Moving out can be a stressful process for tenants. Along with coordinating moving logistics and packing their belongings, they also need to handle end of tenancy cleaning to ensure the property is ready for the move-out inspection.
With so many things to do, it’s not uncommon for tenants to leave stuff behind when moving out, including personal belongings like furniture, clothing, kitchenware, and electronics.
Additionally, some tenants may even leave behind trash or mail on the property. More often than not, renters forget to change their mailing address when they move out.
Having to deal with mail from previous tenants while also having to coordinate property inspections, repairs, maintenance, and showings can be incredibly stressful for landlords.
In this article, the experts at Bigham & Associates will go over the best ways to deal with mail from previous landlords. Keep reading to learn more!
Familiarize Yourself with Privacy Laws
Familiarizing yourself with privacy laws can go a long way as a landlord. It helps you respect tenants’ rights, avoid legal disputes, and ensure compliance with local and federal regulations. It can also be crucial when handling the security deposit and mail left behind by former tenants.
It’s important to know that opening or disposing of mail addressed to someone else without their explicit consent is considered a crime.
According to the United States Code, Title 18, Section 1702, anyone who intentionally opens, tampers, or steals mail not belonging to them can face costly fines or up to five years in prison.
Additionally, the offender may be subject to civil lawsuits for damages. To avoid breaching privacy laws, you must know how to deal with mail addressed to previous tenants.
If you ever receive mail addressed to a tenant who has moved out, you should abstain from opening, shredding, recycling, or disposing of the mail, as these actions can have serious legal consequences.
You should also avoid returning mail indiscriminately. Some packages or documents may be urgent or time-sensitive.
Returning these types of mail to the sender can cause unnecessary stress to your former tenants. Instead, it’s best to contact the tenant to let them know you received their mail and work out a solution.
Get in Touch with Previous Tenants
If you receive mail from previous tenants, the first thing you should do is try to contact them. This will give you an opportunity to communicate the problem and find a solution, whether it’s sending the mail to the tenant’s new address or storing the mail until tenants can come pick it up.
Additionally, you should ask tenants to fill out a Change of Address form with the local USPS office to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Forward the Mail to the Tenant’s New Address
If you’re unable to contact the former tenant but have their new address, you can simply forward their mail.
You can do it by either redirecting mail through the postal service or a reputable shipping company, or by manually forwarding it.
To do so, you must simply cross out the old address on each envelope or package, write “Forward to” followed by the tenant’s new address, and place the mail back in the mailbox. The post carrier will do the rest!
Return the Mail to the Sender
If you don’t have your former tenants’ new address, you can simply return their mail to the original sender. You can do this by simply writing “Return to sender” on the package and putting it back in your mailbox.
Returning unwanted mail to the sender will prevent the accumulation of unclaimed items on your property, while also avoiding legal issues related to handling third-party property without authorization.
Put Up a Sign
Manually forwarding or returning mail addressed to a former tenant can be an annoying and time-consuming task, especially if the issue persists for long enough.
If you don’t have the time to do this but don’t want mail addressed to former tenants to be sent to your house, you can simply put up a sign next to the mailbox that says “[Previous tenant’s name] doesn’t live here” or “[Tenant’s Name] moved.”
This way, the post carrier won’t leave any correspondence addressed to them on your property.
Contact Postal Services
If none of the solutions above work and you’re still receiving mail addressed to previous tenants, it’s time to contact your local postal office.
Chances are that the USPS has your tenant’s new address on file and can make sure that any mail addressed to them is no longer sent to your rental property.
If they don’t have your tenant’s new address or contact information, they can help you determine the appropriate next steps, such as returning packages to senders, storing them temporarily, or disposing of them following approved guidelines.
Bottom Line
There are a lot of things landlords must do when tenants move out, such as scheduling a walk-through property inspection, addressing maintenance needs and repairs, and advertising their rental properties.
This can be an incredibly stressful time, especially if tenants have left some of their belongings behind or forgot to change their mailing address.
Now, you know that you should never open, tamper, or dispose of any mail addressed to a former tenant. Instead, it’s best to try to contact the renter and set a time for them to pick up their packages.
If that’s not possible, you can forward the mail to their new address or return it directly to the sender. By following these steps, you can effectively handle mail from previous tenants while complying with legal requirements.
If you have any more questions about what to do with mail or belongings left behind by previous tenants, contact Bigham & Associates!
