Articles
Options For A Landlord:
When A Tenant's
Personal Property Has Been Left In The
Rental Unit
When tenants
move out of a rental unit, they are required
to also move their personal property.
(Personal property is everything which
a person can own except for land. Personal
property is also referred to as personal
possessions or personal belongings.)
California law has three different procedures
which a landlord may follow to remove
and dispose of personal property left
in a rental unit after a tenant has vacated.
A landlord who has properly followed
one of the procedures cannot be held
liable for any damages related to the
property.
The
three procedures apply to the following
three situations:
- The tenant has requested that the
property be returned.
- It appears that the property has
been abandoned.
- It appears that the property has
been lost. (The owner is unknown.)
Which
procedure a landlord should follow in
any particular case depends upon the
situation.
Some general
guidelines for all situations.
Store
property safely . . .
When
a tenant has left personal property in
a rental unit, the landlord should safely
store the property. A landlord may choose
to leave the property in the rental unit.
But if the unit may be rented soon, the
landlord should store the property elsewhere.
Wherever the landlord chooses to store
the property, it must be kept in a safe
place, where the property will not be
damaged or stolen. In storing the property,
the landlord must use reasonable care
to keep it safe. If property is lost
or damaged, and if the landlord did not
act in a deliberate or negligent manner
in storing and caring for the property,
the landlord will not be liable for any
storage related loss.1
Act
reasonably . . .
In
deciding whether or not a particular
case fits into the lost property situation
or the abandoned property situation,
a landlord is held by the law to a certain
standard. And in deciding who the property
owners are or might be, the landlord
is held to that same standard. The standard
is: A landlord must act reasonably,
and the landlord's actions must be based
on a reasonable belief.
The
law defines a "reasonable belief" as
the actual knowledge or belief that a
prudent person would have, given the
facts then known by that person. Generally
a landlord is not required to conduct
an investigation to obtain more facts.
But, if a landlord has information which
indicates that an investigation would
provide more facts about the identity
of the property owner, and if the cost
of the investigation would be reasonable
in view of the probable value of the
property, then the landlord should make
the investigation. If an investigation
should have been made but wasn't, then
the landlord is held to a higher standard
- the reasonableness of the landlord's
actions would be judged as if the landlord
had conducted an investigation and had
known the facts which the investigation
would have revealed.2
What
all this means is that in deciding whether
the property left behind is abandoned
or lost, the landlord must keep in mind
all of the facts that the landlord knows
or ought to know about the situation.
And in deciding who the property owner
or owners might be, the landlord also
must keep in mind all of the facts that
the landlord knows or ought to know.
For example, if the landlord knows that
a telephone call or two, or a search
of public records, would give the landlord
more information about who the property
owner is, and if the value of the property
is significantly more than the cost of
the phone calls and public records search,
the landlord should make the calls and
do the search.
Avoid
unlawful self-help ...
When
a landlord disposes of personal property
by properly following one of the three
legal procedures, the landlord can avoid
the possibility of being held liable
for unlawfully taking or converting the
property.3
If
a landlord goes about disposing of the
property in some other way, resorting
to self-help methods, the landlord could
be liable for money damages.4
Please
remember . . .
The
steps outlined in this legal guide are
only for situations where personal property
has been left in a rental unit which
has been vacated by the tenant. If the
tenant has not vacated the unit, a landlord
has no legal right to dispose of personal
property in the unit. If a landlord believes
that a unit has been abandoned by the
tenant, the landlord must follow certain
legal steps to declare the rental unit
abandoned. Only after the rental unit
is legally considered abandoned can the
landlord dispose of personal belongings
left in it on that basis.
SITUATION
NO. 1: Where The Tenant Has Requested
Return of Property
Within
18 days after moving out of a rental
unit, a tenant may write the former landlord
requesting that the personal possessions
left in the rental unit be returned.
