Title 2A.

Chapter 18.

Article 12. (New)

Abandoned Tenant Property.

§§1-7, 9, 11-15

C. 2A:18-72

to

2A:18-84

§8

C.39:10-15.1

§9

Note to C.2A:33-1

§15

Note to C.39:4-56.6

P.L. 1999, CHAPTER 340, approved January 10, 2000

Assembly, No. 1706 (Third Reprint)

An Act concerning the disposition of personal property abandoned by tenants, supplementing chapter 18 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes¹, chapter 10 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes and amending P.L.1973, c.137¹.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. ¹(New section)¹ A landlord of commercial or residential property, in the manner provided by P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), may dispose of any tangible goods, chattels, ¹[motor vehicles] manufactured or mobile homes¹ or other personal property left upon a premises by a tenant after giving notice as required by section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), ¹[in the following circumstances]¹ only ¹[:

a. The] if the¹ landlord reasonably believes under all the circumstances that the tenant has left the property upon the premises with no intention of asserting any further claim to the premises or the property and ¹[the tenancy has been terminated: (i) by expiration of a lease; (ii) in any case in which P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.1) is not applicable; or (iii) by surrender or abandonment by the tenant of the premises.

b. The tenant has been absent from the premises continuously for at least seven days after entry of a judgment in favor of the landlord for possession of the property, but prior to the execution of a warrant for removal; or

c.]:

a.¹ A warrant for removal has been executed and possession of the premises has been restored to the landlord¹; or

b. The tenant has given written notice that he or she is voluntarily relinquishing possession of the premises^{1 3}[²and has voluntarily surrendered the keys to the premises to the landlord²]³.

2. ¹(New section)¹ To dispose of a tenant's property under this act, a landlord shall first give written notice to the tenant, which shall be sent by ¹certified mail, return receipt requested ²[or by¹ receipted first class mail addressed]^{2 3}or by receipted first class mail addressed³ to the tenant, at the tenant's last known address (which may be the address of the premises) and at any alternate address or addresses known to the landlord, in an envelope endorsed "Please Forward."

²["Receipted first class mail" for purposes of this section means first class mail for which a certificate of mailing has been obtained by the sender but does not include certified or registered mail ¹[, or any other form of mail that might delay or hinder actual delivery of mail to the tenant]¹.]²

³"Receipted first class mail" for purposes of this section means first class mail for which a certificate of mailing has been obtained by the sender but does not include certified or registered mail."³

¹When the property subject to disposal is a manufactured or mobile home, a copy of the notice required pursuant to this section shall also be sent to the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles and to any lienholders with security interests in the property which have been recorded with the Division of Motor Vehicles.¹

3. ¹(New section)¹ The notice required under section 2 of P.L.    , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) shall state as follows:

a. That the property is considered abandoned and must be removed from the premises or from the place of safekeeping, if the landlord has stored the property as provided in section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), by a date ¹as follows;

(i) for all property other than manufactured or mobile homes¹ not less than ¹[15] 30¹ days after delivery of the notice, or not less than ¹[18] 33¹ days after the date of mailing, whichever comes first, or

¹(ii) for property which consists solely of manufactured or mobile homes, not less than 75 days after the delivery of the notice, or not less than 78 days after the date of mailing, whichever comes first,

or¹ the property will be sold or otherwise disposed of; and

b. That if the abandoned property is not removed:

i. The landlord may sell the property at a public or private sale; or

ii. The landlord may destroy or otherwise dispose of the property if the landlord reasonably determines that the value of the property is so low that the cost of storage and conducting a public sale would probably exceed the amount that would be realized from the sale; or

iii. The landlord may sell ¹[certain]¹ items ¹of value¹ and destroy or otherwise dispose of the remaining property.

c. That in the case of a residential tenant, if the tenant claims the property within the time provided in the notice, the landlord must make the property available for removal by the tenant without payment by the tenant of any ¹[costs, charges or other sums, including]^{1 3}[²costs, charges or other sums, including²]³ unpaid rent.

4. ¹(New section)¹ After notifying a tenant as required by sections 2 and 3 of P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), a landlord shall store all goods, chattels, ¹[motor vehicles] manufactured or mobile homes¹ and other personal property of the tenant in a place of safekeeping and shall exercise reasonable care for the property, except that the landlord may promptly dispose of perishable food and shall allow an animal control agency or humane society to remove any abandoned pets or livestock. A landlord may store a tenant's manufactured dwelling or residential vehicle on the space previously rented ¹[or],¹ elsewhere on the premises ¹or in a safe location off the premises¹. A landlord shall be entitled to reasonable storage charges and costs incidental to storage. A landlord may store property in a commercial storage facility, in which case the storage cost shall include the actual storage charge plus the reasonable cost of removal of the property to the place of storage.

5. ¹(New section)¹ a. If a tenant responds in writing or orally to the landlord, on or before the day specified in the required notice, that the tenant intends to remove the property from the premises, or from the place of safekeeping if the landlord has stored the property as provided in section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), and does not do so within the time specified in the notice or within 15 days after the written response, whichever is later, the tenant's property shall be conclusively presumed to be abandoned.

