It is common for people to forget or misplace their items in many different types of public areas, e.g., batei medrash, schools/yeshivos, mikvaos, simcha halls, stores, offices, and the like. People always ask what they are responsible to do with all the forgotten items.
Solution for Items Forgotten in Public Places
Notice. Since many items are forgotten in public places, it is proper to put up a notice visible to everyone who enters informing them that if an item’s owner does not come to claim it within a certain amount of time, e.g., thirty days, the item will become hefker and the management will be allowed to do with it as it sees fit. Then, when the time arrives, the management may in fact sell it, dispose of it, or keep it (שו''ת שבט הלוי ח''ה סי' רי''ח, שו''ת מנחת יצחק ח''ח סי' קמ''ו). They are allowed to do this because people enter there with the knowledge that after thirty days their things will become hefker. If they do not consent to this condition, they have the option of not entering.
The management of public institutions and buildings is responsible to put up a notice like this in every building to avoid shailos of hashovas aveida and gezeila.
Remove items every Shabbos Mevorchim. Some places, e.g., mikvaos, remove all items left behind at certain times, e.g., every Erev Shabbos Mevorchim. If there is a notice informing the public that all items are removed every Shabbos Mevorchim, they may do so. Anyone may come and take the removed items lying outside, e.g., towels, articles of clothing, shampoo, soap, and the like, because it is all hefker, as people come to toivel knowing at the outset that this is the policy.
However, if they only put up this notice a few days before Shabbos Mevorchim, and it is possible someone came before the notice was up and is not aware of it, the items do not become hefker.