When a tenant has properly followed all
the steps of this procedure, the landlord
is required by law to return the possessions
to the tenant, and also becomes liable
for damages if the possessions are not
returned. If a tenant is unable to take
the steps for requesting return of property,
the tenant may authorize someone else
to act as the tenant's representative.
The landlord should treat the representative
as if she or he was the tenant.5
The
tenant must make a written request, which
must include a description of the property
left behind, and must give the landlord
the tenant's current mailing address.6
The
landlord may charge the tenant reasonable
costs for removing and storing the tenant's
property. A landlord is only permitted
to recover costs which are reasonably
related to the cost of removing the tenant's
property from the rental unit and storing
it. The storage costs charged cannot
be more than the fair rental value of
the space reasonably required to store
the property.7 That
is, if all the tenant's property would
fit in a storage space unit of 10 square
feet, the landlord is not entitled to
receive payment for the cost of renting
15 square feet.
However,
before the tenant becomes legally obligated
to pay those costs, the landlord must
have followed certain steps. To properly
claims costs, the landlord must, within
five days after receiving the tenant's
written demand for return of the property,
make a written demand on the tenant to
pay costs. The written demand must individually
list all the costs which the landlord
is asking the tenant to pay, including
both the amount of each charge and what
each charge is for. The landlord may
either give the demand for payment of
costs to the tenant in person, or may
mail it to the tenant at the mailing
address provided by the tenant.8
The
tenant should pay the landlord the reasonable
costs of removing and storing the property.
Next, the landlord and tenant should
talk to each other and agree upon to
a time for the tenant to claim the property.
Both the landlord and the tenant must
agree to a time that is no more than
72 hours (three days) after the time
when the tenant paid the landlord's costs.9
If
no costs were paid, either because the
landlord did not demand any costs or
because the landlord did not properly
demand costs, the tenant and the landlord
should agree to have the tenant claim
the property within a reasonable time
after the tenant's request letter was
received by the landlord. The law assumes
that three days is a reasonable time
in the absence of evidence to the contrary.10
Even
in the best of circumstances, things
can go wrong -- for instance a landlord
who followed all the correct steps and
released the property to a tenant might
later be contacted by a second tenant
demanding return of the same property.
In that case, if a landlord has followed
the law, the landlord cannot be held
liable even if he or she gave the property
to the wrong person. If a landlord has
complied with the law, then the law protects
the landlord in this situation.
Furthermore,
a landlord could receive two conflicting
demands for the same personal property
from former tenants who rented the same
unit. In this situation the landlord
must give the property to the tenant
who first properly requested return of
the property.11 In such a case,
the law will not require the landlord
to guess or to decide who is the true
owner of the property.
A landlord
who has improperly retained personal
property after a tenant has properly
followed the steps to request that the
property be returned can be required
to pay the tenant actual damages up to
the value of the property retained, and
up to $250 as punitive damages for each
violation, as well as the tenant's attorney's
fees and court costs if the tenant wins
in court.12
SITUATION
NO. 2: Where The Property Is Apparently
Abandoned
To
dispose of apparently abandoned property
without risking liability for damages
to the landlord, a landlord must follow
the steps below. If the tenant left the
unit because of a court-ordered eviction,
the timing of the steps is slightly different.
This difference is discussed below in
the bold bracketed [ ] sections.
Steps
to follow with abandoned property.
To
dispose of personal possessions which
apparently have been abandoned, the landlord
should take the following steps:13
1.a. Write a notice
to the former tenant or tenants.14
[No notice is required
for former tenants who were evicted
under a writ of possession.15 A
notice already is contained in
the writ of possession form which
the sheriff is required to serve
upon the evicted tenant or tenants.]
b. Write a notice to
any other person whom the landlord
believes may be the owner of some or
all of the abandoned property.16
The notice17 must:
1) Give enough information
about the property so that the possible
owner can identify it.
2) Tell the tenant
or other possible owner receiving
the notice the place where the property
may be claimed.
