Abandoned Property of Tenants or Renters Laws in Tennessee
State laws govern the rights landlords have when their tenants abandon property without properly terminating their leases. In most states, landlords have duties to safeguard their tenants' abandoned property for at least 30 days. Most states allow landlords to re-lease abandoned apartments after sending written notice to tenants' legal address or after posting notices on the doors. In Tennessee, the Tennessee Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act allows landlords remove their tenants' property after waiting 30 days in most cases.
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Tennessee Law
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The legally complicated cases of abandonment occur when landlords are not certain that their tenants have abandoned their property or are temporarily absent but intend to return. Because it would not be fair to require landlords to forgo renting their homes to replacement tenants by requiring them to wait indefinitely, Tennessee law provides them with a bright-line rule to establish abandonment. According to the Tennessee Uniform Landlord and Tenant Act, a tenant who is absent for at least 30 days without providing advance notice and without prepaying rent to cover her absence gives her landlord a justifiable legal excuse to enter her rental. In this case, a landlord can enter his tenant's home and collect any remaining property.
Remedies
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After collecting his tenant's abandoned property, the landlord must give him at least 30 days to retrieve it. Thus, in Tennessee, a landlord must usually wait at least 30 days before she can re-rent the home unless she has absolute abandonment proof. After 30 days, she must collect her tenant's abandoned property and safeguard it as her bailment duty. After 30 days and after providing notice, she may sell or discard her tenant's abandoned property. If she sells it and actually earns a profit after deducting for storage costs, unpaid monthly rent and any other incidental expenses, the landlord must hold any profits for six months. If the tenant attempts to retrieve his property from his landlord, he must refund any surplus.
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Limitations
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The Tennessee Landlord and Tenant Act does not apply to all rental transactions. Counties with fewer than 68,000 residents have the legal discretion to adopt the act. These small counties can also pass similar laws governing their residential landlord and tenant transactions. Counties with 68,000 or more residents are governed by the act and must comply with the terms of the statute.
Considerations
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Since state laws can frequently change, do not use this information as a substitute for legal advice. Seek advice through an attorney licensed to practice law in your state.
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