While you won’t ever see that headline in a personal ads section, the issue of a unit being abandoned is something that a landlord may have to deal with occasionally. No landlord wants to have their unit abandoned, but knowing what to do and following proper procedure is one way to make the process easier and more efficient.
Notice/evidence of abandonment
The landlord will either be informed of an abandonment by the tenant via a notice, or he will have to figure it out for himself with evidence that suggests abandonment. In Nevada, if the tenant does not provide notice of abandonment, it is presumed that the tenant has abandoned the premises if the tenant is absent from the premises for a period of time equal to one-half the time for periodic rental payments (so, in most cases half of a month). However, if the rent is current or the tenant has notified the landlord in writing of an intended absence the abandonment cannot be presumed.
Personal property left behind
The landlord is allowed to dispose of abandoned personal property, with some limitations. It’s typical in most states that the landlord must wait a certain amount of time before selling or discarding personal property, and Nevada does have a 30 day time frame.
Under Nevada law the landlord must provide a reasonably safe storage location for the property for 30 days after an abandonment or eviction by the tenant. This 30 day period also pertains to personal property left behind by a tenant that leaves at the end of an agreement term. The landlord can charge for and collect the costs of moving and storing the property before releasing the property to the tenant.
Once the 30-day period expires the landlord can dispose of the property and recover the reasonable costs of dealing with the property from the value of the property itself. Prior to disposing of the property the landlord must have made reasonable efforts to locate the tenant, notified the tenant in writing of the landlord’s intention to dispose of the property, and have waited 14 days since the notice was given to the tenant to take any action on disposal.
