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Tenant Abandoned Property Laws in Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, a landlord must mail written notice before removing or disposing of abandoned property; the tenant has 10 days to retrieve it or ask for storage of up to 30 days from the notice date.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Pennsylvania at a glance

Written notice required
Yes, by first class mail
Sent to the leased premises and any forwarding or emergency address the tenant gave, in a form set by the statute.
Holding period
10 days (up to 30 if the tenant asks)
Counted from the postmark date. If the tenant requests storage, the landlord must keep the property up to 30 days from the notice, at the tenant's cost.
After the holding period
Dispose of it at the landlord's discretion
A landlord who violates the section faces treble damages, attorney fees and court costs.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Pennsylvania

Does a landlord in Pennsylvania have to notify the tenant before disposing of left-behind property?

Yes, by first class mail. Written notice required in Pennsylvania: yes, by first class mail. Sent to the leased premises and any forwarding or emergency address the tenant gave, in a form set by the statute.

How long must a landlord in Pennsylvania keep a tenant's abandoned property?

Holding period in Pennsylvania: 10 days (up to 30 if the tenant asks). Counted from the postmark date. If the tenant requests storage, the landlord must keep the property up to 30 days from the notice, at the tenant's cost.

What can a landlord in Pennsylvania do with abandoned property after the waiting period?

After the holding period in Pennsylvania: Dispose of it at the landlord's discretion. A landlord who violates the section faces treble damages, attorney fees and court costs.

Where do the Pennsylvania tenant abandoned property laws come from?

The rules above come from 68 P.S. 250.505a. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

If the landlord knows of a protection from abuse order for the tenant or family after an executed eviction order, the landlord must wait 30 days from the notice before disposing of the property. A written lease controls where it conflicts with most of the section.

What this means in practice

Before treating anything as abandoned, confirm that the tenancy has actually ended. Some statutes define when a unit counts as abandoned, and removing property while a tenant still has a right to possession can expose a landlord to claims for wrongful eviction or conversion.

Keep a written record. Photos or a video of the items, a dated inventory, a copy of any notice sent and proof of how it was delivered make it much easier to show that the required steps were followed if the former tenant later asks for the property or its value.

Store items safely and in a reasonable way during any holding period. Where a statute allows the landlord to charge reasonable moving and storage costs, or to keep sale proceeds to cover those costs, the rules on what may be charged and what happens to any surplus vary, so check the exact text for your state.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.