Landlords responsibility or liability for tenant's belongings during tenancy

[LdiJ]

In court this is going to come down to was the LL reasonable in thinking you had abandoned the property. You told him you were moving out and then disappeared for 2 weeks. Many might find that the LL's belief that you had abandoned the property reasonable.

In this case no...the rent was paid. The landlord had no right to consider the unit abandoned when the rent was paid.

 

[justalayman]

In this case no...the rent was paid. The landlord had no right to consider the unit abandoned when the rent was paid.

That is absolutely incorrect.

Abandonment has very little to do with whether the rent is paid or not. It has to do with whether the property is occupied and as such, less of s concern it could be broken into or there could be running water in the premises that could cause damage. Additonally it is concerned with when a landlord can reclaim a unit to prepare it for rental to a new tenant.

In the case at hand op said they would leave BY the end of the month. They left. Apparent attempts to contact them to inquire whether they had vacated went unanswered. Is a landlord supposed to just guess the tenant is coming back for anything?

Btw; Utah requires a 30 day written notice of termination. That means op would have owed as many days into October as there were days in to September when he gave notice. It doesn’t sound like op was intending on paying for that time. (Just my read on the statements provided)

 

[LdiJ]

That is absolutely incorrect.

Abandonment has very little to do with whether the rent is paid or not. It has to do with whether the property is occupied and as such, less of s concern it could be broken into or there could be running water in the premises that could cause damage. Additonally it is concerned with when a landlord can reclaim a unit to prepare it for rental to a new tenant.

In the case at hand op said they would leave BY the end of the month. They left. Apparent attempts to contact them to inquire whether they had vacated went unanswered. Is a landlord supposed to just guess the tenant is coming back for anything?

Btw; Utah requires a 30 day written notice of termination. That means op would have owed as many days into October as there were days in to September when he gave notice. It doesn’t sound like op was intending on paying for that time. (Just my read on the statements provided)

Sorry, but I still disagree with you. All of his stuff was there, not just some leftover junk. The landlord was perfectly free to be concerned and enter the unit to make sure that the water wasn't left on or something like that, but the rent was paid and all of the guy's stuff was there.

 

[justalayman]

Sorry, but I still disagree with you. All of his stuff was there, not just some leftover junk. The landlord was perfectly free to be concerned and enter the unit to make sure that the water wasn't left on or something like that, but the rent was paid and all of the guy's stuff was there.

It’s nice that you want to grant an action to the landlord that doesn’t exist legally. Landlord is not afforded any right of entry under Utah law.