USPS Mail Advice: How do I get rid of mail of former tenants?

Put a line through the address and write “not at this address” on the envelopes and put them back in the mailbox. After a few weeks your mail carrier will (hopefully) get the idea and start returning them.
Also, put your name in your mailbox where the carrier will see it when they open it. You might also want to site “only” below your name.

My mail carrier says put your name and ONLY on the box. They won’t be allowed to put any other mail there. It should also get rid of resident mail.

If it still comes write not at this address on it and send it back. You might also write return to sender

Just curious if I write “Not at this address” what actually happens? Does the mailman bring it back to the office where there’s someone in charge of removing the names? Thanks again you two :)

The delivery person takes it back and it either goes back to the sender or into the unclaimed mail bin. If there is a change of address on file, it might be forwarded.

Try a Google search on the former tenants and see if you can find their new address. Then put that address on all of their mail that comes to you.

@RocketGuy It probably won’t reach them if you do that. USPS is under no obligation to forward mail without a fee. They would probably return it to sender instead.

If they did forward re-addressed mail, this would be a brilliant way to avoid paying postage, don’t you think? We could exchange Christmas cards forever on a single stamp.

I agree write “not at this address.” USPS will return to sender if there is no forwarding address to send it to. Sometimes that mailperson makes a mistake and is not forwarding the mail. My mailbox actually has two names inside of it (it’s a locked box, the mailman out them there) of people who are currently having their mailed forward, because they lived here before me. If it is returned to sender the sender if they are a legit type place will stop sending to you and sometimes try to contact the person.

USPS is very good at this sort of thing usually. Every once in a while you have a bad mail carrier or a post office isn’t great, but it is extremely rare. We have a great mail system generally speaking,

Mail comes to our house for our landlord, and former tenant. Some of it is important. I used to gather it up and put it on the porch for the landlord to come and get since I was not sure which name was the landlord. Every time she stopped by the house to pick it up, she’s found lots of work for us to do in the yard of the house we are renting from her. I have asked her repeatedly to have them put in a change of address, but they never bothered. I might start putting “return to sender” on there, but hubby just tosses it in the recycle now. I don’t blame him.

@glacial – I did that for the former owners of our house. Their mail eventually stopped coming to our house. I do not know where USPS sent it.

It used to be that if you put your friend’s name and address as the return address, then “forget” to attach a stamp, USPS would return the letter to the return address, and your friend would receive your letter at no cost.

I always put “No longer at this address” on the envelopes and put them back in the outgoing mail. After a while, it stops coming, so I assume the post office does do something about it.