¹b. If a lienholder responds in writing to the landlord concerning a security interest in any manufactured or mobile home, and the lienholder indicates an intent to remove the property from the premises, or from the place of safekeeping, or to pay rent as a condition of leaving the property on the premises, but fails to remove the property or make rental payments within the time specified in the notice or within 15 days after the written response, whichever is later, then the landlord may proceed as if the lienholder had not responded.¹

¹[b.]c.¹ If no response is received from a tenant ¹or lienholder¹ within the time period provided under section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill), then the tenant's property shall be conclusively presumed to be abandoned.

6. ¹(New section)¹ Upon removal of his property, a tenant shall reimburse the landlord for the reasonable cost of storage for the period the property was in the landlord's safekeeping, including the reasonable cost of removal of the property to a place of storage. ³ A landlord shall not be entitled to reimbursement for storage and removal costs which are greater than the fair market value of such costs in the locale of the rental property.³ A landlord shall not be responsible for any loss to a tenant resulting from storage of property in compliance with this act unless the loss was caused by the landlord's deliberate or negligent act or omission¹[. In the event of deliberate and malicious violation of the property rights of a tenant, the landlord shall be liable for twice the actual damages sustained by the tenant] ³[². In the event of deliberate and malicious violation of the property rights of the tenant,² including the charging of unconscionable amounts for storage ², the landlord shall be liable for twice the actual damages sustained by the tenant².¹]³

7. ¹(New section)¹ Property that has been conclusively presumed to be abandoned may be disposed of in any of the following ways:

a. The landlord may sell the property at a public or private sale;

b. The landlord may destroy or otherwise dispose of the property if the landlord reasonably determines that the value of the property is so low that the cost of storage and conducting a public sale would probably exceed the amount that would be realized from the sale; or

c. The landlord may sell certain items and destroy or otherwise dispose of the remaining property, in accordance with subsections a. and b. of this section.

A public or private sale authorized by this section shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of section 12A:9-504 of the "Uniform Commercial Code" (C.12A:9-504).

¹8. (New section) If a manufactured home is sold or otherwise disposed of pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles shall issue, upon proof of purchase, a certificate of ownership to the purchaser, with no encumbrances listed thereon.¹

¹9. (New section) Nothing in P.L. , c. (C. ) shall diminish the right of a landlord of a nonresidential property to use distraint when authorized by law.¹

¹10. Section 1 of P.L.1973, c.137 (C.39:4-56.6) is amended to read as follows:

1. No person shall park or leave unattended a vehicle on private property without the consent of the owner or other person in control or possession of the property or for a period in excess of that for which consent was given, except in the case of emergency or disablement of the vehicle in which case the owner or operator thereof shall arrange for the expeditious removal of the vehicle. This section shall not apply to manufactured or mobile homes left unattended and for which there exists or existed a rental agreement to occupy a space on the property.

The owner or other person in control or possession of the property on which a vehicle is parked or left unattended in violation of this section may remove or hire another person to remove and store the vehicle. It shall be the obligation of the owner of the vehicle to pay the reasonable costs for the removal and for any storage which may result from such removal before he shall be entitled to recover the possession of the vehicle. If the owner of the vehicle refuses to pay such costs or fails to make any claim for the return of the vehicle within 90 days after such removal, the vehicle may be sold at public auction in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.2A:44-20 through N.J.S. 2A:44-31.¹

(cf: P.L.1973, c.137, s.1)

¹[8.] 11. (New section)¹ A landlord may deduct from the proceeds of any sale the reasonable costs of notice, storage and sale and any unpaid rent and charges not covered by a security deposit. After deducting these amounts, the landlord shall remit to the tenant the remaining proceeds, if any, together with an itemized accounting. If the tenant, after due diligence, cannot be found the remaining proceeds shall be deposited into the Superior Court and, if not claimed within ²[14] 10 ² years, shall escheat to the State.

¹[9.] 12. (New section)¹ Compliance in good faith with all the requirements of this act shall constitute a complete defense in any action brought by a tenant against a landlord for loss or damage to personal property disposed of pursuant to this act.

¹[10.] 13. (New section)¹ If a landlord seizes and retains a tenant's personal property without complying with this act, the tenant shall be relieved of any liability for ³[²unpaid rent and for² damage to the premises caused by conduct that was not deliberate, intentional or grossly negligent]^{3 1}[and for unpaid rent]^{1 3}reimbursement to the landlord for storage and removal costs³ and shall be entitled to recover up to twice the actual damages sustained by the tenant.

¹[11.] 14. (New section)¹ This act shall not be applicable to any unclaimed property which must be disposed of in accordance with the "Uniform Unclaimed Property Act," P.L.1989, c.58 (C.46:30B-1 et seq.).

¹15. (New section) This act shall not be applicable to abandoned motor vehicles.¹

¹[12.] 16.¹ This act shall take effect immediately.

Allows landlord to dispose of abandoned tenant property.