Is it legal to sell your ex-tenants items to salvage the unpaid rent ?.
Overnight one of our tenants eloped, leaving couple of items behind. He already owes us around $737 in unpaid rent, so we were wondering if we could sell his stuffs.
Answer:
legally, no. in the eyes of the law, you can only get money owed to you if you have a signed agreement of some sort, and properly evicted him. (serve notice at your residence) then take him to small claims court. It's a lengthy process, but in the end, you'll suceed in a judgment against him on his credit, and an eviction on his rental history. He'll be screwed out of getting a place to live for a looong time.
Either that, or make every legal attempt to notify him to remove his stuff, with enough time allowed to reclaim it. Then "haul it off to the dump" (sell it FAST!!)
Most states require a certain time to elapse (6 months to a year being common) before items are declared abandoned.
Most states also allow the landlord to hold the property (safely) until the back rent is paid, or until the time duration elapses.
Laws vary by state. Check your local listings.
no. The law of each state is different, but each will require you to safeguard the property for a while. After enough time and enough notice you might be able to sell it. Check your local laws
If you are sure the person is not coming back here is what you have to do...
You must place the persons personal items in storage for 21 days from the date of the self eviction. Once that time is up you can sell this stuff to recoup your money. If they left it behind you can be sure they don't want it back though.
Not in California, all you can do is to file a small claims
suit against them and you have to give them a reasonable
amount of time to pick up their stuff. I used to own a TV
repair shop, we had to send a registered letter and give
them a 30 day notice to pick up their sets and and you
have to take reasonable care in protecting their property.
If they come back and find that their property has been
damaged, they can sue you.
Would be best to consult an attorney on this.
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