Roommate - Property - LA

[cogywy]

My Roommate left all, and I mean all of his possessions behind (including his dog). I need to move into his room as I have my daughter coming to live with me and I have no place to store his possessions. What are my legal obligations to all of this stuff

 

[army judge]

My Roommate left all, and I mean all of his possessions behind (including his dog). I need to move into his room as I have my daughter coming to live with me and I have no place to store his possessions. What are my legal obligations to all of this stuff

You should not touch ANY of his belongings.
If you no longer want to care for the dog, you can contact your local dog catcher.
You could turn the dog over to the agency that collects or captures strays.
Your roomie has abandoned the dog.

Is your roomie's name on the lease?
You need not answer, but you need to know what your roomie's rights are from the LA rental law.
I've posted their site below.

http://www.rentlaw.com/louisiana.htm

Summarizing, you are required to evict your roomie.
You are required to protect his property in accordance with LA law.
Only a court can order his property to be removed form the premises.
Only a law enforcement official can remove the property.
You don't need to know his current address.
You can post your notices at his last known address, which is your home!
Eviction is only done after notice has been posted, a hearing requested, and a hearing held.
That process will take 6-8 weeks, sometimes longer.
It never gets done in less than 5 weeks, for reasons you will discover when you read the law.
You can hire an attorney to represent you.
Or, you can do it yourself.
Yeah, it sucks.
But, if you fail to do it correctly, he can sue you for lots of money!
Good luck!!!!!!!!

 

[cogywy]

i was waiting for you to tell me what the deal was...either way, his name isn't on the lease. his name isn't represented on a single piece of paper. he literally lived here for two months and left a giant pile of shit. am i obligated to keep his property in accordance with louisiana renters law? also am i obligated to "evict" him without said lease?

 

[army judge]

i was waiting for you to tell me what the deal was...either way, his name isn't on the lease. his name isn't represented on a single piece of paper. he literally lived here for two months and left a giant pile of shit. am i obligated to keep his property in accordance with louisiana renters law? also am i obligated to "evict" him without said lease?

Unfortunately, yes.

Even if he were a month toi month tenant, you had a lease.

The lease was a creature of state law.

The law allows no oral agreements, insofar as property is concerned.

You had a lease by operation of state law.

That lease only required you to give him 30 days notice to leave.

Had he been a guest, things could be different.

The fact that he was only a month to month tenant only changes the time you had to tell him to leave.

Sadly, that ship has sailed, legally.

There are things you could do to alter the outcome a bit in your favor.

As an attorney, it would be unethical for me to reveal them to you.

That said, ask around, someone you know will surely know a rather indelicate way to proceed, should you believe the court process is too cumbersome.

Magic words my friend, magic words.

It ain't always what you say, but HOW you say it!

 

[mightymoose]

Look into your state law regarding abandoned property. You will find information regarding particular time frames and proper notice. I'm assuming you don't have a way to contact this person to demand the property be picked up, but that would be best if you can. You didn't say how long ago he left- personally I wouldn't do anything unless it has been more than 30 days. If he should return then you would have to allow him back in. Also check the lease for terms regarding abandonment.

You won't get into any trouble if you pack his belongings into boxes and store them in a garage or other storage facility. You are still a tenant and are entitled to use the space. If you opt for a storage facility and have given proper notice then you could attempt to recoup the cost of storage at a later time. It is possible that if he should return then you might be stuck with the cost of storage.

What you don't want to do is throw the property out or sell it. After the specified time that your state requires has passed and the property hasn't been claimed, then you could potentially sell the items to recover any cost you have incurred.