Q: Lease endEd today & tenant is a no-show to return keys. Personal belongings are still in the unit. What are my rights?
The tenant is behind on rent for the month, and I have a strong suspicion that she plans on squatting in my unit. She also moved and her daughter and her two children without my permission. She has been there the entire duration. I want to move in and change the locks. Since there is a lease, is it considered abandoned property if she is not communicating with me and still has belongings here? The unit is furnished, so she doesn’t have furniture, just personal belongings and clothing. She also has said nothing about not planning to leave. She has not use Covid as an excuse either, she has always promised to pay and has never said that she will not be leaving. What are my rights? Can I change the locks since I need to move into my unit? Can I store her belongings after videotaping them? Please advise.
A:
The good news is that the law is very specific about what to do, the bad news is that it takes some time. Your obligations are set forth in the Civil Code, there is a section called "Disposition of Personal Property Remaining on Premises at Termination of Tenancy §§1980 - 1991" You need to particularly look at 1982 and following. There are examples of the language to use in correspondence or notes. Videotaping is a good idea, and the earlier the better. You may not be able to move into the unit as quickly as you want, but you have the right idea about putting the goods into storage (hopefully a separate unit). The problem becomes complicated when the tenant is upset about you moving your things and makes claims against her deposit. You gave a notice of right to pre move out inspection? Right?
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