Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
In California, in an eviction, court order reads “Civil Code sections 1980-1991 shall not be applicable” and that any personal possessions left behind in the premises shall be deemed abandoned. I cannot find any rule or instance which allows making sections of the Civil Code “not applicable”, or an explanation why, nor any other case in which a similar provision is made.
Is this possible, or even legal? Is that provision applicable? Is the lack of a rationale to it enough to challenge?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Division 3, Part 4, Title 5, Chapter 5 of the Civil code (which consists of sections 1980-1991) contains numerous exceptions to when it applies. Furthermore, section 1981 specifically says Chapter 5 is optional. A court, therefore, most certainly can make a determination and issue an order that it does not apply, meaning the law reverts to the fall-back rule that property left behind after an eviction is abandoned.