State Laws on Handling Abandoned Property

Where to find your state landlord-tenant law on abandoned property.

Most states regulate the way landlords must handle property left behind (abandoned) by departed tenants. Many set notice requirements as to how landlords must contact tenants regarding abandoned property and what to do if the tenant doesn't respond to the notice. States may also regulate how landlords must store abandoned property and dispose of it if the tenant doesn’t claim his or her belongings. Sometimes state rules on abandoned property vary depending on the circumstances of the tenant's departure (for example, if a tenant moves out after giving proper notice versus someone who is evicted in a court proceeding). For details, check your state statute, listed below. You can find these statutes on the website maintained by the Cornell Legal Information Institute.

State Laws on Handling Abandoned Property
State	Statute	State	Statute
Alabama	Ala. Code 1975 § 35-9A-423	Missouri	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.065
Alaska	Alaska Stat. § 34.03.260	Montana	Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-430
Arizona	Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 33-1370	Nebraska	Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 69-2303 to 69-2314
Arkansas	Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-108	Nevada	Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 118A.450, 118A.460
California	Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1965, 1980 to 1991	New Hampshire	N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540-A:3(VII)
Colorado	Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 38-20-116, 13-40-122	New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 2A:18-72 to 2A:18-84
Connecticut	Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. §§ 47a-11b, 47a-42	New Mexico	N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-34.1
Delaware	Del. Code Ann. tit. 25, §§ 5507, 5715	New York	No statute
D.C.	No statute	North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-25.9, 42-36.2
Florida	Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 715.104 to 715.111	North Dakota	N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-30.1
Georgia	Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-55	Ohio	Ringler v. Sias, 428 N.E.2d 869 (Ohio Ct. App. 1980)
Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-56	Oklahoma	Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 41, § 130
Idaho	Idaho Code § 6-311C	Oregon	Ore. Rev. Stat. §§ 90.425, 105.165
Illinois	735 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/9-318	Pennsylvania	68 P.S. § 250.505a
Indiana	Ind. Code. Ann. §§ 32-31-4-1 to 32-31-4-5, 32-31-5-5	Rhode Island	R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-50
Indiana	Ind. Code. Ann. §§ 32-31-4-1 to 32-31-4-5, 32-31-5-5	South Carolina	S.C. Code Ann. §§ 27-40-710(D), 27-40-730
Iowa	Khan v. Heritage Prop. Mgmt., 584 N.W.2d 725, 730 (Iowa Ct. App. 1998)	South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws Ann. §§ 43-32-25, 43-32-26
Kansas	Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-2565	Tennessee	Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-405
Kentucky	No statute	Texas	Tex. Prop. Code § 92.014
Louisiana	La. Civ. Code § 2707, La. Civ. Proc. § 4705	Utah	Utah Code Ann. § 78B-6-816
Maine	Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 14, §§ 6005, 6013	Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 9, § 4462; Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, § 4854a
Maryland	Md. Code, Real Property, § 8-208	Virginia	Va. Code Ann. §§ 55-225.40 to 55-225.42; 55-248.38:1 to 55-248.38:2
Massachusetts	M.G.L.A. 239 § 4	Washington	Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 59.18.310
Michigan	No statute	West Virginia	W.Va. Code §§ 37-6-6, 55-3A-3
Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 504B.271	Wisconsin	Wis. Stat. Ann. § 704.05(5)
Mississippi	Miss. Code Ann. §§ 89-7-31, 89-7-35, 89-8-13	Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. § 1-21-1210

Updated: November 2017

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