Landlord Question and Answer Forum

i have a house in Maine and thenant has exercised his option to end the lease. but says he can not move his 400 lobster traps that he has stored on my front lawn. No permission was given to store these traps and the tenant wants to leave them there until the spring thaw. What rights do I have to make him remove the traps and what options do I have since I do not want the traps on my property and want to go for refinancing and it makes the property look really bad.

Send a Registered letter, return receipt. Tell tenant he there are 2 options available. (1) He can remove the items in 5 days (2) You will have the items removed on the 6th day and placed them in a storage unit (Don’t tell him where). If option #2 is required, he will have to do the following before he can have them back – pay all expenses to include but not limited to, having someone move the items to storage unit, rental storage cost and all court cost and any other cost that the law provides…… If items are not claimed as prescribe by law, they will be auctioned…. Payment “Must” be made in Cash or Bank Check. No personal checks or Money Orders. Check with State Law for information on what to do with items abandoned. State laws are very specific. Don’t accept excuses. If he does it’s not removed items in the time specified, have them removed. Do not extend time. Who knows? Maybe somebody will just take them since they are just lying on the front lawn. . -----Disclaimer: Since I’ve been answering a lot of questions, I thought I would make the following statement. I’m not affiliated with EZlandlord Forms. I’m just here (not sure how long) to help those that have questions. Having 40+ yrs with Rental Property and done well, it’s my way of “Pay it Forward (check out the movie).” However, it is up to you to become familiar with Fed/State/Local laws. I always like to know if the suggestions I offer are helpful. Feel free to comment anytime. Thanks in Advance. BTW...check out the Rental Property Organizer at Simp-List.com. Free Trial Download with data.

Posted by Bob R, CA on Thursday, January 10, 2013