can't hold their stuff hostage, thoughts? 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Matthew Steele:

Don't fall for this trap!

He will take anything of value, leave all the trash, and not pay you a dime. You'll just add to your losses and still have the same mess to clean up.

The process for abandoned property is to give written notice to the tenant at their last known address (your rental). Let them know they have X days to remove the items. If they don't, then you can dispose of the items (sell, give away, trash, keep, etc.).

The husband is not the legal occupant, so you have no requirement to give him notice or access to what was left behind. If the items are of value, I would tell him he has to pay rent for January. I would probably waive the few days of February rent. Once you have cash in hand, you can unlock the unit for 24 hours and let him move his stuff out.

I would also consider charging an additional deposit of $500 or something, just to prevent him from leaving all the trash or stealing your refrigerator. Hand it back to him in cash as soon as you verify the unit is empty. Then change the locks and move on.