3) Give the tenant
or other possible owner a deadline
after which time the property cannot
be claimed.
[A tenant who
is evicted under a writ of possession
has 15 days after the landlord
takes possession of the rental
unit to pay reasonable costs
of storage and to take possession
of items left in the rental unit.]18
4) Tell the tenant
or other possible owner what the
landlord intends to do with any of
the property which is not claimed
by the deadline.
5) Tell the tenant
or other possible owner whether reasonable
costs of storage will be charged
before the property is returned.
2. Deliver the notices
to the tenants and other possible owners
of the property.
3. Meet with the tenant
and other possible owners when they
come to claim the property.
4. If by the deadline,
the tenant or other person pays the
landlord any properly demanded storage
costs, the landlord must release the
property to the tenant or to any other
person who the landlord reasonably
believes to be its owner.19
5. If the property is
not released and if the landlord stated
in his or her notice that he or she
intended to sell the property at a
public sale, the landlord must release
the property to the former tenant if,
before the actual sale, the tenant
claims it and pays the reasonable costs
of storage and of advertising the sale.20
6.If, after the deadline,
there is any property which was not
claimed by the tenants or any other
people notified, depending on the circumstances,
the landlord must do one of two things
with the remaining property:21
- If the landlord reasonably believes
that the property is worth less than
$300, he or she may keep it, give
it away, sell it or destroy it.
- If the property is reasonably believed
to be worth $300 or more, the landlord
should arrange to have it sold at
a public bidding sale after giving
notice of the sale through publication.
Both the landlord and the tenant
have a right to bid on the property
at the sale. After the property is
sold, the landlord may deduct the
costs of storage, advertising the
sale, and conducting the sale. The
remaining money must then be paid
over to the county. The county can
then give the money to the property
owner if the owner claims the money
at any time within one year after
the date when the county received
the money.
What should
the notice say?
Under
California law, the notice must contain
certain information.22 Sample
notices (one to a former tenant and one
to a person other than a former tenant)
are attached. A landlord may use this
sample notice, but will have to fill
in additional information, such as the
description of the property, the place
where the property may be claimed, and
a date by which the property must be
claimed. These are the legal requirements:
1.A
description of the property.
The
property should be described both in
sufficient detail, and in a way which
gives all possible owners enough information
for them to determine whether or not
the property might be theirs. The legal
limitations of liability provided to
a landlord do not apply to property which
is not described in the notice. However,
if the property includes a container
(for example a trunk, or box) which is
secured (that is locked, fastened or
tied, in a way which would keep anyone
from easily getting into it), then the
contents of the container need not be
described in the notice.23
2.A
deadline for claiming property.
A date
must be specified by which the potential
owner must claim the property. The date
given must be at least 15 days after
the notice was personally delivered or,
if the notice was mailed, a date not
less than 18 days after the notice was
mailed.24
3.
Charge for storage.
The
property owner may be charged for the
reasonable cost of storage of the property,
and that the charges must be paid before
the property is released to the owner.
4.
Where the property is located.
This
should include both the address where
the property was left and, if different,
when the property may be claimed by the
owner.
How should
the notice be delivered?
The
notice may be delivered to the tenant
or other possible owner by either:
- handing the notice to tenant or other
possible owner -- that is, personally
delivering the notice; or
- mailing the notice by first class
mail with postage prepaid to the tenant
or other possible owner at her or his
last know address.
In
addition, if the landlord has
reason to believe that the notice sent
to the person's last know address will
not be received by the person, the
landlord also must send the notice
to any other address, if known, where
it would be reasonable to expect the
person to receive the notice.
And,
if the notice is sent by mail to the
former tenant, one copy of the notice
also must be mailed to the tenant at
the address of the rental unit that the
tenant vacated.25
How should
storage costs be charged?
