Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New Jersey
With My Luck...
A couple of years ago, I argued and won before a judge two cases(on separate occasions) against the same person; tenant abandonment and personal property abandonment. I did receive a small amount of back rent from his bank, courtesy of the court and the court officer. The time to expect anything further has long expired. His property still remains in my basement. Even though I won that case and followed the judges instructions to the letter, regarding time tables, notification letters, etc., is there any sort of ''statute of limitations'' for how long I must
''store'' his abandoned personal property? With my luck, I'll sell it, throw it out, whatever and two years from now get a knock at my door and wanting it back!
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: With My Luck...
you must comply with the NJ Abandoned Property Act by sending a "33-day" letter by certified mail to tenant's current address or his last known address. E-mail me if you want the form.
Re: With My Luck...
If you have notified him of a deadline for picking up his belongings by certified mail and have retained the notice and the certified mail receipt and the deadline is long ago passed you can dispose of his belongings now.
Gary Moore, Esquire
Hackensack, New Jersey
www.garymooreattorneyatlaw.com
Re: With My Luck...
The statute on tenant's property is not an model of clarity but on the issues that you raise it is fairly readable. There are two provisions that apply to your situation:
1. Properly notified, the tenant has only thirty days to retrieve property that has been left behind.
2. If you receive value when you dispose of the property, you must credit the client's account accordingly after deducting the reasonable costs of storage and sale.
If there is still a significant amount of money owed on the judgment, you should consider having the judgment docketed as a lien against the tenant's real property. That is not very costly and the lien is good for twenty years agaist every piece of real property the tenant owns or may come to own in NJ.
See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm
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