Tenant broke lease, said they moved and left their things.

[Tim Phillips]

Hi,

We have a tenant that was late on rent and I could not get a hold of, they finally got back to me today via text(week late on rent) saying they have moved out of state and will not be returning and have mailed the keys back to us.

They obviously did not give notice of leaving, but also left their belongings in the apartment .Furniture(Chair, couch, bed, etc), kitchen items, and other random things. I do not care about them coming back or even missed rent, I just want to move on without issue.

What do I legally need to do get rid of their things/change locks so I can rent the unit? Is that text enough to go off and I can just get rid of everything? *IF* I could get them to respond again and sign a paper releasing the unit/apt would that be enough or is there a more legal procedure I need to file? I can’t mail them anything since I do not know their new address and right now no clue if they will reply again. I wanted to have some more information before I tried again with them.

Sent a few texts, but no reply regarding their things.

Is an apartment unit in Akron, OH.

Would appreciate any guidance, first time having to deal with anything like this.

[Anthony Wick]

@Tim Phillips

They have told you they are living elsewhere, not coming back, and have mailed you the keys. The returning the keys part is huge. You can change the locks ASAP and rent out the unit.

Now, for the personal property portion. You should review your local laws for abandonment of property. Most likely you may need to store it for 30-60 days and notify tenant they have until such and such date to retrieve the property.

Most importantly, turn the unit and get it rented out. Use their damage deposit for missed rent and damage. Notify them in writing what their damage deposit was used for (usually within 30 days). And then file appropriate paperwork through courts for abandonment of property and/or monies owed.

This is almost identical to what I am doing with a unit right now.