Full question:
My roommate decided to take off with two months remaining on our lease. Her name and mine are both on the lease. She moved back to Connecticut and she left me with a bunch of furniture that she kept promising to get rid of. It's been three months and I gave her several deadlines to come get it or let me get rid of it. She refused both, what can I do?
- Category: Abandoned Property
- Date:
- State: New Mexico
Answer:
In New Mexico, if a tenant abandons property, the landlord must follow specific steps to dispose of it. Here’s what you need to do:
1. **Store the property**: You must store your roommate's personal property for at least thirty days.
2. **Provide written notice**: Send her a written notice stating your intent to dispose of the property. This notice must be delivered personally or sent via first-class mail to her last known address, including a contact number and address for her to retrieve the items.
3. **Access for retrieval**: You must allow her reasonable access to retrieve her belongings before the disposal date specified in your notice.
4. **Disposal of property**: If she does not claim the property within the thirty days, you may dispose of it. If the property is worth less than one hundred dollars, you can dispose of it without further notice. For items valued over one hundred dollars, you can sell them and must send her any proceeds exceeding what she owes you, along with an itemized statement.
5. **Storage fees**: You may charge reasonable storage fees for the time you stored her property.
These steps are outlined in New Mexico statutes, specifically NMSA 1978, § 47-8-34.1. Following these guidelines will help you legally dispose of your roommate's abandoned furniture.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.