Landlords Must Store Tenant Belongings

Often Arizona tenants will leave personal property on the premises after they have been evicted. As a landlord you cannot simply keep or throw away the former tenant’s belongings. The Arizona Landlord-Tenant Act requires the landlord to you maintain their possessions for at least 14 days.

Per A.R.S. § 33-1368(E) a landlord, must hold the evicted tenant’s possessions for a minimum of 14 days from the day the Writ of Restitution was issued. As the landlord, you may;

Keep the tenant’s belongings that the rental property for the 14 days,
Move the tenant’s belongings to an off-site storage facility,
Require the tenant to reimburse you for the actual cost of moving and storing their belongings during the 14 day period,
Prohibit the tenants from ever returning to the property without your explicit permission.
As a landlord you may NOT;

Require the tenant pay for the judgment you obtained against them prior to releasing the belongings to them. Meaning you cannot require a tenant pay you for all back rent, late fees, attorneys’ fees, and court costs prior to returning their belongings. (Again, you can only demand payment for the actual cost of storing and moving the belongings.)
Dispose of the tenant’s property prior to the expiration of the 14 days.
If you do choose to remove the tenant’s belongings from the rental property use considerable care, you will be responsible for any damage to their belongings. It is a good idea to photograph, or video the premises, so that you have an inventory of what was left behind. Make sure the date can be verified through the images and video. This will also give you the opportunity to catalog any damage to the rental unit itself. Take the inventory prior to moving any of the personal property from the rental unit.

After the 14 day period, if there has been no contact from the evicted party, and they have not claimed, or made and agreement to claim their property, a landlord may sell the items or dispose of the items that were left behind.

If you need help from an Arizona real estate attorney then contact the Dunaway Law Group at clint@dunawaylg.com or 480-389-6529.

Belongings