Abandoned property

[katstevens]

Hello,

I am wondering what the legalities and time limits are on property that a tenant has left behind for an extended period of time. I ask this because I am scheduled to move into a house in about 10 days. The prior tenant removed all of his possessions from the house, but still has the detached garage full of his stuff. The tenant was evicted over 3 months ago and has refused to answer or return phone calls from the landlord to come get his stuff. Within the last week, someone got a message to him that the property was going to be rented and his stuff would be sold unless he got rid of it asap. Since then there are signs that he has been there and has made it look as if he is going to be moving things out but nothing has been moved yet.

So, I guess my questions are, what if he hasn't gotten everything out of there by the time we take possession? I don't want to have to deal with this guy moving out once we are there.

And secondly, is there a certain amount of time following an eviction that the tenant forfeits his right of ownership and the landlord can dispose of the property left behind?

Any advice would be appreciated and thank you in advance.

 

[mightymoose]

Put that burden on the landlord. Make sure that he will have the evicted tenant's property removed by the time you move in.
If the eviction was 3 months ago then the landlord can take that property and sell it, donate it, whatever. Previous tenant was supposed to take all those things at the time he was evicted.

 

[katstevens]

Put that burden on the landlord. Make sure that he will have the evicted tenant's property removed by the time you move in.
If the eviction was 3 months ago then the landlord can take that property and sell it, donate it, whatever. Previous tenant was supposed to take all those things at the time he was evicted.

I thank you for your advice! But I have one question...I have browsed through the Cal. Landlord Tenant Law and have found it to be very vague in regard to abandoned property. I realize that this is the landlords responsibility, but I love the law and learning about it, so just for my own knowledge, is there a section that specifies the info you gave me? If so, I would really appreciate it if you would let me know.

 

[mightymoose]

There is... and if nobody else has answered that question before I get home from work in the morning I will be happy to look it up for you.

As I recall, if the previous tenant was evicted he had 72 hours to get his stuff out.

 

[army judge]

If someone has been evicted, the sheriff removes their property to the street.

If a court has ordered a person out, they have a period of time to vacate the premises and remove their belongings.

If property has been left in the premises, maybe they were not evicted.

Perhaps, they abandoned the property?






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[mightymoose]

Sorry... I forgot about this and didn't look up the code. Don't have time now... will try again tomorrow.

If a person is evicted it is very possible that they still leave property behind. They have a few days to get it out, and the landlord can move it or store it at expense of the evicted person during that time. The landlord can also sell or otherwise dispose of it after that time.

I still think it is 72 hours...

 

[mightymoose]

The issue regarding property is covered in California Code of Civil Procedure 1174. The notice that is required in this section is given at the time of eviction on the Writ of Possession, so no further notice is needed.

On the Writ of Possession- "Except for a mobile home, personal property remaining on
the premises will be sold or otherwise disposed of in accordance with CCP 1174 unless you or the owner of the property pays the judgment creditor the reasonable cost of storage and takes possession of the personal property not later than 15 days after the
time the judgment creditor takes possession of the premises."

So, with notice given at the time of eviction, the clock started on those 15 days and has long since expired. The property is abandoned and the landlord can dispose of it as he chooses.

 

[mightymoose]

That, of course, is assuming that the previous tenant was actually evicted and served with the Writ of Possession. If the tenant bailed out before the process got that far then the landlord needs to give notice as explained in CCP 1174.