When tenants disappear

[Steven Luttman]

Hi all,

Seeking guidance on a tenant related matter in Saratoga County, NY (30 minutes north of Albany/Troy). Lease began in March and at the moment are past due for the month of July. A domestic incident has caused the wife to leave the state, and the husband is MIA on a drug bender. It's my understanding that the wife had an order of protection issued against him earlier this month. Because of this, it's possible he doesn't yet know that his wife has left. His phone has been disconnected. Prior to her leaving, I asked the wife to sign a lease cancellation. Where I'm seeking advice is:
1) Am I able to reclaim the apartment due to it being "abandoned"?

2) Does one party signing a cancellation (in this case the wife) provide me the ability to cancel the lease in full against both tenants?

Thanks!
-Steve

[Richard F.]

Aloha,

Check to see if utility services have been stopped. Post a "Notice of Entry" with proper timeframe per local law. Securely tape it so that it is across the door jamb and to the door, so that you will be able to easily see if someone has entered since posting. Once the legal notice period has passed, enter, preferably with a witness, and either way with a camera, and fully document with photos the conditions found. Open the refer...is is full or mostly empty? Check the kitchen cabinets, medicine cabinet, and bathroom sink area for typical products, count toothbrushes. Open closets, full or mostly empty? Are there a lot of shoes in the entry area or bedrooms? Are there any obvious items of value such as computers or jewelry sitting out in the open? If all you are finding is a few mismatched pieces of furniture with no clear value, and a lot of rubbish, maybe some personal items strewn about, with no "normal" indicators of current use, and especially if utils are off; or if you find the house keys sitting on the kitchen counter or hanging by the door, these are all pretty good indicators it has been abandoned. You need to decide if it is worth waiting out the local "abandoned property" holding/storage period or not. Most of the time, I will not. Just document conditions thoroughly, and if anything of true value is located in the process of cleaning out, hold it sufficiently long in case a someone comes forward.