AN ACT

 

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

1landlord.

2(2) If the tenant has physically vacated the premises,
3removal of substantially all personal property and the providing
4of a forwarding address or written notice stating that the
5tenant has vacated the premises.

6(b) Upon relinquishment of the premises under subsection (a)
7and the acceptance of possession of the real property by the
8landlord, the tenant shall have ten days to contact the landlord
9regarding the tenant's intent to remove any personal property
10remaining on the premises. If the intent is conveyed to the
11landlord, the personal property shall be retained by the
12landlord at a site of the landlord's choosing for thirty days.
13If no communication is made to the landlord within ten days, the
14property may be disposed of at the end of the ten days at the
15discretion of the landlord.

16(c) If personal property remains on the premises following
17the relinquishment of the premises by the tenant, the following
18shall apply:

19(1) If there is acceptance of the real property by the
20landlord under subsection (a)(1) and the writ or order of
21possession contained notice of the provisions under subsection
22(b), the landlord shall not be required to provide further
23notice to the tenant.

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

1notice to notify the landlord that the tenant will be retrieving
2the personal property. If the intent is conveyed to the
3landlord, the personal property shall be retained by the
4landlord at a site of the landlord's choosing for thirty days
5from the date of postmark of the notice. If no communication is
6made to the landlord within ten days, the property may be
7disposed of at the end of the ten days at the discretion of the
8landlord. The notice shall also include a telephone number and
9address where the landlord can be contacted and shall identify
10the location where such property can be retrieved. The notice
11shall be:

12(i) sent by regular mail to the tenant's forwarding address,
13if provided, or, if no forwarding address is provided, then to
14the formerly leased premises; or

15(ii) by personal delivery to the tenant.

16(3) If the lease or lease addendum does not contain notice
17of the provisions under subsection (b), the landlord, in
18addition to complying with the requirements of paragraph (2),
19shall send notice to any emergency contact that may have been
20provided by the tenant in a lease agreement.

21(4) Any notice required under this subsection shall also
22contain information that the tenant shall be required to pay
23costs related to the removal or storage of property retrieved by
24the tenant after ten days under subsection (f).

25(d) At all times between the acceptance of the premises by
26the landlord and the expiration of the ten- or thirty-day
27periods, the landlord shall exercise ordinary care with regard
28to any personal property that the former tenant has left in or
29on the real property.

30(e) After the appropriate time period under subsection (d)

1has expired, the landlord shall have no further responsibility
2to the former tenant with regard to the personal property and
3may, in the landlord's discretion, dispose of the property. If
4the personal property is sold and proceeds exceed any
5outstanding obligations owed to the landlord, the proceeds shall
6be forwarded to the tenant by certified mail. If no forwarding
7address has been provided to the landlord by the former tenant,
8the landlord shall hold the proceeds for thirty days and, if
9unclaimed, may retain the proceeds.

10(f) If the landlord has issued the notice to the tenant 
11under subsection (c), the landlord may choose to store the 
12tenant's personal property at another location within reasonable 
13proximity to the leased premises. If the landlord elects to have 
14the property stored at another location, the landlord may remove 
15the property from the premises by any means reasonably 
16calculated to safeguard the property for the time period 
17required under this section. A tenant shall not be required to 
18pay any costs related to the removal or storage of the property 
19by the landlord if the former tenant retrieves the personal 
20property within ten days of the date of postmark of the notice. 
21If the former tenant retrieves the personal property after ten 
22days of the date of the postmark of notice but before thirty 
23days, the tenant shall be required to pay any reasonable and 
24actual costs related to the removal or storage of the property 
25by the landlord for that time period.] Upon the termination of a 
26lease or relinquishment of possession of real property, a tenant 
27shall remove all personal property from the leased or formerly 
28leased premises. Abandoned personal property remaining on the 
29premises may be disposed of at the discretion of the landlord, 
30subject to the provisions of this section.

1(b) Personal property remaining on the premises may be
2deemed abandoned if any of the following apply:

<-3(1) It remains upon the premises following the termination
4of a written lease or the execution of an eviction order or
5order for possession in favor of the landlord.

6(2) The tenant has physically vacated the premises and
7removed substantially all other personal property upon:

8(i) written notice indicating that the tenant has
9relinquished possession;

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

11(iii) entry of an order for possession in favor of the
12landlord.

13(3)  The tenant has physically vacated the premises, the rent

<-14(1) The tenant has vacated the unit following the
15termination of a written lease.

