Eviction

questions & answers

Question: x boyfriend has not at my house for other a month. No bills or nothing was in his name, my name only. I own house. He has been gone for over a month. How do I get him to come get the rest of his stuff out of my driveway.

Answer: Although the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies only to tenants of houses and condos and apartments, rather than mere short-term guests, what the Act says about “abandoned” personal belongings is that the landlord (owner) should send to the person whose property remains at the residence a “notice of abandonment” by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the tenant’s last known address and to any of the tenant’s alternate addresses known to the landlord (A.R.S. 33-1370). The basic idea is that the owner should make sure to notify the person whose belongings remain at the residence that they need to come collect their belongings and that their belongings with be sold or trashed if they do not come to collect them within a specific (and reasonable) period of time. The “certified mail, return receipt” requirement is designed to ensure (1) that the person whose belongings remain at the residence actually receives the owner’s notice and (2) that the owner has proof that they gave notice to the person whose belongings remain at the residence. This is important in case the person whose belongings remain at the residence later claims that they did not know that their belongings were there and asks a court to require the owner to pay them monetary compensation for the value of their belongings. In other words, the owner should make sure to protect themselves from any possible future claim.