Free Abandoned Property Notice to Former Tenant (All States)

Direct answer: when a tenant leaves belongings behind after the tenancy ends, the landlord should send a written notice describing the property, stating where and by what date it can be claimed, and explaining what will happen if it is not claimed, and must follow the state’s timing and delivery rules before disposing of anything. The rules differ by state. California requires a claim date at least 15 days after personal delivery or 18 days after mailing (Civ. Code 1983); Florida at least 10 days after personal delivery or 15 days after mailing (Fla. Stat. 715.104); Arizona requires the landlord to hold property for fourteen calendar days after retaking an abandoned unit (A.R.S. 33-1370). Some states have no specific statute, which makes a written notice and a reasonable claim period the landlord’s best protection.

Choose the state first, then describe the property and set a claim deadline that meets your state’s minimum. The notice prints the storage-cost warning and your chosen disposition statement, limited to what your state’s law allows.

An abandoned property notice is a landlord’s written notice to a former tenant, and to anyone else who may own the items, that personal property was left at the rental, where it can be reclaimed, and the deadline for doing so. California’s statutory version is titled “Notice of Right to Reclaim Abandoned Property” (Civ. Code 1984), which is why the PDF this page generates uses a similar heading.

The notice exists to balance two interests. The landlord needs the unit back, cleared, and ready to rent. The former tenant still owns the belongings, and leaving them behind is not always a decision to give them up: people move in a hurry, are hospitalized, are evicted, or simply run out of time. States that regulate this area require the landlord to give fair notice and a reasonable chance to reclaim before the property can be sold, kept or thrown away, and in return they often limit the landlord’s liability once the procedure is followed.

Generally when the tenancy has ended, whether by expiration, surrender, abandonment of the unit or a court judgment, and the tenant has vacated but left belongings behind. California’s statute applies “where personal property remains on the premises after a tenancy has terminated and the premises have been vacated by the tenant” (Civ. Code 1983(a)); Florida’s applies “after a tenancy has terminated or expired and the premises have been vacated by the tenant, through eviction or otherwise” (Fla. Stat. 715.104(1)).

Whether the unit itself has been abandoned is a separate and sometimes harder question. Arizona gives a precise definition: abandonment means the tenant’s absence without notice for at least seven days while rent is outstanding and unpaid for ten days and there is no reasonable evidence other than the presence of personal property that the tenant is occupying the unit, or absence for at least five days with rent unpaid for five days and none of the tenant’s property in the unit (A.R.S. 33-1370(J)). Arizona then requires a notice of abandonment sent by certified mail and posted at the unit for five days before the landlord may retake it (A.R.S. 33-1370(A), (B)).

Common signs landlords rely on include unpaid rent, utilities shut off, mail piling up, neighbors reporting a move, keys returned or left inside, and no response to calls or letters. None of these alone proves abandonment. Where your state has no definition and the facts are unclear, treat the unit as occupied and use the eviction process; entering and clearing a unit that a tenant has not in fact abandoned is an unlawful lockout. The model Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act permits a landlord to recover possession without court action only “in case of abandonment, surrender, or as permitted in this Act” (URLTA section 4.207).

At least the minimum your state sets, measured the way your statute says; the verified examples below range from ten to eighteen days after the notice, depending on the state and on whether the notice was delivered by hand or mailed.

Two details matter in practice. First, where a statute gives a longer period for mailed notices, as California and Florida do, choose the deadline based on how you are actually delivering the notice. Second, the period is a minimum. Giving a few extra days costs little and makes the notice harder to attack.

We publish state-specific notices for twelve states; use them where they apply, and use this national notice with your state’s statute everywhere else.

For every other state, start with our guide to handling abandoned property and the state’s landlord-tenant law overview: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. If your state has no statute on the subject, a written notice with a reasonable claim period, a careful inventory and proof of delivery is the safest course.

A description of the property, where it can be claimed, the claim deadline, a warning that storage costs may be charged, and what will happen if it is not claimed. California and Florida use nearly identical language for the core requirements: the notice “shall describe the property in a manner reasonably adequate to permit the owner of the property to identify it,” shall advise “that reasonable costs of storage may be charged before the property is returned,” and shall state “where the property may be claimed” and “the date before which the claim must be made” (Civ. Code 1983(b); Fla. Stat. 715.104(2)). The form above covers each element, plus:

• Every former tenant, and any other likely owner, such as a furniture rental company or a co-occupant who was not on the lease.
• The address the notice is sent to, and any second address.
• How and when the tenancy ended, which shows the property was left after the tenancy was over.
• The date the list was made and whether photographs were taken.
• Days and hours for pickup, so the tenant has a real opportunity to reclaim.
• Your contact details and signature.

