Rental tenant moved out after being served with eviction. They left a washer and dryer in the home. Do I have the right to keep these?
I am a Texas park owner.
Your state should have statutes that govern abandoned properties within the landlord tenant act.
Chances are you may have to store all property for a certain period of time, after which the statutes dictate how the material can be dealt with. States vary greatly. Some states allow you to put the property on the nearest right of way at the time of eviction (which typically ends in a neighborhood free for all) while others states are much more concervative and tenant friendly.
At some point it is likely that the property will be yours to deal with. If the property has to be stored for say 10 days before disposal, you may simply just keep them in the home, paint and clean around them and then after the expiration of the storage time, get rid of them or keep them.
Chances are the tenants owe you money and if they haven’t returned in that time then you are not likely to have anyone to worry about anyways. Honestly it might be nice to have them come back so you can remind them of the money they owe and the additional storage fees now due on the appliances and other stuff left behind!
Your landlord/tenant laws should be available online.
Tony
Rwynn, here are the Texas statutes online. They have an excellent search feature.
http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/statutes.html
If your tenants were not actually evicted, i.e. the sheriff came and removed them, then the property is abandoned. Do a search on “abandoned property” in the statutes and you will get your answer. Or, you could call your local JP’s office and see if they can advise you.
Heather (TX)