Tenant Abandonment of Property

[Rebekah Nation]

Hello everyone,

I’m a first time landlord and I just delivered a 7 day notice to pay or vacate to a tenant for non-payment of rent. I did get in touch with him afterwards and he said he would pay in the outlined timeframe, but he hasn’t and now I can’t get in touch with him via phone. I’ve talked to one of his neighbors who said it looks like he moved out and that no one has been there for a couple of weeks. When I drove by a few evenings ago, it appeared vacant. I have contacted the water company and of course, he hasn’t paid the water bill since October, but more importantly, he hasn’t used any water for the past 2 weeks. Everything is pointing to him abandoning the property. I live in Georgia and I want to act in accordance with the law so my question is, how do I determine from a legal perspective that he has in fact abandoned the property? I know I can’t just go let myself in. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to respond!

[Nathan Gesner]

@Rebekah Nation

You actually can just let yourself in. You have every reason to believe the tenant has abandoned the property and they are not communicating with you. You have to go in to inspect and protect your property.

Usually, tenants abandon the property and leave junk behind. It's nothing of value and unlikely they will take you to court to sue you for a broken dresser or a 10-year-old stained mattress. If it looks like abandoned trash, dispose of it, clean the property, and get a new renter in. I recommend you take pictures so you can prove what it is you disposed of in case the tenant does come back. In 10 years with 400 rentals, I have never had a tenant return. If you do find something that may have value, I recommend you place it in storage (even if it's your garage) and wait a couple months to see if they come for it.

Regardless of what you find, it is important for every landlord to understand what the law says regarding an abandoned property and anything left behind.