I am often asked what a landlord should do with personal property that a tenant leaves behind when the tenant either moves out and abandons the lease or is evicted. The short answer depends on whether the sheriff removes the tenant and whether the property is stored on-site or off-site.

The landlord's duties under the law are clear. If a tenant either moves out or abandons the lease and is evicted, the landlord has to inventory the property and store it for 28 days, if the property is stored on-site. The easiest way to do an inventory is to run a camcorder or video recorder over any property that is left behind, but I recommend that a landlord make an itemized list of the items that are left behind and then take a digital photograph of each item.

For the inventory, the landlord does not need to make an exhaustive list, but I recommend that big – ticket items, or items with intrinsic value, be listed separately. For example, if a tenant leaves 5 shirts or houses behind, a couple of pairs of pants, etc., the landlord can lump all those under the general category of "clothing." In other words, the landlord does not need to take a separate picture of each item of clothing, but can take one picture of all the clothing to gather.  However, for televisions, computers, electronics in general, and other big-ticket items, I recommend that the landlord list each item separately, and take a separate photograph of it, if only to be safe.


If the property is stored on site, the landlord has to complete such an inventory and, under Minn. Stat. 504B .271,

"make reasonable efforts to notify the tenant of the sale at least 14 days prior to the sale, by personal service in writing or sending written notification of the sale by first class and certified mail to the tenant's last known address or usual place of abode, if known by the landlord, and by posting notice of the sale in a conspicuous place on the premises at least two weeks prior to the sale."

In other words, at least 14 days before a sale, the landlord has to post notice of the sale "in a conspicuous place" and mail the same notice by regular and certified US mail to the tenants last known address, which is probably going to be the property. If the landlord knows the tenant's telephone number or email address, I would recommend sending notice of the sale to the tenant by email, by text message, or by a telephone call.

If the sheriff removes the tenant and the property is going to be stored off-site, in a different location other than the rental premises, then the landlord is required to store the property for 60 days. For this reason, I generally recommend that a landlord store property left behind by a former tenant on-site, in a garage or storage locker. I generally do not recommend that a landlord store property off-site, although there are certainly reasons to do so.

There are multiple other requirements as well, which are enumerated in Minn. Stat. 504B.365, subd. 3. I strongly recommend that landlords review this statute in the event that a tenant is removed from the property by the sheriff.


Every landlord – tenant situation is unique, and I recommend that landlords talk to an attorney experienced in evictions and landlord tenant law before taking action  To that end, I invite landlords to give me a call at 763-450-9494 to discuss their unique situation. I typically do not represent tenants.

WARNING: The information contained in this blog post does not constitute legal advice and may not be applicable to your situation.  Tim is licensed to practice law only in Minnesota, and the information contained in this blog post may not apply to jurisdictions outside of Minnesota.  Further, reading this blog post does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C.  You should always discuss your situation with an attorney before taking any action based on what you may read in this blog.  To that end, please call (763) 450-9494 to set up an appointment to discuss your situation.

Tim is teaching a seminar on Bankruptcy Basics: What Everybody Needs to Know about Bankruptcy. The seminar will be held on Friday, January 29, 2016 from noon to 1 PM at Tim's office, 2140 – 4th Avenue North, Anoka Minnesota 55303. This seminar is intended for consumer and small business debtors, as well as attorneys who do not practice in the area of bankruptcy.

Space is limited, so preregistration is required. For more information and to register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bankruptcy-basics-everything-you-need-to-know-about-bankruptcy-tickets-20485575909.

ATTORNEYS: This seminar has been approved for one standard CLE credit. The event code is 214745.

Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C. represents consumer and small business debtors in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings. Please note that only individual debtors can file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy relief, not businesses.  Please call (763) 450-9494 to schedule an appointment to discuss your situation today and find out whether declaring bankruptcy is the right option for you!

DISCLAIMER: Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C. is a debt-relief agency, and Timothy H. Baland, Esq. is a debt-relief agent.  We help people like you to obtain bankruptcy relief.

WARNING: The information contained in this article does not constitute legal advice and may not be applicable to your situation.  Reading this blog post does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C.  You should always discuss your situation with an attorney before taking any action based on what you may read in this blog.  To that end, please call (763) 450-9494 to set up an appointment to discuss your situation.

