LetterAgent
Mail physical letters by just asking your AI assistant.
Home > Guides > Previous tenant's mail
Run a steady mark-and-return routine: write "not at this address" on every piece for the previous tenant and give it back to your carrier unopened. Tell your landlord or property manager to contact the former resident about updating their address, and put your own name clearly on the mailbox. Most of it stops within a few weeks.
Three things conspire against you. First, forwarding orders expire: in the US a standard change of address runs about a year, and in Canada mail redirection is a paid, time-limited service, so mail that was being forwarded silently starts landing at the old address again. Second, many senders never got the memo because the previous tenant updated their address with the post office but not with their bank, insurer, or dentist. Third, marketing lists are rented and stale for months at a time. None of this is yours to fix except by returning the mail and letting the senders learn.
| Action | Who does it | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Contact the former resident about the stray mail | Landlord or property manager | They have the forwarding contact; you don't |
| Put your name on the mailbox and buzzer | You (ask permission if renting) | Carriers read names; a visible current name cuts down mis-deliveries |
| Stop holding mail "just in case" | You | Stacking it in a drawer teaches senders nothing; returning it teaches them to update |
If the volume is heavy or the mail arrives in many different names, you might be looking at something stranger than a forgetful tenant, possibly identity fraud using your address. In the US, that's a job for the Postal Inspection Service; in Canada, contact Canada Post's customer service and, if you suspect fraud, your local police non-emergency line. Document what arrives: photograph the outside of suspicious envelopes before returning them.
Also worth knowing: you cannot file a change of address for someone else, in either country. Only the person who moved can redirect their own mail. So the routine really is the whole strategy: mark, return, repeat, and bring in the landlord for the pieces that need a phone call.
Parcels for a previous tenant are trickier because couriers, unlike postal carriers, often have no return-to-sender flow at the door. If a parcel arrives, contact the sender directly if the label shows one, or tell the courier's driver or depot to pick it back up. Don't keep it: keeping a parcel that isn't yours is a different legal problem than simply returning mail.
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is printed and mailed.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
Need help? Ask your assistant: it can check a job's status any time. If it ever can't handle something: hello@getletteragent.com