What’s An Alabama landlord to do?

The first thing to do is to try to determine if the tenant is in the process of moving or has abandoned the property.  Obviously, if the tenant dropped off the keys to the unit, there isn’t much of a question as to the tenant’s intent. If the tenant simply left the property with no notice either by abandonment or because eviction was eminent, you may want to make an effort to determine whether the tenant intended to abandon the property.

Some things to consider would be:

• Whether there are expensive items that the tenant would probably take if they were moving.
• Whether the utilities are on.
• Whether the neighbors can give you an idea of how long it has been since the tenant has been on the property.
• Whether there is old mail in the mailbox addressed to the tenant.
• Whether the items left in the apartment have been moved  or the number of items has decreased since your last visit.

If you have satisfied yourself that the tenant has left the property, you have no duty to house the tenant’s belongings for more than 14 days. Once that period has passed, you may dispose of the property in any way that you see fit, including sale or discarding the items.  As always, if the removal of the tenant’s items causes you to spend money or resources to clean the property, you may, of course, deduct those expenses from any security deposit that may have been due the tenant.