By the method your statute names, to the last known address and to any other address where the person may reasonably be expected to receive it. California and Florida both allow personal delivery or first-class mail, postage prepaid, to the person’s last known address, and require a copy to any other known address if there is reason to believe the notice sent to the last known address will not be received. California adds that when the notice is mailed to the former tenant, “one copy shall be sent to the premises vacated by the tenant,” and that the landlord may also email the notice if the former tenant provided an email address (Civ. Code 1983(c)). Arizona’s notice of abandonment of the unit goes by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address and any alternate addresses known to the landlord, and is also posted on the door or another conspicuous place for five days (A.R.S. 33-1370(A)).

Whatever the method, keep proof: the certificate of mailing or certified mail receipt, copies of every envelope, and a note of the date. Because the claim period often runs from mailing, the mailing date is the fact you will most need to prove.

Safely, with reasonable care, in a place the tenant can reach during the claim period. Arizona’s statute, for example, allows storage in the vacated unit, another available unit, landlord-owned storage space, or off-site storage, requires the landlord to “use reasonable care in moving and holding” the property, and does not require the landlord to store perishable items, plants or animals on the tenant’s behalf; it also sets specific steps for abandoned animals (A.R.S. 33-1370(E), (F)). Wherever you store items, photograph them, keep them together, and record their location on the notice.

Storage costs are usually recoverable only if the notice warned about them and only to the extent they are reasonable. Arizona lets the landlord require payment of actual removal and storage costs before releasing the property, but still lets the tenant obtain clothing, the tools, apparatus and books of a trade or profession, and identification or financial documents, including documents related to immigration status, employment, public assistance or medical care, without paying first (A.R.S. 33-1370(F)).

It depends on the state and often on the property’s value: some states require a public sale, some permit keeping or disposing of low-value property, and some allow donation.

• California: unreleased property “shall be sold at public sale by competitive bidding,” after notice published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, with the last publication at least five days before the sale; but “if the landlord reasonably believes that the total resale value of the property not released is less than seven hundred dollars,” the landlord may keep it or dispose of it in any manner (Civ. Code 1988).
• Arizona: after holding the property fourteen days, if the tenant makes no reasonable effort to recover it, the landlord may donate it to a qualifying charity or sell it; sale proceeds go first to outstanding rent and covered costs, and “excess proceeds shall be mailed to the tenant at the tenant’s last known address”; the landlord must keep records of the sale and hold undeliverable excess proceeds for twelve months (A.R.S. 33-1370(F), (G)).
• Other states: rules range from detailed sale procedures to no statute at all. Nolo notes that some states require unclaimed sale proceeds to be paid to a government agency; check your state’s law before keeping any surplus.

Choose the disposition statement in the form that matches your state’s rule, and do not promise or threaten anything your state does not permit.

Release it on the terms your state allows, usually after payment of reasonable storage and removal costs, and document the release. Arizona sets a specific rule: if the tenant notifies the landlord in writing, on or before the date the landlord sells or disposes of the property, that the tenant intends to remove it, the tenant has five days to reclaim it, paying only the removal and storage costs for the period it was stored (A.R.S. 33-1370(H)). Everywhere, have the person sign a short receipt listing what was taken and when, and confirm identity before releasing anything, especially where a second possible owner was also notified.

Often, if the lease and state law allow the cost of removing items left behind to be treated as a cleaning or damage charge, but it must be itemized like any other deduction and must not double-count costs recovered from the property itself. Removal of trash and furniture left in the unit is a common, documented deduction; keep the hauling receipt and list it on the security deposit return letter. If you also sell property and apply the proceeds to rent or storage costs, show both on your records so the tenant can see nothing was charged twice. The deposit accounting has its own deadline, so do not let the property process delay it; see security deposit return deadlines by state.

• Treating an occupied unit as abandoned and removing belongings: that is a lockout, not an abandonment.
• Disposing of property before the claim date, or without sending a notice where the state requires one.
• A vague description (“miscellaneous items”) that the owner cannot use to identify the property, or leaving items out of the notice.
• Opening locked containers and inviting claims about their contents.
• Sending only to an address you know is stale, or forgetting the copy to the vacated premises where required.
• Keeping sale proceeds your state requires you to return or turn over.
• No records: photos, inventory, mailing proof and receipts are your defense.

Most of these problems begin with a tenancy that went wrong. Thorough tenant screening, with the right screening reports, reduces how often you face a rushed move-out and a unit full of belongings.

• Cal. Civil Code sections 1983, 1984 and 1988, official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
• Fla. Stat. section 715.104, official text at leg.state.fl.us
• Ariz. Rev. Stat. section 33-1370, official text at azleg.gov
• Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (1972), section 4.207
• Nolo, “Handling a Tenant’s Abandoned Property: Legal Notice Requirements” (updated 2026)

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