If
a former tenant claims the property,
the landlord may charge the tenant the
reasonable costs of storage for all personal
property left at the rental unit, but
only to the extent that the tenant has
not paid those costs to the landlord
previously.26
But,
if an owner other than the former tenant
claims a portion of the property, the
landlord may only require that person
to pay the reasonable costs of storage
for the property that person claims.27
In
any event, the landlord cannot charge
more than one person for the same costs.28
If
the landlord has stored the personal
property at the rental unit, the cost
of the storage must be the fair rental
value of the space reasonably required
for such storage for the term of storage.29
What is
the landlord's liability?
Once
the landlord has given the proper notices,
whether a landlord is liable to anyone
for the property depends upon whether
the property was released to someone
or whether the property was disposed
of in another way.
Property
was released:
If
the property is released to the former
tenant, then the landlord is not liable
to any person for that property.30
If
the property is released to someone other
than a former tenant, and if the landlord
reasonably believed that person to be
the owner of the property, the landlord
is not liable for that property to:
- any person to whom notice was given;
or
- any person to whom notice was not
given unless such person proves that:
(1) prior to releasing the property,
the landlord believed or reasonably
should have believed that such person
had an interest in the property; and,
(2) that the landlord knew or should
have known, upon reasonable investigation,
the address of such person.31
Property
disposed of in another manner (not
released):
If the landlord reasonably
believes that the total resale value
of all the property is less than $300,
the landlord may dispose of the property
in any manner.32 However,
if the landlord reasonably believes that
the total resale value of all of the
property is $300 or more, the property
must be sold at a public sale by competitive
bidding.
If the property is disposed
of in either of those ways, the landlord
is not liable for the property to:
- any person to whom notice was given;
or
- any person to whom notice was not
given unless such person proves that:
(1) prior to disposing of the property,
the landlord believed or reasonably
should have believed that such person
had an interest in the property; and,
(2) that the landlord knew or should
have known, upon reasonable investigation,
the address of such person.33
SITUATION
NO. 3:
Where The Property Apparently Is Lost
To
dispose of apparently lost property (legal
owner is unknown) without risking liability
to the owner, a landlord must follow
these steps:
If
the value of the property is reasonably
believed to be $100 or more,34 the
landlord must:
- Turn the property over to the police
department of the city where the property
was found. If the property was found
outside of the city limits, then the
property should be turned over to the
sheriff's department of the county
were the property was found.
- Fill out a written statement describing
the property, explaining when and where
the property was found, whether he
or she knows who owns the property,
and that he or she has not withheld
or disposed of any part of the property.
The statement, which is known as an "affidavit" or "declaration," must
be signed under penalty of perjury.35 A
blank form for the statement should
be available at the police or sheriff's
office.
The law enforcement agency is then obligated to
make reasonable attempts to find the property owner.
If the property is not claimed by the owner within
90 days, the property belongs to the landlord if
its reported value is less than $250. However,
if the reported value of the property is $250 or
more, the police or sheriff's department must publish
a notice of the property once in a newspaper of
general circulation. If no one claims, and proves
ownership of, the property within seven days after
the published notice, and if the landlord pays
the cost of publishing the notice, the property
belongs to the landlord.36
- 3. If the law enforcement agency
refuses to accept the property, then
to avoid being held liable for damages
to the property, the landlord should
handle the property according to the
same abandoned property procedure above
which the police or sheriff would apply.
NOTICE: We attempt
to make our legal guides accurate as
of the date of publication, but they
are only guidelines and not definitive
statements of the law. Questions about
the law's application to particular cases
should be directed to a specialist.
Prepared by:
Legal Services Unit
ENDNOTES
1
Civil Code section 1986.
2
Civil Code section 1980(d).
3
Civil Code section 1989, 1965(d). Code
of Civil Procedure section 1174(e).
4
Civil Code sections 1981(d), 1965(e); Gruber v. Pacific
States Sav. & Loan Co. (1939)
13 Cal.2d 144 [88 P.2d 137]; Love v. Keays (1971)
6 Cal.3d 339 [98 Cal. Rptr. 881]; Gray v. Whitmore (1971)
17 Cal. App. 3d 1 [94 Cal. Rptr. 904].
5
Civil Code section 1965(a).
