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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY BROWNE, FONTANA, RAFFERTY, EARLL, SOLOBAY, TARTAGLIONE, ALLOWAY, WILLIAMS, GREENLEAF, BOSCOLA, BREWSTER, WOZNIAK AND ARGALL, MARCH 23, 2011 |
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| REFERRED TO URBAN AFFAIRS AND HOUSING, MARCH 23, 2011 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), entitled "An |
2 | act relating to the rights, obligations and liabilities of |
3 | landlord and tenant and of parties dealing with them and |
4 | amending, revising, changing and consolidating the law |
5 | relating thereto," providing for disposition of abandoned |
6 | personal property. |
7 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
8 | hereby enacts as follows: |
9 | Section 1. The act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), known |
10 | as The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, is amended by adding a |
11 | section to read: |
12 | Section 505.1. Disposition of Abandoned Personal Property.-- |
13 | (a) At the time a tenant has relinquished possession of the |
14 | real property, the tenant shall remove from the premises all |
15 | items of the tenant's personal property. For the purposes of |
16 | this section, a tenant shall be deemed to have relinquished |
17 | possession of the premises upon any of the following: |
18 | (1) Execution of an order of possession in favor of the |
19 | landlord. |
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1 | (2) If the tenant has physically vacated the premises, |
2 | removal of substantially all personal property and the providing |
3 | of a forwarding address or written notice stating that the |
4 | tenant has vacated the premises. |
5 | (b) Upon relinquishment of the premises under subsection (a) |
6 | and the acceptance of possession of the real property by the |
7 | landlord, the tenant shall have ten days to contact the landlord |
8 | regarding the tenant's intent to remove any personal property |
9 | remaining on the premises. If the intent is conveyed to the |
10 | landlord, the personal property shall be retained by the |
11 | landlord at a site of the landlord's choosing for thirty days. |
12 | If no communication is made to the landlord within ten days, the |
13 | property may be disposed of at the end of the ten days at the |
14 | discretion of the landlord. |
15 | (c) If personal property remains on the premises following |
16 | the relinquishment of the premises by the tenant, the following |
17 | shall apply: |
18 | (1) If there is acceptance of the real property by the |
19 | landlord under subsection (a)(1) and the writ or order of |
20 | possession contained notice of the provisions under subsection |
21 | (b), the landlord shall not be required to provide further |
22 | notice to the tenant. |
23 | (2) If there is acceptance of the real property by the |
24 | landlord under subsection (a)(2) and the lease or lease addendum |
25 | contains notice of the provisions under subsection (b), the |
26 | landlord shall be required to provide written notice to the |
27 | tenant that personal property remains on the premises and must |
28 | be retrieved by the tenant. The notice under this paragraph |
29 | shall give the tenant ten days from the date of postmark of the |
30 | notice to notify the landlord that the tenant will be retrieving |
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1 | the personal property. If the intent is conveyed to the |
2 | landlord, the personal property shall be retained by the |
3 | landlord at a site of the landlord's choosing for thirty days |
4 | from the date of postmark of the notice. If no communication is |
5 | made to the landlord within ten days, the property may be |
6 | disposed of at the end of the ten days at the discretion of the |
7 | landlord. The notice shall also include a telephone number and |
8 | address where the landlord can be contacted and shall identify |
9 | the location where such property can be retrieved. The notice |
10 | shall be: |
11 | (i) sent by regular mail to the tenant's forwarding address, |
12 | if provided, or if no forwarding address is provided then to the |
13 | formerly leased premises; or |
14 | (ii) by personal delivery to the tenant. |
15 | (3) If the lease or lease addendum does not contain notice |
16 | of the provisions under subsection (b), the landlord, in |
17 | addition to complying with the requirements of paragraph (2), |
18 | shall send notice to any emergency contact that may have been |
19 | provided by the tenant in a lease agreement. |
20 | (4) Any notice required under this subsection shall also |
21 | contain information that the tenant shall be required to pay |
22 | costs related to the removal or storage of property retrieved by |
23 | the tenant after ten days under subsection (f). |
24 | (d) At all times between the acceptance of the premises by |
25 | the landlord and the expiration of the ten or thirty day |
26 | periods, the landlord shall exercise ordinary care with regard |
27 | to any personal property that the former tenant has left in or |
28 | on the real property. |
29 | (e) After the appropriate time period under subsection (d) |
30 | has expired, the landlord shall have no further responsibility |
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1 | to the former tenant with regard to the personal property and |
2 | may, in the landlord's discretion, dispose of the property. If |
3 | the personal property is sold and proceeds exceed any |
4 | outstanding obligations owed to the landlord, the proceeds shall |
5 | be forwarded to the tenant by certified mail. If no forwarding |
6 | address has been provided to the landlord by the former tenant, |
7 | the landlord shall hold the proceeds for thirty days and if |
8 | unclaimed may retain the proceeds. |
9 | (f) If the landlord has issued the notice to the tenant |
10 | under subsection (c), the landlord may choose to store the |
11 | tenant's personal property at another location within reasonable |
12 | proximity to the leased premises. If the landlord elects to have |
13 | the property stored at another location, the landlord may remove |
14 | the property from the premises by any means reasonably |
15 | calculated to safeguard the property for the time period |
16 | required under this section. A tenant shall not be required to |
17 | pay any costs related to the removal or storage of the property |
18 | by the landlord, if the former tenant retrieves the personal |
19 | property within ten days of the date of postmark of the notice. |
20 | If the former tenant retrieves the personal property after ten |
21 | days of the date of the postmark of notice but before the thirty |
22 | days, the tenant shall be required to pay any reasonable and |
23 | actual costs related to the removal or storage of the property |
24 | by the landlord for that time period. |
25 | Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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