Removing contractor's belongings from property

[katejohnson]

On Friday afternoon, we had a conflict with 2 contractors who were doing work on our townhouse which we are renting in Virginia. They were being disrespectful and careless with our property. Immediately following the incident, we terminated the working relationship and asked them to leave. They collected some of their equipment and left.

However one of them left some of his personal belongings and work equipment behind, as it was too much to take in his vehicle. We texted him the same afternoon asking him to remove his belongings by this Sunday and return our spare key. He did not reply or come by to collect his belongings. We texted him again earlier today, Sunday, to remind him to pick up his things. Again, we did not hear back from him. We are planning on changing the locks asap.

We texted him that if he does not pick up this belongings by next Friday we will consider them abandoned and we will donate them to charity.

Are our actions legally sound or do we need to do anything differently to remove his belongings from our townhouse?

Thanks for your advice!

 

[justalayman]

No your actions are not legally sound. Not only must you follow your state's laws regarding abandoned property it isn't clear you had the right to terminate the contract without being indebted to the contractor for the remisnder of their profits.

 

[STEPHAN]

Write a letter, send it by certified mail return receipt. Stop texting.

Does your contract even allow you to terminate it like this?