Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

what are my rights?

received 30 notice due to property sale on 9/13/05 was suppose to be out 10/13/05.Started to move on 10/22/05 spoke to landlord 10/23/05 late evening told him not done that i would call him once i was done moving and cleaning to turn in keys.on 10/24/05 3:00pm went to pick up the rest of my things.only to see that he went in and threw all of the things i still had in my house were thrown away.icalled him and he said he did what he thought he had to do.and that all my belongings were at the city dump.I called police and they said it was a civil matter.I also asked him about my handgun which was still in the house on 10/23/05 he stated that he had his sons which cleaned out the house to throw away everything but not before saying what gun he knew nothing about.Made police report when i went to give serial numbers on gun,police stated that it was turned by home owners son after i said that they would be questioned about it.i went to legal aid where i am from but his sister is also an employee there what should i do?and what are my rights?I lived at residence 1 yr 7 mths.and he kept my deposit as rent since he did not collect when he gave me notice is that legal?and can he throw my belongings away?thanks sandra


Asked on 11/06/05, 6:25 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

Re: what are my rights?

Talk to a lawyer in your area. He had no right to enter the apartment/house without legal authority. What he did with your stuff is termed "conversion." If you bring a lawsuit, you might be able to recover the value of your stuff and punitive damages for his nastiness.

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Answered on 11/06/05, 8:08 pm
H.M. Torrey The Law Offices of H.M. Torrey

Re: what are my rights?

your former landlord is obviously ignorant of the laws in this area, or simply defied them willfully at your expense. at any rate, the landlord is liable for the loss of your personal belongings for not exercising due care in storing them until your reasonable return to claim the items, especially since you gave notice of your intentions. thus, you are legally entitled to the safe return or fair market value of all the times that were lost or converted by your landlord, as well as punitive damages if the act was malicious. if you would efficient, affordable assistance in this area, contact us today.

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Answered on 11/07/05, 10:14 am


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