1Amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), entitled "An
2act relating to the rights, obligations and liabilities of
3landlord and tenant and of parties dealing with them and
4amending, revising, changing and consolidating the law
5relating thereto," further providing for disposition of
6abandoned personal property.

7The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8hereby enacts as follows:

9Section 1. Section 505.1 of the act of April 6, 1951
10(P.L.69, No.20), known as The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951,
11added July 5, 2012 (P.L.1091, No.129), is amended to read:

12Section 505.1. Disposition of Abandoned Personal
13Property.--(a) [At the time a tenant has relinquished
14possession of the real property, the tenant shall remove from
15the premises all items of the tenant's personal property. For
16the purposes of this section, a tenant shall be deemed to have
17relinquished possession of the premises upon any of the
18following:

19(1) Execution of an order of possession in favor of the
20landlord.

1(2) If the tenant has physically vacated the premises,
2removal of substantially all personal property and the providing
3of a forwarding address or written notice stating that the
4tenant has vacated the premises.

5(b) Upon relinquishment of the premises under subsection (a)
6and the acceptance of possession of the real property by the
7landlord, the tenant shall have ten days to contact the landlord
8regarding the tenant's intent to remove any personal property
9remaining on the premises. If the intent is conveyed to the
10landlord, the personal property shall be retained by the
11landlord at a site of the landlord's choosing for thirty days.
12If no communication is made to the landlord within ten days, the
13property may be disposed of at the end of the ten days at the
14discretion of the landlord.

15(c) If personal property remains on the premises following
16the relinquishment of the premises by the tenant, the following
17shall apply:

18(1) If there is acceptance of the real property by the
19landlord under subsection (a)(1) and the writ or order of
20possession contained notice of the provisions under subsection
21(b), the landlord shall not be required to provide further
22notice to the tenant.

23(2) If there is acceptance of the real property by the
24landlord under subsection (a)(2) and the lease or lease addendum
25contains notice of the provisions under subsection (b), the
26landlord shall be required to provide written notice to the
27tenant that personal property remains on the premises and must
28be retrieved by the tenant. The notice under this paragraph
29shall give the tenant ten days from the date of postmark of the
30notice to notify the landlord that the tenant will be retrieving

1the personal property. If the intent is conveyed to the
2landlord, the personal property shall be retained by the
3landlord at a site of the landlord's choosing for thirty days
4from the date of postmark of the notice. If no communication is
5made to the landlord within ten days, the property may be
6disposed of at the end of the ten days at the discretion of the
7landlord. The notice shall also include a telephone number and
8address where the landlord can be contacted and shall identify
9the location where such property can be retrieved. The notice
10shall be:

11(i) sent by regular mail to the tenant's forwarding address,
12if provided, or, if no forwarding address is provided, then to
13the formerly leased premises; or

14(ii) by personal delivery to the tenant.

15(3) If the lease or lease addendum does not contain notice
16of the provisions under subsection (b), the landlord, in
17addition to complying with the requirements of paragraph (2),
18shall send notice to any emergency contact that may have been
19provided by the tenant in a lease agreement.

20(4) Any notice required under this subsection shall also
21contain information that the tenant shall be required to pay
22costs related to the removal or storage of property retrieved by
23the tenant after ten days under subsection (f).

24(d) At all times between the acceptance of the premises by
25the landlord and the expiration of the ten- or thirty-day
26periods, the landlord shall exercise ordinary care with regard
27to any personal property that the former tenant has left in or
28on the real property.

29(e) After the appropriate time period under subsection (d)
30has expired, the landlord shall have no further responsibility

1to the former tenant with regard to the personal property and
2may, in the landlord's discretion, dispose of the property. If
3the personal property is sold and proceeds exceed any
4outstanding obligations owed to the landlord, the proceeds shall
5be forwarded to the tenant by certified mail. If no forwarding
6address has been provided to the landlord by the former tenant,
7the landlord shall hold the proceeds for thirty days and, if
8unclaimed, may retain the proceeds.

9(f) If the landlord has issued the notice to the tenant 
10under subsection (c), the landlord may choose to store the 
11tenant's personal property at another location within reasonable 
12proximity to the leased premises. If the landlord elects to have 
13the property stored at another location, the landlord may remove 
14the property from the premises by any means reasonably 
15calculated to safeguard the property for the time period 
16required under this section. A tenant shall not be required to 
17pay any costs related to the removal or storage of the property 
18by the landlord if the former tenant retrieves the personal 
19property within ten days of the date of postmark of the notice. 
20If the former tenant retrieves the personal property after ten 
21days of the date of the postmark of notice but before thirty 
22days, the tenant shall be required to pay any reasonable and 
23actual costs related to the removal or storage of the property 
24by the landlord for that time period.] Upon the termination of a 
25lease or relinquishment of possession of real property, a tenant 
26shall remove all personal property from the leased or formerly 
27leased premises. Abandoned personal property remaining on the 
28premises may be disposed of at the discretion of the landlord, 
29subject to the provisions of this section.

30(b) Personal property remaining on the premises may be

1deemed abandoned if any of the following apply:

2(1) It remains upon the premises following the termination
3of a written lease or the execution of an eviction order or
4order for possession in favor of the landlord.

5(2) The tenant has physically vacated the premises and
6removed substantially all other personal property upon:

7(i) written notice indicating that the tenant has
8relinquished possession;

9(ii) provision or confirmation of a forwarding address; or

10(iii) entry of an order for possession in favor of the
11landlord.

12(3)  The tenant has physically vacated the premises, the rent
13is more than fifteen days past due, and the landlord has posted
14notice of the tenant's rights regarding the property.

15(c) If a tenant is deceased, the personal representative of
16the estate shall succeed to the rights and obligations of the
17tenant, and the landlord may advise the personal representative
18thereof, in accordance with subsection (d), if more than
19fourteen days have passed since the issuance of a death
20certificate and the rent is at least fifteen days past due. If
21the landlord has not been contacted by a personal representative
22and has no reason to know who the personal representative is,
23the landlord shall make reasonable attempts to find and notify a
24personal representative, and shall mail the notice to the
25address of the leased premises and to any emergency contact or
26other person known to the landlord.

27(d) Prior to removing or disposing of abandoned property,
28the landlord must provide notice in substantially the following
29form:

30"Personal property remaining at (address) is now considered

1to have been abandoned. Within ten days of the postmark date
2of this notice, you must retrieve any items you wish to keep
3or contact your landlord at (telephone number and address) to
4make other suitable arrangements. You have the right to
5request that the property be retained or stored for a period
6not exceeding 30 days. Storage will be provided at a place of
7your landlord's choosing and you will be responsible for
8costs."

9The notice shall be sent by first class mail to the tenant at
10the address of the leased premises and to any forwarding address
11provided by the tenant, including any address provided for
12emergency purposes.

13(e) At all times, the landlord shall exercise ordinary care
14in handling and securing the tenant's property, and the landlord
15and tenant shall be held to a standard of good faith and fair
16dealing. If the tenant requests that the property be retained or
17stored, the landlord shall make the property reasonably
18available to the tenant for purposes of retrieval. If the tenant
19does not request storage or make other arrangements for
20retrieving the property within ten days of the postmark date of
21the notice, the landlord shall have no further responsibility to
22the tenant with regard to the property. Under no circumstance
23may a landlord dispose of or otherwise exercise control over
24personal property remaining upon inhabited premises without the
25express permission of the tenant.

26Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.