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) The tenant has vacated the unit following the
4termination of a written lease.

5(2) An eviction order or order for possession in favor of
6the landlord has been entered and the tenant has vacated the
7unit and removed substantially all personal property.

8(3) An eviction order or order for possession in favor of
9the landlord has been executed.

10(4) The tenant has provided the landlord with written notice
11of a forwarding address and has vacated the unit and removed
12substantially all personal property.

13(5) The tenant has vacated the unit without communicating an
14intent to return, the rent is more than fifteen days past due
15and, subsequent to those events, the landlord has posted notice
16of the tenant's rights regarding the property.

<-17(c) If a tenant is deceased, the personal representative of
18the estate shall succeed to the rights and obligations of the
19tenant, and the landlord may advise the personal representative
20thereof, in accordance with subsections (d) and (e), if more
21than fourteen days have passed since the issuance of a death
22certificate and the rent is at least fifteen days past due. If
23the landlord has not been contacted by a personal representative
24and has no reason to know who the personal representative is,
25the landlord shall make reasonable attempts to find and notify a
26personal representative, and shall mail the notice to the
27address of the leased premises and to any emergency contact or
28other person known to the landlord.

<-29(c) Where the tenant is deceased and leaves personal 
30property remaining in the demised premises, the provisions of
 

1this act shall not apply. The disposition of personal property 
2in the case of a decedent shall be governed by the provisions of 
320 Pa.C.S. §§ 711(1) (relating to mandatory exercise of 
4jurisdiction through orphans' court division in general) and 
53392 (relating to classification and order of payment) and other 
6relevant provisions of Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated 
7Statutes (relating to decedents, estates and fiduciaries).

8(d) Prior to removing or disposing of abandoned property,
9the landlord must provide written notice of the tenant's rights
10regarding the property. The tenant shall have ten days from the
11postmark date of the notice to retrieve the property or to
12request that the property be stored for an additional period not
13exceeding thirty days from the date of the notice. If the tenant
14so requests, the landlord must retain or store the property for
15up to thirty days from the date of the notice. Storage will be
16provided at a place of the landlord's choosing and the tenant
17shall be responsible for costs. At all times, the landlord shall
18exercise ordinary care in handling and securing the tenant's
19property and shall make the property reasonably available for
20purposes of retrieval.

21(e) Notice shall be sent by first class mail to the tenant 
22at the address of the leased premises and to any forwarding 
23address provided by the tenant, including any address provided 
24for emergency purposes. The notice shall be in substantially the 
25following form:

26"Personal property remaining at (address) is now considered
27to have been abandoned. Within ten days of the postmark date
28of this notice, you must retrieve any items you wish to keep
29or contact your landlord at (telephone number and address) to
30request that the property be retained or stored. If
 

1requested, storage will be provided for up to thirty days 
2from the postmark date of this notice at a place of your 
3landlord's choosing, and you will be responsible for costs of 
4storage."

5(f) Under no circumstances may a landlord dispose of or
6otherwise exercise control over personal property remaining upon
7inhabited premises without the express permission of the tenant.
8If the conditions under which personal property may be deemed
9abandoned no longer exist, the landlord shall have no right to
10dispose of or otherwise exercise control over the property.

11(g) Except with respect to the provisions of subsection (h),
12in the event of a conflict between the provisions of this
13section and the terms of a written lease, the terms of the lease
14shall control.

15(h) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the
16contrary, if a landlord proceeding under the provisions of
17subsection (b)(3) has actual knowledge or is notified of a
18protection from abuse order entered for the protection of the
19tenant or a member of the tenant's immediate family, the
20landlord shall refrain from disposing of or otherwise exercising
21control over the personal property of the tenant for 30 days
22from the date of the notice. If requested, storage shall be
23provided for up to 30 days from the date of the request.

24Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.