What landlords must do with personal property left behind after eviction or abandonment, under MGL c. 239, § 4
Massachusetts is one of the strictest states in the country on tenant belongings, and it is the opposite of a "set it on the curb" state. The core rule lives in MGL Chapter 239, Section 4, the "move-and-store" law that governs court evictions, and it forces you to move a tenant's property to a licensed public warehouse rather than trash or donate it. Just as important is what the statute does not cover: when a tenant simply walks away and leaves things behind, there is no Massachusetts statute giving you a clean disposal timeline, so the wrong move exposes you to a conversion claim and a Chapter 93A consumer-protection claim carrying multiple damages and attorney's fees. This page walks through both situations and the numbers that actually appear in the statute.
Follow these steps precisely to protect yourself from liability under MGL c. 239, § 4:
When you evict through summary process and obtain an execution, you cannot remove the tenant's belongings yourself and you cannot leave them at the curb. A levying officer (a constable or sheriff) handles the physical move-out, and the property is taken to a licensed public warehouse. As the plaintiff, you pay the cost of removing the property to storage. In practice the officer gives roughly 48 hours of notice before the belongings are physically moved, which gives the tenant a last window to take their things or vacate voluntarily.
The warehouse itself carries statutory duties. Under c.239 s4, the public warehouser must issue a warehouse receipt no later than 7 days after the property is removed, and must insure the stored property against fire and theft for no less than $10,000. A warehouser that violates the section faces a civil penalty of up to $5,000. Storage rates are regulated rather than open-ended; rate approval sits with the state licensing authority (the Division of Occupational Licensure; older references point to the Department of Public Safety).
The storage lien is real but slow to ripen. Under MGL c.239 s4, the lien cannot be enforced by sale or disposal until the property has been kept in storage for at least 6 months. That six-month floor is the number to remember: nothing gets sold or thrown out before then.
The tenant also has an affirmative right to buy more time. The tenant may postpone the sale or disposal of the property for an additional 3 months by paying one-half of all storage fees incurred, plus the costs reasonably incurred in preparing the property for sale. Because the eviction process routes belongings through a bonded warehouse rather than your basement, most of these mechanics are administered by the warehouse, not by you, once the officer completes the move.
Once property has sat unclaimed and the storage charges go unpaid past the 6-month mark, the warehouse may sell the unclaimed items at auction to satisfy the storage lien. Sale proceeds are applied to the unpaid storage and lien charges. If the auction brings in more than what is owed, that surplus belongs to the tenant, not to the landlord and not to the warehouse. This is the same principle that runs through Massachusetts lien law generally: a lienholder recovers what it is owed and no more.
The practical takeaway for landlords is that the eviction storage system is not a way to recover back rent from a tenant's furniture. Your remedy for unpaid rent is a money judgment, pursued separately, and many evicted tenants are effectively judgment-proof because Massachusetts exempts public-assistance income and other assets from collection.
The trap for landlords is the non-eviction situation: the tenant moves out on their own, hands back the keys or just disappears, and leaves belongings behind. Massachusetts has no statute setting a fixed notice period or disposal schedule for this scenario. There is no Massachusetts equivalent of the tidy "store it 30 days, then sell" clocks that many other states put in their codes.
That silence is dangerous, not permissive. If you discard a departed tenant's property without a court order and it turns out the tenant had not truly abandoned it, you can be sued for conversion and, separately, under MGL Chapter 93A, the Massachusetts consumer-protection statute. A 93A violation can carry double or treble damages plus attorney's fees. The conservative playbook is to first confirm the unit is genuinely vacated, then send written notice to the tenant's last and best known address, inventory and photograph everything, store it safely, and give the tenant a real opportunity to reclaim before you dispose of anything.
There is no federal statute governing a residential tenant's abandoned personal property. Unlike security-deposit interest or habitability, this area is left entirely to state statute and state common law, so Massachusetts rules control from start to finish. That makes the c.239 s4 move-and-store framework and the underlying conversion and 93A exposure the whole of the picture for a Massachusetts landlord.
Do not confuse the eviction move-and-store law with the self-storage lien statute. MGL Chapter 105A governs self-service storage facility liens, a separate commercial context from a tenant's belongings left in a rental unit. When in doubt on a specific move-out, confirm the current statutory text and get counsel before selling or discarding anything.
This overview reflects Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 239, Section 4 (the eviction "move-and-store" statute) and the conversion and Chapter 93A exposure that governs voluntarily abandoned property. Statutory dollar figures, the 6-month storage floor, and the 3-month postponement right are drawn from the current text of c.239 s4. It is general information for landlords, not legal advice; statutes and licensing-agency rules change, so confirm the governing text and consult a Massachusetts landlord-tenant attorney before selling or discarding any tenant property.
No. Massachusetts is not a curbside-eviction state. In a court eviction, MGL c.239 s4 requires the levying officer to move belongings to a licensed public warehouse, not the sidewalk. For a voluntary move-out, discarding property without notice invites a conversion claim and a Chapter 93A claim.
Under MGL c.239 s4, the storage lien cannot be enforced by sale or disposal until the property has been kept in storage for at least 6 months. Only after that point can unclaimed, unpaid items be sold at auction to cover storage charges.
Yes. The tenant can postpone the sale or disposal for an additional 3 months by paying one-half of all storage fees incurred, plus the costs reasonably incurred in preparing the property for sale, under MGL c.239 s4.
The plaintiff landlord pays the cost of removing the property to the place of storage. The warehouse then holds the property under a storage lien, and storage rates are regulated by the state licensing authority rather than set freely.
Auction proceeds are applied to the unpaid storage and lien charges. Any surplus above what is owed belongs to the tenant. The eviction storage process is not a mechanism to recover back rent; that requires a separate money judgment.
No specific statute sets a disposal timeline for a voluntary move-out. Because Massachusetts is silent, the safe course is written notice to the tenant's last known address, a photographed inventory, safe storage, and a real chance to reclaim before disposing, to avoid conversion and Chapter 93A liability.
Statutory citation: MGL c. 239, § 4. Laws current as of 2025, verify against your state's current statutes before acting. Last updated July 14, 2026. This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for your specific situation.
