If your landlord has gone to court to evict you and won and the court office or constable has served you with a warrant of removal, the landlord is allowed to dispose of belongings or furniture left in your apartment or room. However, before doing this, the landlord must still give you notice in writing that he is going to get rid of the property that you have left behind.

1. Notice
   
   The notice that the landlord sends must be sent by first class mail or certified mail return receipt requested. The notice must state the following:
   
   
   1. That your belongings or furniture are considered “abandoned property”.
   2. That your abandoned property must be removed from the landlord’s premises within 30 days after the date that you receive the notice, or 33 days after the date that it was mailed, whichever comes first,
   3. That if the property is not removed the landlord may do the following
      
      
      1. Sell it at a public or private sale
      2. Destroy the property or dispose of it in another way (only If the landlord determines that the value of the property is so low that the cost of storing it and selling it publicly would be greater than the amount to be made from a sale).
      3. Sell items of value and destroy the remaining property.
         
         
2. Storing the property after giving notice:
   
   After he or she notifies you, the landlord must store your abandoned property in a safe place and exercise reasonable care in handling that property. The landlord can ask you to reimburse him or her for the reasonable cost of removing the property to storage and storing the property. What is considered reasonable changes depending on the individual facts and circumstances of each situation.
   
   
3. Exceptions where the landlord can remove and dispose of certain things before the 30 or 33 days are up:
   
   
   1. The Landlord can dispose of perishable food.
   2. The Landlord can get an animal control agency or humane society to remove any abandoned pets or livestock.
      
      
4. How to get your property back
   
   
   1. If you claim the property at any time within that 30 or 33 day time period the landlord must give you the property EVEN IF YOU STILL OWE RENT.
   2. The landlord cannot make you pay for the property. You must respond by writing a letter to the landlord and send it regular and certified mail return receipt. Once you have responded you have 15 days after the date of your written response to remove your property.

   If you do not respond within the time allowed by the notice your property is considered legally abandoned

5. What the landlord is allowed to do with abandoned property. If the property has been legally abandoned, the landlord can do the following:
   
   
   1. Dispose of the abandoned property in a public or private sale.
   2. Destroy or dispose of the property by other means if the property is of such a low value that it would be worth less than the cost of storing it and conducting a public sale.
   3. Sell certain items and destroy or dispose of the rest of the abandoned property.

   NOTE – The landlord may deduct from the proceeds of any sale of the property the reasonable cost of notice, storage and sale along with any unpaid rent and charges not covered by a security deposit.
   

6. What You Can Do If the Landlord Does Not Follow The Law and Destroys or Loses Your Property:
   
   If the landlord fails to take any of the actions above such as sending you notice in writing of the fact that you have left property behind, you may file a complaint against him or her and recover up to two times the value of those items that the landlord has lost or destroyed,. The procedure for filing a complaint to get the value of your belongings is outlined below:
   
   
   1. Fill out a complaint for the amount of money that the landlord owes you. (The actually damages or value of the property that he kept or threw out) Remember that you are entitled to ask for DOUBLE the amount of actual damages.
      
      
   2. You will file your papers in either the Special Civil Part or the small Claims Section of the Superior Court. The amount of money that you are asking for is what determines what section of the court you will go to in order to file your complaint.

   To get more specific instructions – choose the statement at the bottom of the page under “TOPICS” that applies to your situation.
   

7. How to Prove the Actual Value of the Lost or Destroyed Items.
   
   
   1. Your testimony about the items and what they cost.
   2. Your testimony about the items and what they were worth to you.
   3. Your testimony about what it would cost to replace the items at this time.
   4. Receipts for the items at the time that you purchased them.
   5. Pictures of the items.

   You do not have to be an expert in order to give your opinion about how much a certain item is worth. However, you do have to tell the court what information you are basing your opinions on. You do not have to be exact and may give estimates for values)

8. Factors that the Judge Will Consider in Order to Determine the Actual Value of Lost or Destroyed Items.
   
   
   1. The original cost of the items.
   2. The cost of replacing the items at the present time.
   3. The amount of wear and tear on the items and how that may have reduced their value.
   4. The fact that the items might have appreciated (increased) in value since they were purchased.