When the tenant abandons the dwelling unit, the landlord does not acquire a lien on the tenant’s personal property. §§47-8-36.1(A) and 48-3-5.
Before disposing of the tenant’s personal property, the landlord must:
- store all of the tenant’s personal property left on the premises for not less than thirty days;
- serve the resident with written notice stating the landlord’s intent to dispose of the personal property on a date not less than thirty days from the date of the notice. The notice shall also contain a telephone number and address where the resident can reasonably contact the owner prior to the disposition date in the notice;
- personally deliver the notice of intent to dispose of personal property to the resident or send it by first class mail, postage prepaid, to the resident’s last known address. If the notice is returned as undeliverable, or if the resident's last known address is the vacated dwelling unit, the landlord must serve at least one notice to such other address as the tenant provided, including the address of the resident's place of employment, or of a family member or emergency contact for which the owner has a record; and
- provide reasonable access and adequate opportunities for the tenant to retrieve all of the property stored prior to any disposition.
§47-8-34.1(A).
The owner may dispose of the stored property only if the resident does not claim or attempt to retrieve the stored personal property before the date specified in the notice of disposition of the property. §47-8-34.1(A)(6).
The landlord may charge the resident reasonable storage fees for any time that the owner provided storage for the resident's personal property and the prevailing rate of moving fees. The landlord may require payment of storage and moving costs prior to the release of the property. §47-8-34.1(G).
