Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New Jersey

dispossession

i inherited a warehouse in nj where the tenant did not pay his rent for 5 months, & i had an attorney dispossess the tenant. the attorney gave me the papers after we won the case which was about 2 weeks ago. when i asked if i could now rent the warehouse out, he said yes, but he had to hurry off to another case. i gave the listing to a real estate agency who found a tenant immediately, & i signed a lease last friday with a company who was desperate for a warehouse that they could get into by dec 31, 2009. i started cleaning up the warehouse, throwing all the tenants papers out, & made arrangements to get rid of his all of his machines which is supposed to be done tommorow afternoon. this afternoon my attorney called & told me that the previous tenant has a writ that i can't do anything his belongings until we go to court on january 23. the attorney is upset because i yelled at him & he won't take my calls. wasn't he supposed to tell me that there could be a writ. do i have to keep the rest of his stuff in the warehouse. the machines & product the tenant left almost fills the warehouse there is not much room for the new tenant, & its supposed to be cleaned out. i was going to sell the machines to satisfy some of the debt. help?


Asked on 12/29/08, 4:43 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Bruce Gudin Ehrlich, Petriello, Gudin & Plaza Esqs.

Re: dispossession

Your attorney has clearly not given you proper counseling. You are liable for the tenant's personal property pursuant to the NJ Abandoned Property Statute unless you have a clause in your lease contract absolving you from liablilty for the property. You can also accelerate the January 23rd court date as that is an unreasonably long wait to get back into court especially if your tenant has not posted any of the past due rent with the court.

Bruce Gudin, Esq.

www.lep-lawyers.com

Read more
Answered on 1/01/09, 10:41 am
Bruce Gudin Ehrlich, Petriello, Gudin & Plaza Esqs.

Re: dispossession

your attorney did not give you all of the information necessary for you to properly conduct your business. sorry to say that you must comply with the NJ Abandoned Property statutes, as well as abide by the court order. You will likely be liable to the tenant for the loss of the property.

Read more
Answered on 1/13/09, 4:29 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in New Jersey