questions & answers

Question: A friend came to visit me in AZ and was considering moving here... he filled a full wardrobe of clothes at my place, even changed his drivers license to my address, then left a week later and never returned... the clothes have been sitting here since November 2014, he now reaches out to me 7.5mo later requesting i send them back to him in IL or he will take me to court... he was never a roomate, never on the lease... does he have any legal right to this stuff?

Answer: Even if the person who stayed with you was not officially on the lease, the situation may be handled as if it were. According to Arizona Revised Statute 33-1370, if a tenant has left property in a dwelling unit that they have abandoned the landlord must provide them a notice of abandonment of property (send via certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the tenant and any alternate address known to the landlord). Property must be held for ten days after notice of abandonment. After ten days, if the tenant has not made a reasonable attempt to obtain his property at the end of the ten days the landlord may dispose of the property. For the full text of the law, visit: http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/33/01370.htm&Title=33&DocType=ARS