What Happens If You Leave Furniture inside your Apartment When Moving Out?
Find out in this article.
Can You Leave Furniture in an Apartment?
In general, you are responsible to take out all of your furniture. If you are reading this article, you probably have good intentions and want to do the right thing. In general, unless you are renting the furniture or explicitly told otherwise, you should move out all of your furniture.
Unless specific arrangements have been made otherwise with your landlord, it is not advisable to leave furniture in your apartment when you move out.
If you move out and leave furniture behind, you could be charged by your landlord for disposal (check your lease and local specifics). Moreover, it could be deducted from your security deposit.
Can You Leave Anything Behind?
Generally speaking, no! You cannot leave anything behind unless it is specified in your contract or otherwise agreed to in writing. Most leases stipulate that you must return the apartment in the same condition you received, less normal wear and tear. If you leave anything behind, you are most likely liable for the cost of disposal.
You shouldn’t leave large furniture next to the trash dumpster either. Your landlord will likely get charged per piece of large bulk furniture that is left behind. Therefore, if you decide not to take furniture, you should dispose of properly (see below for more) or face possible fines.
Will My Furniture Be Thrown Out?
Your furniture will likely be disposed of or thrown out and this cost will be passed on to you either by taking it from your security deposit and/or by sending you a bill (if cost exceeds your security deposit or you have other damage).
To avoid disputes or additional costs, it is best to get everything out of the apartment before or on move out.
If you are a landlord with furniture left on your property, check your local state and ordinance guidelines to find out how to best deal with the situation.
What happens if you leave a piece of furniture in apartment?
If you simply leave a piece of furniture in the apartment, you are still likely subject to deduction from your security deposit for the landlord’s time to remove and dispose of that furniture. It is almost always advisable to take all of your furniture with you unless specific arrangements were made with your landlord, you rented the furniture, or some other unique situation.
Where to get rid of furniture?
If you are looking for ways to get rid of apartment furniture, first check with your apartment building. There may be a way that for a nominal additional fee they can arrange for bulk trash pick up. Secondarily, you may be able to donate to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or similar if you can get the furniture there.
You should not leave furniture next to trash dumpster at your building (without permission from your landlord) or you will likely be subject to large fees that your landlord will incur and likely pass on to you.
As landlords, we often get notified of these largeย furniture items left near the dumpster either from our maintenance team, from fellow residents, or from bills that we received from the trash company. At that point, we are often able to review camera footage to determine who left the items there.
Summary
In general, unless specific arrangements were made otherwise with your landlord, upon move out, you should remove all furniture from the apartment that you own.
If there is furniture that you do not want, contact local charities or coordinate with your landlord to dispose of furniture properly. This can likely be done for a small pick up fee from the landlord’s trash company.
