Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
if two people made a verbal agreement that one could reside in the other one's home based on the terms that they would help with the costs of utilities accrued by the guests' presence (one adult & 3 children) food & board... including the storage of properties in the home. Is it legal for the owner to collect what is due to them before releasing the items that was stored in the home or does the other person have the legal right to get a police escort to come and remove their items without paying the owner what is due to them?
2 Answers from Attorneys
It is illegal to take a person's property for a debt without a statutory lien (such as for automotive repair or livestock boarding) or a court finding for the debt and a properly issued writ of attachment or execution.
That's part of the answer.....however, there very well may be a statutory lien on this property under Civil Code section 1861 ("Innkeeper's lien"). The definition of "innkeeper" here is probably broad enough to encompass what you were doing. The enforcement of such a lien is complex and requires a final judgment of a court. I suggest getting a lawyer or reading the whole set of laws, Civil Code sections 1861 through 1861.28, before deciding to withhold the property. The risk is that withholding the property of another, without justification, is a tort called "conversion" for which the damages are 100% of the value of the property converted (per Civil Code section 3336).
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