Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York
Can evicted tenant get property back?
My friend was evicted from her apartment due to nonpayment of rent. At the time she was supposed to leave, she had a family emergency and the landlord agreed to let her stay 2 more weeks with a prorated rent which she paid. She had problems moving her belongings and tried to contact the landlord to no avail. When she went to retrieve her belongings, the key didn't work(it was 2 days after her time was up).Everything she owned was there and the landlord told her ex inlaw that he took everything to the dump. Is this legal? Is there anything she can do?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Can evicted tenant get property back?
There is no provision in NY law for anyone to take possession of your personal property absent a levy pursuant to a money judgment executed by a sheriff or marshal. Even then, many personal effects are exempt from levy. If personal property is left behind after a lawful eviction, the landlord has a duty to preserve the property. One common approach is to pay for a licensed mover to put the property into storage (required by law in Nassau County). The landlord pays the initial packing and first month. After a few months, the warehouse has a lien for unpaid storage and can selll or dispose of the goods.
The penalty for improperly disposing of goods can be three times to provable value but be aware that the landlord will claim an offset for any unpaid rents.
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