A landlord of commercial or residential property, in the manner
provided by P.L.1999, c. 340 (C.2A:18-72 et al.), may dispose of
any tangible goods, chattels, manufactured or mobile homes or other
personal property left upon a premises by a tenant after giving
notice as required by section 2 of P.L.1999, c. 340 (C.2A:18-73),
only if the 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:
a. A warrant for removal has been executed and
possession of the premises has been restored to the landlord;
or
b. The tenant has given written notice that he
or she is voluntarily relinquishing possession of the premises.
The provisions of P.L.1999, c. 340 (C.2A:18-72
et al.) shall not apply to the disposal of tenant property left on
nonresidential rental property if there is a lease in effect which
has been duly executed by all parties which contains specific terms
and conditions for the disposal of tenant property.
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
certified mail, return receipt requested or by receipted first
class mail addressed 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."
"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.
When 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.
The notice required under section 2 of P.L.1999, c. 340
(C.2A:18-73) 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.1999, c. 340 (C.2A:18-75), by a date as follows;
(i) for all property other than manufactured or mobile homes
not less than 30 days after delivery of the notice, or not less
than 33 days after the date of mailing, whichever comes first,
or
(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, or 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 items of value 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 unpaid
rent.
After notifying a tenant as required by sections 2 and 3 of
P.L.1999, c. 340 (C.2A:18-73 et seq.), a landlord shall store all
goods, chattels, manufactured or mobile homes 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, elsewhere on
the premises or in a safe location off the premises. 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.
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.1999, c. 340 (C.2A:18-75),
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.
b. 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.
c. If no response is received from a tenant or lienholder
within the time period provided under section 3 of P.L.1999, c. 340
(C.2A:18-74), then the tenant's property shall be conclusively
presumed to be abandoned.
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. 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. 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 omission.