What are the laws regarding the abandonment of rental property?
In Tennessee, a landlord must adhere to landlord and tenant law regarding the abandonment of rental property. According to the laws, a landlord may consider a tenant to have abandoned a rental property if they have not made payments for two full months, have been absent for more than 14 consecutive days, or have left personal property behind without their intent to return. If a landlord believes that the tenant has abandoned the rental property, they must notify the tenant in writing of their intent to do so. Next, the landlord must store any items that the tenant left behind, if applicable. The landlord must then make a reasonable effort to re-rent the property with the intention of using any money made from the re-rental to cover any outstanding rent, deposits, and other applicable fees. Any money left over after this must be sent along with a written statement to the tenant’s last known address. If the tenant does not respond to this notification within 30 days, the landlord can go ahead and sell any leftover property (excluding any documents that are considered the tenant’s personal property, for example; birth certificates, etc). Finally, the landlord must abide by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which requires them to refrain from harassing the tenant and to act in a professional and legal manner regarding the abandoned rental property. In the end, the tenant is entitled to any money left over from the re-rental and sale of their property.
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