Did You Leave Personal Property in Your Rental Property? What Were You Thinking?Get Your Stuff Out of That House Right Now!

A couple of weeks ago, my eviction crew went to a house and emptied it. They secured the
home, gave me a call to tell me it was done, and I gleefully called the property owner to tell him
that the house was empty of people and things. I awaited his joyful response to this news
only to hear him say – What? What? But some of my really expensive tools and lawnmowers
were there! It turns out that he had left all sorts of things there, things that were supposedly off limits to the tenants. After weeks and weeks of talking to this property owner, he says he has had personal property in that rental home. No prior disclosure was ever made to us about that property, and his belongings were now sitting outside for the taking. Luckily, he got to the house in time to rescue his equipment. 

So, maybe you think, well Joe, he did make a mistake, and he did not end up losing his tools. True on both counts; however, he could have lost thousands of dollars worth of items by commingling his property with the tenants’ items, either through misuse and theft by the tenant or by set out and theft after the eviction crew performed the eviction service. 

Do not risk leaving anything of yours at a house you are renting out. Do not do it. And if you
have done it, plan to show up at a very difficult scene  - the eviction set out - to tell the sheriff
what’s yours. And I ask you, who wants to do that?  

If that is not enough to scare you out of leaving your mechanical items, tools, or even cars
behind, consider this. If something goes wrong while your tenants are - um - let’s say
borrowing your stuff, they can sue you for damages and medical expenses simply because the
item they were using belongs to you.

Protect yourself. Do not leave any personal property at a home you are renting out. Do not do
it. You could lose your stuff, get sued, or have to show up later at a contentious move out to
claim your things.