Do I have any obligation to help ex tenant get items he left behind to relatives?

[deyecak]

What is the name of your state? California

I have an ex tenant that is now in prison. I already went through the process to get him evicted. I've also sent him notice of 18 days to claim the belongings he left behind. There's about 4 days left. However, he will likely be in prison for years and will not be able to collect the items. He also doesn't have anyone else that can collect the items. He has asked that I help get these items to a relative that lives in Illinois. This relative is unable to come and collect the items. So the only thing I can do is ship the items. They don't want everything. Just some sentimental items. Still a bit of a pain though and I have also gotten an offer for the items from a third party. So I'm wondering if I have any obligation to help the guy get his belongings to his relative? Can I just let the clock run out on this and sell the items after if no one comes to pick them up?

 

[Foamback]

This is more of a moral question than a legal one

 

[adjusterjack]

Former landlord here. My advice: Ask the relatives to send you a money order for whatever amount you think is necessary for shipping and handling. Make it enough to be worth your time and effort. If they say no, wait until the deadline date passes and dispose of everything in accordance with the CA tenant's abandoned property law.

california tenant's abandoned property law at DuckDuckGo

I have also gotten an offer for the items from a third party.

No, do not sell or give anything to anybody else. That could get you sued. Unlikely, but the safest method is to comply with the CA tenant's abandoned property law.

 

[Zigner]

I wouldn't suggest shipping the items without the former tenant's express written permission.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? California

I have an ex tenant that is now in prison. I already went through the process to get him evicted. I've also sent him notice of 18 days to claim the belongings he left behind. There's about 4 days left. However, he will likely be in prison for years and will not be able to collect the items. He also doesn't have anyone else that can collect the items. He has asked that I help get these items to a relative that lives in Illinois. This relative is unable to come and collect the items. So the only thing I can do is ship the items. They don't want everything. Just some sentimental items. Still a bit of a pain though and I have also gotten an offer for the items from a third party. So I'm wondering if I have any obligation to help the guy get his belongings to his relative? Can I just let the clock run out on this and sell the items after if no one comes to pick them up?

Personally, I would ship the sentimental items that he wants and follow the abandoned property rules for the rest of the items. I would consider it the decent thing to do.

 

[adjusterjack]

Personally, I would ship the sentimental items that he wants and follow the abandoned property rules for the rest of the items. I would consider it the decent thing to do.

No, no, no. The criminal has already cost the owner a lot of time, money, and aggravation. Now add shipping charges? Hard pass. At least not without getting estimated shipping costs in advance. Along with written consent, of course

 

[Zigner]

Personally, I would ship the sentimental items that he wants and follow the abandoned property rules for the rest of the items. I would consider it the decent thing to do.

The OP has NO reason to ship the former tenant's property (of any) kind without the express written permission of the former tenant.

 

[LdiJ]

The OP has NO reason to ship the former tenant's property (of any) kind without the express written permission of the former tenant.

I am thinking that the tenant's request that he do so is probably in writing considering the circumstances. If it is not, then I would tend to agree.

 

[deyecak]

This is more of a moral question than a legal one

honestly not concerned with morality when it comes to him.

 

[deyecak]

Former landlord here. My advice: Ask the relatives to send you a money order for whatever amount you think is necessary for shipping and handling. Make it enough to be worth your time and effort. If they say no, wait until the deadline date passes and dispose of everything in accordance with the CA tenant's abandoned property law.

california tenant's abandoned property law at DuckDuckGo



No, do not sell or give anything to anybody else. That could get you sued. Unlikely, but the safest method is to comply with the CA tenant's abandoned property law.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I read that landlord can sell property after the notice is up and the property is officially considered abandoned. It just has to be under $700, no?

To be honest the only thing that'll make me taking the time to ship it worth it is if he's or his relative are willing to pay more than $700. No such luck there though.

 

[LdiJ]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I read that landlord can sell property after the notice is up and the property is officially considered abandoned. It just has to be under $700, no?

No, you are not understanding what the rules state. Individual items that would have a value of over $700 must be sold at auction and the proceeds (minus expense of sale) must be remitted to the county. Selling an item for under $700, outside of an auction, in order to avoid that rule does not fly.

To be honest the only thing that'll make me taking the time to ship it worth it is if he's or his relative are willing to pay more than $700. No such luck there though.

They only have to pay you the cost of shipping and a reasonable amount for your time. Otherwise, you are trying to sell your former tenant his own property and that would be a serious no-no.

You need to thoroughly read the abandoned property rules and then follow them to a T if you want to avoid problems. Deliberately making things difficult so that they will miss the deadline, thus allowing you to sell the property is a recipe for disaster for you.

 

[deyecak]

No, you are not understanding what the rules state. Individual items that would have a value of over $700 must be sold at auction and the proceeds (minus expense of sale) must be remitted to the county. Selling an item for under $700, outside of an auction, in order to avoid that rule does not fly.



They only have to pay you the cost of shipping and a reasonable amount for your time. Otherwise, you are trying to sell your former tenant his own property and that would be a serious no-no.

You need to thoroughly read the abandoned property rules and then follow them to a T if you want to avoid problems. Deliberately making things difficult so that they will miss the deadline, thus allowing you to sell the property is a recipe for disaster for you.

The items in question do not have any actual value to anyone except for the people involved here. Just sentimental value. So it would be more like selling for more than they're worth than trying to be sneaky and sell for less than they're worth.

I feel like you're still not getting it. I am going through the proper procedures and am planning on waiting until the notice is up before selling.

My only question is do I actually have a legal obligation to pack up they're stuff and ship it to them? I have no problem if they want to send anyone here to pick the items up. It's available to pick up whenever they want.

 

[LdiJ]

The items in question do not have any actual value to anyone except for the people involved here. Just sentimental value. So it would be more like selling for more than they're worth than trying to be sneaky and sell for less than they're worth.

I feel like you're still not getting it. I am going through the proper procedures and am planning on waiting until the notice is up before selling.

My only question is do I actually have a legal obligation to pack up they're stuff and ship it to them? I have no problem if they want to send anyone here to pick the items up. It's available to pick up whenever they want.

To get a definitive answer on that I believe you would need to consult with a local real estate attorney familiar with tenant/landlord issues. I suspect it would cost you more to get that consult than it would to pack up the items and send them to them, but that is the only way that you are going to get an answer that is based on the climate of your local courts.

 

[Foamback]

How can you sell an item that has no value?

 

[quincy]

How can you sell an item that has no value?

Everything has a value, to the right person.