When a tenant leaves without any prior notice, despite an ongoing contract with you, you as the landowner end up with the burden of an abandoned home. Although you might be able to get in touch with your previous tenants, it might take months to find a new one and you should not let your property stay abandoned without attention. Hence, if you do not want your valuable property to fall victim to squatters and delinquents, or any kind of weather, water or fire damage over time, you will have to address the issue as soon as possible.

Do not rush into reclaiming the property

Although you should reclaim your property and get rid of everything left behind by your previous tenant, it’s important to understand that, even if your tenant is gone for a couple of weeks or more, they might not truly be gone. Moreover, if you repossess your property while they are gone, and in the off chance that they return, you will be liable for unlawful eviction, and so, face charges. Hence it is important to determine ahead of time, whether or not your property has truly been abandoned.

What are the steps you can take to know if your property has been abandoned?

Here are some ways to find out if your tenant has truly abandoned your property:

1. If it has been a while since the property has been empty, however, the tenant has continued to pay rent, then they might truly not be away but rather could be engaged with some other matter. On the other hand, if you are unable to contact your tenant, and thetenant has stopped paying rent, you can be sure that you now have an abandoned property on your hands.
2. Calling up your previous tenant’s emergency contact is an excellent way of determining whether or not your tenants have truly abandoned your property. From there, according to the answer given by the closest contacts, you may further proceed to reclaim your property.
3. Asking your neighbors whether or not they have seen the previous tenants move out, is another quick way of knowing if your previous tenants have abandoned the property or not.
4. Usually, given a 24-hour notice, you are allowed to come in and check whether your tenants have truly abandoned the property. During your check, if you find that the utilities are turned off, your tenants have abandoned you and your property.
5. Finally, if you find that trash has accumulated over time without attendance, your tenants have either forgotten to take the trash out, or they have abandoned your property, with the latter being the more likely cause.

Closing Thoughts

With all of these different scenarios in mind, plan out your next step carefully, as a misstep will only come back to bite you if you do decide to rent out your property to new tenants and your older ones show up again. Therefore, it is important to have an abandonment clause in the contract when you are leasing the property to ensure security and safety for both parties.