16(2) An eviction order or order for possession in favor of
17the landlord has been entered and the tenant has vacated the
18unit and removed substantially all personal property.

19(3) An eviction order or order for possession in favor of
20the landlord has been executed.

21(4) The tenant has provided the landlord with written notice
22of a forwarding address and has vacated the unit and removed
23substantially all personal property.

24(5) The tenant has vacated the unit without communicating an
25intent to return, the rent is more than fifteen days past due<-,
26and and, subsequent to those events, the landlord has posted<-
27notice of the tenant's rights regarding the property.

28(c) If a tenant is deceased, the personal representative of
29the estate shall succeed to the rights and obligations of the
30tenant, and the landlord may advise the personal representative

1thereof, in accordance with <-subsection (d) subsections (d) and
2(e), if more than fourteen days have passed since the issuance
3of a death certificate and the rent is at least fifteen days
4past due. If the landlord has not been contacted by a personal
5representative and has no reason to know who the personal
6representative is, the landlord shall make reasonable attempts
7to find and notify a personal representative, and shall mail the
8notice to the address of the leased premises and to any
9emergency contact or other person known to the landlord.

<-10(d) Prior to removing or disposing of abandoned property,
11the landlord must provide notice in substantially the following
12form:

<-13(d) Prior to removing or disposing of abandoned property,
14the landlord must provide written notice of the tenant's rights
15regarding the property. The tenant shall have ten days from the
16postmark date of the notice to retrieve the property or to
17request that the property be stored for an additional period not
18exceeding thirty days from the date of the notice. If the tenant
19so requests, the landlord must retain or store the property for
20up to thirty days from the date of the notice. Storage will be
21provided at a place of the landlord's choosing and the tenant
22shall be responsible for costs. At all times, the landlord shall
23exercise ordinary care in handling and securing the tenant's
24property and shall make the property reasonably available for
25purposes of retrieval.

26(e) Notice shall be sent by first class mail to the tenant 
27at the address of the leased premises and to any forwarding 
28address provided by the tenant, including any address provided 
29for emergency purposes. The notice shall be in substantially the 
30following form:

1"Personal property remaining at (address) is now considered
2to have been abandoned. Within ten days of the postmark date
3of this notice, you must retrieve any items you wish to keep
4or contact your landlord at (telephone number and address) to
<-5make other suitable arrangements. You have the right to
6request that the property be retained or stored for a period
7not exceeding 30 days. Storage will be provided at a place of
8your landlord's choosing and you will be responsible for
9costs."

10The notice shall be sent by first class mail to the tenant at
11the address of the leased premises and to any forwarding address
12provided by the tenant, including any address provided for
13emergency purposes.

14(e) At all times, the landlord shall exercise ordinary care 
15in handling and securing the tenant's property, and the landlord 
16and tenant shall be held to a standard of good faith and fair 
17dealing. If the tenant requests that the property be retained or 
18stored, the landlord shall make the property reasonably 
19available to the tenant for purposes of retrieval. If the tenant 
20does not request storage or make other arrangements for 
21retrieving the property within ten days of the postmark date of 
22the notice, the landlord shall have no further responsibility to 
23the tenant with regard to the property. Under no circumstance 
24may a landlord dispose of or otherwise exercise control over 
25personal property remaining upon inhabited premises without the 
26express permission of the tenant.

<-27request that the property be retained or stored. If 
28requested, storage will be provided for up to thirty days 
29from the postmark date of this notice at a place of your 
30landlord's choosing, and you will be responsible for costs of
 

1storage."

2(f) Under no circumstances may a landlord dispose of or
3otherwise exercise control over personal property remaining upon
4inhabited premises without the express permission of the tenant.
5If the conditions under which personal property may be deemed
6abandoned no longer exist, the landlord shall have no right to
7dispose of or otherwise exercise control over the property.

8(g) In the event of a conflict between the provisions of
9this section and the terms of a written lease, the terms of the
10lease shall control.

11(h) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the
12contrary, if a landlord proceeding under the provisions of
13subsection (b)(3) has actual knowledge or is notified of a
14protection from abuse order entered for the protection of the
15tenant or a member of the tenant's immediate family, the
16landlord shall refrain from disposing of or otherwise exercising
17control over the personal property of the tenant for 30 days
18from the date of the notice. If requested, storage shall be
19provided for up to 30 days from the date of the request.

20Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.