When is property considered legally abandoned?
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When is property considered legally abandoned?
My boyfriend moved out of my house. He took all his belongings except for a
storage container. I haven’t seen or heard from him in 3 weeks. Can I legally enter the container? I have keys for both locks but he welded door shut. Can I legally remove
welding and enter container?
Asked on March 22, 2016 under Real Estate Law, Oklahoma
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
If he was not a tenant (i.e. not renting from you), there is no law specifically addressing the time period. Best would be to send him a letter, sent some way or ways you can prove delivery (such as fed ex with tracking; certified mail) giving him 30 days to make arrangements with you to retrieve the container or the container will be considered abandoned and you will dispose of it however you like. Then send him another notice with 10 days to ago, reminding him of the deadline. If that after that he does not retrieve it, you should be able to safely dispose of it.
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