6
Civil Code section 1965(a)(1).
7
Civil Code section 1965(b).
8
Civil Code section 1965(a)(3).
9
Civil Code section 1965 (a)(4).
10
Civil Code section 1965(e)(1).
11
Civil Code section 1965(d).
12
Civil Code section 1965(e).
13
CCP §§ 715.030 & 1174(f).
14.
Civil Code section 1983(a).
15
CCP §§ 715.030 & 1174(f).
16
Civil Code section 1983(a).
17
Civil Code section 1983(b).
18
CCP §§ 715.030 & 1174(f).
19
Civil Code section 1987(a).
20
Civil Code section 1987(b).
21
Civil Code section 1988.
22
Civil Code sections 1984 and 1985.
23
Civil Code section 1983(h).
24
Civil Code section 1983(b).
25
Civil Code section 1983(c).
26
Civil Code section 1990(a)(1).
27
Civil Code section 1990(a)(2).
28
Civil Code section 1990(b).
29
Civil Code section 1990(c).
30
Civil Code section 1989(a).
31
Civil Code section 1989(b).
32
Civil Code section 1989(b).
33
Civil Code section 1983(c).
34
Civil Code section 2080.1.
35
Civil Code section 2080.1.
36
Civil Code section 2080.3.
Form of
Notice to Former Tenant
Notice of Right to Reclaim
Abandoned Property
To: ____________________________________________________________________
(Name
of former tenant)
_______________________________________________________________________
(Address
of former tenant)
When you vacated the premises
at _____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
(Address of premises, including room
or apartment number, if any)
the following personal
property remained:_________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
(Insert description of the personal property)
You may claim this property
at _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
(Address where property may be claimed)
Unless you pay the reasonable
cost of storage for all the above-described
property, and take possession of the
property which you claim, not later than_____________________________
(insert date not less than 15 days after
notice is personally delivered or, if
mailed, not less than 18 days after notice
is deposited in the mail) this property
may be disposed of pursuant to Civil
Code section 1988. (Insert one of the
statements below which applies to the
facts of your situation.)
(1) If you fail to reclaim
the property, it will be sold at a public
sale after notice of the sale has been
given by publication. You have the right
to bid on the property at this sale.
After the property is sold and the cost
of storage, advertising, and sale is
deducted, the remaining money will be
paid over to the county. You may claim
the remaining money at any time within
one year after the county receives the
money.
Or
(2) Because this property
is believed to be worth less than $300,
it may be kept, sold, or destroyed without
further notice if you fail to reclaim
it within the time indicated above.
Dated: ___________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
(Signature of landlord)
_________________________________________________________________________
(Type or print name of landlord)
_________________________________________________________________________
(Telephone number)
_________________________________________________________________________
(Address)
Form of
Notice to Person Other than Former
Tenant
Notice of Right to Reclaim
Abandoned Property
To: ______________________________________________________________________
(name)
__________________________________________________________________________
(address)
When ________________________________________________________________(name
of former tenant) vacated the premises
at __________________________________________
(address of premises, including room
or apartment number, if any), the following
personal property remained: _________________________________________________________________
(insert description of the personal property).
If you own any of this
property, you may claim it at
____________________________________________________________________
(address where property may be claimed).
Unless you pay the reasonable cost
of storage and take possession of the
property to which you are entitled
not later than (insert date not less
than 15 days after notice is personally
delivered or, if mailed, not less than
18 days after notice is deposited in
the mail) this property may be disposed
of pursuant to Civil Code section 1988.
Dated: _______________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
(Signature of landlord)
___________________________________________________________________
(Type or print name of landlord)
___________________________________________________________________
(Telephone number)
__________________________________________________________________
(Address)
Source: California
Department of Consumer Affairs October
1996
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