I am often asked whether a person can keep all of their property when they file for bankruptcy. The answer is generally yes, but  the answer depends on whether you are filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and whether you are using the state exemptions or the federal exemptions.

When you file bankruptcy, all of your property goes from where you own and control it to where it is owned and controlled by the bankruptcy trustee.  As a bankruptcy attorney, my goal is to keep your property out of the hands of the bankruptcy trustee. I can do this in one of 3 ways.

First, the property might be exempt under applicable state or federal law. The law provides that certain property is exempt, up to a certain limit. My job as a bankruptcy attorney is to find it as many exemptions for your property as possible. I want you to be able to keep as much of your property as possible.

Second, if you are making payments on a secured property, which the creditor could take back from you if you did not make the payments, you can do what is called reaffirm the debt. In other words, you can promise to continue making the payments, and then keep the property. In order to keep secured property, you have to reaffirm the debt and do not have a choice in the matter.

For most people, the first two options are sufficient. Between reaffirming secured debt and the exemptions, you get to keep most – if not all – of your property. However, if for some reason you have too much property that you want to keep, and this happens most frequently with a small business, you have options. If chapter 13 will not work for you click here for an article that discusses the differences between chapter 7 in chapter 13 bankruptcy), you can buy nonexempt property back from the bankruptcy trustee.

Again, this usually happens when you are dealing with a small business bankruptcy, or with the debtor who has a lot of property. If the debtor is an individual and has regular income, chapter 13 might be an appropriate way for the debtor to keep most if not all of his or her property. However, if the debtor is a corporation, then chapter 7 may be the way to go. The best option really depends on the individual debtor's circumstances.

Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C. represents consumer and small business debtors in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings. Please note that only individual debtors can file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy relief, not businesses.  Please call (763) 450-9494 to schedule an appointment to discuss your situation today and find out whether declaring bankruptcy is the right option for you!

DISCLAIMER: Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C. is a debt-relief agency, and Timothy H. Baland, Esq. is a debt-relief agent.  We help people like you to obtain bankruptcy relief.

WARNING: The information contained in this article does not constitute legal advice and may not be applicable to your situation.  Reading this blog post does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C.  You should always discuss your situation with an attorney before taking any action based on what you may read in this blog.  To that end, please call (763) 450-9494 to set up an appointment to discuss your situation.

If you're thinking about filing for bankruptcy, you're probably wondering if you can keep your house, car, or any other item that you are making payments on, such as a boat, ATV, computer, etc.  The short answer is yes, but you have to get caught up (if you are behind) and keep making your regular payments on time and when due.  If you are leasing (renting) property, you have to get caught up and keep making your payments.

What I just said -- that you have to get caught up if you are behind and keep making regular payments -- applies to both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  This article applies mainly to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and not Chapter 13.  To learn more about your options for bankruptcy, please read my previous blog posts on the subject.  Here is a link:    
http://www.balandlaw.com/3/category/bankruptcy/1.html.

When you file for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy trustee (the person who is in charge of administering your bankruptcy) will take all of your property and sell it to pay your creditors, or the people you owe money to.  There are three basic ways to keep your property out of the hands of the bankruptcy trustee:

(1.) EXEMPT: Property that is exempt does not go to the bankruptcy trustee and does not become part of what is called your bankruptcy estate.  Your bankruptcy estate is all of the property that is not exempt and available to the bankruptcy trustee to pay your creditors.  The law provides that some property is automatically exempt,and does not become part of your bankruptcy estate.  You can decide whether to use the exemptions provided by federal law or state law.  For most people. federal exemptions are more appropriate, although there are good reasons to choose state exemptions.

Regardless of whether you choose the state or federal exemptions, you get to keep the clothes on your back, your "household goods and furnishings" (like your furniture, radio, television, etc.) up to a certain value, and a car (again up to a certain value).  These are only examples, and there are many more exemptions available.  For a full list, see 11 U.S.C. 522 and Minn. Stat. 550.37.

(2.) REAFFIRM: If you owe money and are making payments on a loan that is secured by an item of property, such as a car or house that the creditor (the person to whom you owe money), you can generally keep that property if it is exempt and you reaffirm the debt and agree to keep making your payments when they come due.  This happens most often when you are making payments on a car loan or mortgage, and want to keep the car or house.  So you reaffirm the debt, and promise to keep making payments on it in order to keep the property.

