How Long Do You Have To Keep Someone's Belongings After They Move Out (And Why)?

How Long Do You Have To Keep Someone’s Belongings After They Move Out (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 15 to 30 days

Not all people live in their own homes. Many people are employees who need to move frequently for the pursuit of their professional careers. In such a case, it is logical for them not to buy a house but rather rent a suitable and affordable house.

Although, they might soon need to move out. However, they may require certain additional time to move their belongings out or unknowingly forget to take some of their usable with them. This makes it legally binding on the lender to give them the appropriate time to move out or inform them as the case may be.

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How Long Do You Have To Keep Someone’s Belongings After They Move Out?

Stage Of Moving OutTime Taken
Notice for Reclaiming of old possessions18 days
Removal and storage fees charged72 hours
Surrender of Belongings after the payment of fees72 hours
Disposal of Someone’s belongings if no response receivedAfter 18 hours

Every country and even every state in the United States of America has its own set of rules. This makes the task of compiling data of every country on the planet at one place a pretty arduous task. However, a general form of data related to the above-mentioned topic is summarised in the article.

When a person moves from a house, their landlord may find the belongings of the person still in the house. In that scenario, the homeowner can send them a notice asking them to take away their things. This notice lasts for a period of 16 to 20 days at most places.

If the tenant or the previous resident of the house finds the belongings worthy of being brought back, he may approach the landlord. The landlord may ask him for a minimal amount for his safekeeping services.

Once the tenant pays the removal and storage fees, they are eligible of receiving their things from the landlord within 72 hours. All the things should be transferred to the moving person within this time. However, if the items are bulky or voluminous, they can together decide a commonly accepted date for future transfer.

However, if the tenant does not decide to show up within the notice period, it would give the landlord the right to dispose of their items as he feels right. A landlord can either sell them, keep them or simply throw them away.

Why Should You Keep Someone’s Belongings For That Long After They Move Out?

One cannot throw away someone else’s belongings without informing them. A person should have the courtesy to dial back their previous tenant and enquire whether they would need it or not.

It is because some landlords do not give proper time to tenants to move out their belongings that the government has to legislate on the matter. Different countries have different mandated timeframes for the tenant to move their things. However, on an average basis, a tenant has a fortnight to move his belongings out.

Generally, when a person moves out of his previous house, they take away their belongings with them. However, if the items are heavy, the moving-out time gets delayed. In these cases, the tenant is in real need of some extra time, the landlord should co-operate and keep the tenants’ items with them till then.

It may also happen that the tenant has missed some item or forgot to move it out. He would be in just need of time.

In such cases, a notice period of 16 to 20 days is the least which a landlord can go for. A tenant can decide whether he needs those items and is it worth paying for its cartage and transport.

Conclusion

A tenant needs a fair deal of time to move their belongings out. For that period, the landlord needs to be patient and cooperative with the tenant. Generally, this period of keeping someone’s items with oneself lasts for about 15 to 30 days.

The landlord gives notice to the tenant which has a shelf life of 16 to 20 days. If the tenant shows up, well and good. If they do not show up, the landlord has the full right over those items.

References

  1. https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/17/4/398/1797220
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