former tenant refuses to remove belongings - Landlord Forum thread 330190

former tenant refuses to remove belongings by Leila (California) on January 21, 2015 @16:13

We have to sell our rental property and informed the tenants of our intent to do so when their lease was up in December. We would have willingly given the tenant the required 60 days notice but he agreed with 45 days notice. Then a week later he came back saying they had found a new place and would be out by the end of the month. That was 21 days ago. Most of his furniture is out of the house but they still have a lot of stuff at our rental(can’t even walk through the garage its that full!). They decided to use their last month rent (prepaid when original lease was signed) which had them paid through the 15th so when they weren’t out on the 1st we figured they would be out on the 15th. Wrong! They refuse to get their stuff out and keep giving us one excuse after the other. We need to sell the property due to health and financial issues. We just need them out of the house so we cant get it listed but they insist that they don’t want anyone in the house while their stuff is still there – but yet they won’t get it out! So listing the property has been put on hold until they are out. Is there anything that we can do in this situation? They have not paid rent for the last 6 days if that makes a difference

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Re: former tenant refuses to remove belongings by Anonymous on January 21, 2015 @16:21	[ Reply ]

what do your state landlord law say you can do?

Re: former tenant refuses to remove belongings by Rex on January 21, 2015 @18:19	[ Reply ]

Look up your state law on the internet and see what is says about abandoned property. Do you have a garage you can shift everything to temporarily? If you have not done so, change the locks and do not allow your tenants free access to your rental. post a notice to call you for entrance. You can also post a pay or quit and begin an eviction.

Re: former tenant refuses to remove belongings by Melanie (CA) on January 21, 2015 @18:26	[ Reply ]

At this point, at they no longer live in your rental, you will have to research what California says to do with leftover possessions either due to eviction or abandonment. Its not pretty. YOU have to store them for a set amount of time. You tell them where their stuff is located. If i were you, id hire a storage locker, then take tons of photos as the items are being loaded into a truck and again when they are off loaded. But do your due diligence and research California Civil Code 1965

Re: former tenant refuses to remove belongings by Anonymous on January 21, 2015 @20:03	[ Reply ]

I beg to differ, but does the OP, Leila, actually have possession now? Did she get the keys and garage door opener back? Does Leila have it in writing that they have vacated the property as of x date? Maybe in CA you don't need to have such things, but I think a holdover eviction would be in order. I could be wrong.

Re: former tenant refuses to remove belongings

Re: former tenant refuses to remove belongings by Anonymous on January 22, 2015 @12:03	[ Reply ]

You will have to file an eviction suit for the tenant's unpaid holdover after 1/15. Do it immediately. You will also need to ask for a money judgment in the amount of the unpaid rent and the lost/damaged appliances. (You may want to post a 24-hr notice on the door for entry and assess the obvious damages, to include this amount in your request for money judgment.) Do it now, any delay is just wasting time and costing you money.

Re: former tenant refuses to remove belongings

Re: former tenant refuses to remove belongings by Anonymous on January 24, 2015 @20:57	[ Reply ]

Trying to figure this out??? Your tenants lease ended Dec 15th or 31st ( lease was up in December) You gave 45 day notice ending when Jan 1st or Jan 15th? Said that was 21 days ago (was this from the Jan 1st?) They used their last month rent (prepaid when original lease was signed) which had them paid through the 15th. Does your lease run from the Fifteenth of each month to the Fifteenth of the next month? If they pay rent on the first, they are paid up through the end of January! You seem to be confused over when the tenants are to be out and when they are paid up through. Are you giving 45/60 day notice of non renewal of lease? Was the lease ending? Are you trying to end a month to month rental. What are you trying to do ? The dates and times and payment due dates are not lining up right!

Re: former tenant refuses to remove belongings

Re: former tenant refuses to remove belongings by Daniel (CA) on January 27, 2015 @02:25	[ Reply ]

Are they out of the house? Are they in a new place, just not completely moved? You have a better position if they are out than if they are still considered in possession of the residence. Evictions cost 10K in CALIFORNIA. But if they are living in a new place, and the property is considered abandoned, then there is a strict process for handling such items. ( just watch a few episodes of Judge Judy and Peoples Court, you will surely find a similar case)

Re: former tenant refuses to remove belongings by Daniel (CA) on January 27, 2015 @02:37	[ Reply ]

You need to get a Landlord lawyer ASAP. Everyone agrees that you have made the situation too complicated to go at it alone. This person is turning into a deadbeat and it will be 6 months before your realize it. Thanks to the LPA, you can resolve it sooner. If you try to evict, then the fact that you changed the locks could make you loose your case. However, the fact that the tenant shut off gas could be used as evidence that tenant moved out and you entered because it was an emergency... You had to make sure your vacant property was safe.