Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Indiana

What to do if tenants move out and don't pay what they owe in rent before leavin

I am wanting to know if a tenant moves out and still owes 2 months of rent total of $1200.00, and if they leave any stuff in the house they are renting from me is it leagal for me to keep the things they left. Considering that they still owe 1200 for past due rent?


Asked on 1/22/02, 10:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Mary Ann Wunder Wunder & Wunder

Skipped Tenant; disposition of remaining property

Once a tenant departs without cleaning out the rental unit, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether what is left is trash or someone's treasures.

The best thing to do is to sue the tenant for the past due rent and ask the judge for permission to apply the value of the contents to the amount of judgment. If you don't have a forwarding address, then use the address for a relative that was given to you when the tenant moved in or his place of employment as the address.

Too many small landlords have just cleaned out the apartment and rerented only to find that the tenant comes back and asserts that the property left there was valuable.

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Answered on 1/23/02, 9:41 am


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