THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY BROWNE, FONTANA, STOUT, ARGALL, RAFFERTY, ERICKSON, GREENLEAF, HUGHES, BOSCOLA, M. WHITE, MUSTO, EARLL AND ALLOWAY, JULY 27, 2009

REFERRED TO URBAN AFFAIRS AND HOUSING, JULY 27, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), entitled "An

act relating to the rights, obligations and liabilities of

landlord and tenant and of parties dealing with them and

amending, revising, changing and consolidating the law

relating thereto," providing for disposition of abandoned

personal property.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  The act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), known

as The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, is amended by adding a

section to read:

Section 505.1.  Disposition of Abandoned Personal Property.--

(a)  At the time a tenant has relinquished possession of the

real property, the tenant shall remove from the premises all

items of the tenant's personal property. For the purposes of

this section, a tenant shall be deemed to have relinquished

possession of the premises upon any of the following:

(1)  Execution of an order of possession in favor of the

landlord.

(2)  Expiration of the term of the lease, if the tenant has

physically vacated the premises and has provided a forwarding

address or written notice stating that the tenant has vacated

the premises or will vacate the premises on a date certain.

(b)  Upon relinquishment of the premises under subsection (a)

and the acceptance of possession of the real property by the

landlord, the tenant shall have ten days to contact the landlord

regarding the tenant's intent to remove any personal property

remaining on the premises. If the intent is conveyed to the

landlord, the personal property shall be retained by the

landlord at a site of the landlord's choosing for thirty days.

If no communication is made to the landlord within ten days, the

property may be disposed of at the end of the ten days at the

discretion of the landlord.

(c)  If personal property remains on the premises following

the relinquishment of the premises by the tenant, the following

shall apply:

(1)  If there is acceptance of the real property by the

landlord under subsection (a)(1) and the writ of possession

contained notice of the provisions under subsection (b), the

landlord shall not be required to provide further notice to the

tenant.

(2)  If there is acceptance of the real property by the

landlord under subsection (a)(2) and the lease or lease addendum

contains notice of the provisions under subsection (b), the

landlord shall be required to provide written notice to the

tenant that personal property remains on the premises and must

be retrieved by the tenant. The notice under this paragraph

shall give the tenant ten days from the date of the notice to

notify the landlord that the tenant will be retrieving the

personal property. If the intent is conveyed to the landlord,

the personal property shall be retained by the landlord at a

site of the landlord's choosing for thirty days from the date of

the notice. If no communication is made to the landlord within

ten days, the property may be disposed of at the end of the ten

days at the discretion of the landlord. The notice shall also

include a telephone number and address where the landlord can be

contacted and shall identify the location where such property

can be retrieved. The notice shall be sent by regular mail to

the tenant's forwarding address, if provided, or the formerly

leased premises or by personal delivery to the tenant.

(3)  If the lease or lease addendum does not contain notice

of the provisions under subsection (b), the landlord, in

addition to complying with the requirements of paragraph (2),

shall send notice to any emergency contact that may have been

provided by the tenant in a lease agreement.

(4)  Any notice required under this subsection shall also

contain information that the tenant shall be required to pay

costs related to the removal or storage of property retrieved by

the tenant after ten days under subsection (f).

(d)  At all times between the acceptance of the premises by

the landlord and the expiration of the ten or thirty day

periods, the landlord shall exercise ordinary care with regard

to any personal property that the former tenant has left in or

on the real property.

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

has expired, the landlord shall have no further responsibility

to the former tenant with regard to the personal property and

may, in the landlord's discretion, dispose of the property. If

the personal property is sold and proceeds exceed any

outstanding obligations owed to the landlord, the proceeds shall

be forwarded to the tenant by certified mail. If no forwarding

address has been provided to the landlord by the former tenant,

the landlord shall hold the proceeds for thirty days and if

unclaimed may retain the proceeds.

(f)  If the landlord has issued the notice to the tenant

under subsection (c), the landlord may choose to store the

tenant's personal property at another location within reasonable

proximity to the leased premises. If the landlord elects to have

the property stored at another location, the landlord may remove

the property from the premises by any means reasonably

calculated to safeguard the property for the time period

required under this section. A tenant shall not be required to

pay any costs related to the removal or storage of the property

by the landlord, if the former tenant retrieves the personal

property within ten days of the date of notice. If the former

tenant retrieves the personal property after ten days of the

date of notice but before the thirty days, the tenant shall be

required to pay any reasonable and actual costs related to the

removal or storage of the property by the landlord for that time

period.

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