Kansas abandoned property law: a published notice, a 30 day hold and who gets the proceeds
K.S.A. 58-2565 lets a Kansas landlord assume a tenant abandoned the unit after 10 days of unpaid rent and removal of a substantial part of the belongings. What the tenant leaves behind can be stored at the tenant's expense and sold after 30 days, but only if a notice ran in the newspaper first.
When can you treat a unit as abandoned?
Subsection (b) gives a narrow presumption. If the tenant is 10 days in default for nonpayment of rent and has removed a substantial portion of the belongings, the landlord may assume the tenant abandoned the unit, unless the tenant has told the landlord otherwise. During any absence longer than 30 days the landlord may also enter at times reasonably necessary.
Once the unit is abandoned, you must make reasonable efforts to rent it at a fair rent. If you re-rent for a term that starts before the old agreement expires, the old agreement ends on the date the new tenancy begins. If you fail to make reasonable efforts, or you accept the abandonment as a surrender, the agreement is treated as ended on the date you had notice of the abandonment.
What is the process for the belongings?
Subsection (d) applies when the tenant abandons or surrenders possession and leaves property, and also when a tenant removed through a forcible detainer action leaves property after possession returns to you. You may take possession, store it at the tenant's expense, and sell or dispose of it once 30 days have passed since you took possession. Two notice steps come first:
- At least 15 days before the sale or disposal, publish a notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the unit sits.
- Within seven days after publication, mail a copy to the tenant's last known address.
- Say in the notice the tenant's name, a brief description of the property and the approximate date you plan to sell or dispose of it.
Do those things and you may sell or dispose of the property without liability to the tenant or anyone else claiming an interest, with one exception: a secured creditor who gave you notice of its interest before the sale, if you have no knowledge of another claimant.
Can the tenant get it back?
Yes. During the 30 days, and at any time before the sale or disposal, the tenant may redeem the property by paying your reasonable expenses of taking, holding and preparing it for sale, plus anything the tenant owes you for rent or otherwise. So the tenant pays costs and arrears to get belongings back, and you keep a lawful claim on them until then.
Where do sale proceeds go?
Subsection (e) sets an order: first the reasonable expenses of taking, holding, preparing, giving notice and selling; second any amount the tenant owes you for rent or otherwise; and third, any balance may be retained by the landlord without liability to the tenant or others, other than a qualifying secured creditor. Subsection (f) protects a buyer who purchases without knowledge of a third party's rights, who takes title free of the tenant's and third party's claims.
Example a made-up tenant leaves furniture and a bicycle. You spend $90 on a newspaper notice and $60 on storage, and the sale brings $400. After $150 of costs, the tenant owes $200 of unpaid rent, leaving $50. Under the order in subsection (e) the landlord may keep the last $50.
Keeping the dates straight with DoorKeeping
This process has three dates you must hold: the day you took possession, the publication day and the mailing day. DoorKeeping records the inventory and photos on the tenant's file and shows the 30 day date on the unit's move-out list. Letters are drafts until you approve them, and your money stays in your own account. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current statute or ask a local attorney before you act.
Sources
Questions
- How long must a Kansas landlord keep abandoned property?
- The landlord may sell or dispose of it once 30 days have passed since taking possession, after a newspaper notice at least 15 days before the sale and a mailed copy within seven days after publication.
- Can a Kansas tenant reclaim abandoned belongings?
- Yes, by paying the landlord's reasonable expenses of taking, holding and preparing the property, and any rent or other amount owed, before the sale or disposal.
- Who keeps the money from a Kansas sale?
- It goes to expenses, then to what the tenant owes, and any remaining balance may be retained by the landlord without liability to the tenant.