Tenant hasn't taken all their stuff now won't return calls/texts

[John Garman]

I have an interesting situation. The tenant said they would be out and cleaned up by the end of last month. They left angry and I still don't know why aside from lots of empty nonsensical reasons. The dilemmais that it is now the middle of the following month and they won't give me any answer on when they will finish. At what point do I change the locks and tell them they are no longer welcome? I do have a concern about them coming in and causing damage if I make them more irritated. The last we talked they still felt entitled to their security deposit as well, even though my house is essentially being held hostage. I have many interested renters but I can't show it and can't even tell them when it may be available. The belongings that remain are of very little value and who knows, maybe they will never come back. I can't hold out forever and it's getting expensive. Any advice would be great.

[Mike McCarthy]

@John Garman Look at your state’s landlord tenant laws. I guarantee there’s a section in there for abandoned property. Many states require the landlord to store their items for a period of time (chargeable to the tenant) before discarding it. I would probably reach out to a local attorney though. There sounds like there may be some gray area between whether the property is abandoned or if the haven’t moved out. Whether you need to evict is a question that I don’t know the answer to.