Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New York
Tenant missing/skipped for two monhts
Our tenant has been missing with no contact for over two months and has not paid any rent, what do we do legally with his belongings? Can we move, sell or eliminate it? If so do we need somehow to notify the person, there is no way of contacting him other than leaving messages on his door which have not been answered for two months.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Tenant missing/skipped for two monhts
oooops, don't perform do-it-yourself eviction in NYS! you need to go through the NY Real Property and Proceedings laws, even for an absent tenant who is a month to month renter. You have grounds for eviction thru the RPAPL due to nonpayment; do so. With the RPAPL, if the tenant/defendant does not answer the summons, he is then summarily evicted (which is OK if he is not there).
Perhaps his belongings are outside the demised premises (in your storage closet); I believe that selling his stuff before he is legally evicted is illegal, as well.
If you are afraid that what he left behind will somehow damage your demised premises, then go thru the usual 'notify tenant that landlord is entering premises' procedure and check around the place.
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