Re: personal property abandonment - Landlord Forum thread 353903

Re: personal property abandonment by Bryant on August 17, 2017 @18:25

I would not follow this [Then dispose of everything any way you want. If there was anything of value left by the Ts, it will be up to them to take you to court and prove you did something wrong.]

The landlord would be the one who has to prove that they were justified in disposing of the tenants property. The law considers any landlord that takes possession of property left behind to create a bailment where the landlord is legally required to protect the property for a period of time. The following is from a Ohio law firm page-

A landlord in Ohio has the duty to safeguard a tenant's abandoned property for at least 30 days. The landlord may store a tenant's personal property from an abandoned rental unit in a different location, including a storage locker or unit, and must inform the tenant in writing of where she may claim the property. If the tenant doesn't respond, the landlord may sell or discard the tenant's personal property after the 30-day limit expires. A landlord may auction off any personal property valued over $300. Many municipalities in Ohio have their own ordinances.

The problem is that there is no state guildelines on what a landlord must do with a tenants abandoned property. So many local municipalities have developed their own regulations a landlord should be awar of. Still, the recumended course of action is to seek an eviction for possession to avoid any issues.

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