15 Jan
2013
15 Jan
'13
12:43 p.m.
John Ball wrote:
Up here in Canada (I guess that's the key phrase
because who knows
just how much different the laws are but at least up here it's
nationally accepted that....)if you don't pay the rent and you're that
far due you can forget about whatever you left there. The landlord can
switch the locks and now claim it as his own and the courts will laugh
you out the door.
In the US this is a matter of state law, which of course varies from
state to state. In California, the landlord can NOT take simply
possession of the tenant's belongings. The eviction process involves
having the Sheriff seize the tenant's belongings. If the property is
believed to be worth more than $700, it has to be sold at a public sale
(auction) at a time and place published in a general circulation
newspaper. I rather doubt that eBay qualifies. See California Civil
Code section 1980-1991, especially section 1988.
If the landlord takes possession of the belongings or disposes of them
in a different manner than prescribed by law, it is theft, conversion,
and/or unjust enrichment.
[These are my personal opinions, which are worth exactly what you've
paid for them. I am not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice.]//