To reaffirm a debt, you sign a document called a Reaffirmation Agreement that is usually prepared by the creditor.  Every Reaffirmation Agreement must be approved by a judge, unless it involves real property.  Approval is not automatic, and a judge does not have to sign off on a Reaffirmation Agreement.

Sometimes, a judge does not approve a Reaffirmation Agreement, especially if you are trying to reaffirm a debt on something that is not practical, such as a boat, recreational vehicle, ATV (all-terrain vehicle).  Usually, if a Reaffirmation Agreement is not approved, the judge thinks it makes more sense for you to give up the property than keep it and keep making payments.  In such a case, I generally recommend contacting the creditor to see if the creditor will let you keep the property if you continue to make your payments.

(3.) BUY BACK: As a bankruptcy attorney, I try to find as many exemptions as possible to keep your property out of the hands of the bankruptcy trustee.  If, for whatever reason, a certain item of your property goes to the bankruptcy trustee, you can buy that property from the trustee and get the property back by paying the value of the property to the trustee.  For example, if you have a nonexempt item of personal property that goes to the trustee, you can pay the value of that property to the trustee to get the property back.

Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C. represents consumer debtors and small businesses in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings.  Please call (763) 450-9494 to schedule an appointment to discuss your situation today and find out whether declaring bankruptcy is the right option for you!

DISCLAIMER: Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C. is a debt-relief agency, and Timothy H. Baland, Esq. is a debt-relief agent.  We help people like you to obtain bankruptcy relief.

WARNING: The information contained in this article does not constitute legal advice and may not be applicable to your situation.  Reading this blog post does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C.  This blog post may constitute attorney advertising.  Further, Tim is licensed only in Minnesota state and federal courts, and the information that is provided here is applicable only to those jurisdictions.  You should always discuss your situation with an attorney before taking any action based on what you may read in this blog.  To that end, please call (763) 450-9494 to set up an appointment to discuss your situation.

I generally recommend that a landlord bring an eviction action as soon as a tenant falls behind in rent.  If the landlord lets two or more months go by without demanding that the tenant pay rent, the tenant will believe they can stay in the property without having to pay rent, lease or no lease.  Bringing an eviction action shows the tenant that the landlord is serious about payment of rent, and that the tenant has to pay rent in order to stay in the property.

After the landlord has successfully evicted the tenant, I recommend that the landlord sue the tenant in conciliation court for the unpaid rent and any other amounts due and owing under the lease in order to get a judgment against the tenant, and transfer that judgment from conciliation court to district court..  Although the landlord cannot expect to get any money that day, that week, that month, or even that year, the tenant will eventually want to buy a house, but will be unable to qualify for a mortgage with the landlord's judgment on their record

Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C. represents both landlords and tenants in eviction actions, and in other litigation related to the landlord-tenant legal relationship.  Please call (763) 450-9494 to schedule an appointment to discuss your situation today!

WARNING: The information contained in this blog post does not constitute legal advice and may not be applicable to your situation.  Reading this blog post does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C.  You should always discuss your situation with an attorney before taking any action based on what you may read in this blog.  To that end, please call (763) 450-9494 to set up an appointment to discuss your situation.

The short answer is no, probably not, but the explanation of why you do not have to give up your property is fairly complex.  When you file for bankruptcy, all of your property goes to the bankruptcy trustee, who will sell your property and use it to pay your debts.  There are three ways to keep property out of the trustee’s hands.  First, the trustee does not get your property if the property is exempt.  As a bankruptcy attorney, I look for as many exemptions as possible.  Second, if you want to keep secured property such as a car or house, you can promise to keep on making your regular payments, or reaffirm the debt.  Third, if you want to keep property that goes to the trustee, you can buy it back from the trustee.  You will have to give up property that does not fall into one or more of these categories.  For more information, please call me at (763) 450-9494 to discuss your case.  Thanks!

WARNING: The information contained in this blog post does not constitute legal advice and may not be applicable to your situation.  Reading this blog post does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C.  You should always discuss your situation with an attorney before taking any action based on what you may read in this blog.  To that end, please call (763) 450-9494 to set up an appointment to discuss your situation.