November 14, 2023
Last Updated
Whether the rental unit is in between tenants or your current tenant keeps bringing you mail for a previous resident, it’s annoying to deal with mail from former tenants with no forwarding address.
When people move, they are supposed to provide the United States Post Office with their new address. Here’s what to do with old mail for a former tenant with no forwarding address.
Simple Technique For Mail From Former Tenants With No Forwarding Address
The easiest way to deal with mail from former tenants with no forwarding address is to write “Return to Sender,” “No Longer At This Address” or “Moved” on the outside of each envelope.
The post office will take note and return the mail to the sender. That business or individual will hopefully update their records and stop sending mail for that person. The post office will also update their records.
Landlords should know that the post office is usually very good about making changes such as this. Eventually, most of the mail for the previous tenant should stop.
Other Ways to Handle Mail From Former Tenants With No Forwarding Address
If the errant mail delivery still persists, landlords may have to take a few additional steps. Leaving a note on or inside the mailbox for the mail carrier is often effective. The sticky note should say something like “Former Tenant’s Name is not at this address” or “Please deliver mail only to Current Tenant’s Name.”
Most mail carriers will quickly learn to sort the mail and take out anything addressed to the previous tenant.
If the problem still persists, landlords can speak directly to their mail carrier. Or they can take a trip to the local post office to speak to the station manager. They can make the specific request about the previous tenant’s mail there.
RentPrep’s Take On Mail From Former Tenants With No Forwarding Address
The landlords we associate with agreed that the post offices in their areas eventually sorted out the problem. After a few notices, most mail carriers were able to take care of the former tenant’s mail.
The bigger problem always seems to be not having the former tenant’s forwarding address for other purposes. Landlords need it to return some or all of the security deposit. They also need it if they need to go after the tenant in small claims court.
The other advice that landlords have for each other is to never open a previous tenant’s mail, no matter what. It is against the law for anyone to open mail not addressed to them. Even throwing the mail away is considered a form of mail theft.
What Are Other Landlords Saying About Mail From Former Tenants With No Forwarding Address
A landlord shouldn’t have to spend much time dealing with mail from former tenants with no forwarding address. A few simple steps should remedy the problem quickly.
Here’s a screenshot of landlords discussing this question in our private Facebook group for Landlords.
You can see even more comments on that post by checking it out in the group.