california ,, tenant dies horader

[Greg C]

my tenant dies,,,, his place is packed with lots of stuff some valuable stuff most of it is trash, cars motorcycles etc mostly old broken apart vehicles,, contacted the daughter told her the month to month rent is paid for feb and  ends

march 1st ,,,, she is young and i dont think has the ability to move out truck loads of stuff,, what happens in march 1 when the place is still full of stuff, what do i do can i rent a dumpster and start dumping,, what is the law for this in calif any one know ? thanks

[Katrina Edwards]

For a property in California, you need to be careful how/when you dispose of personal property.  Best bet would be to get a release from the daughter (if she is in control of the estate) saying she has removed all items she would like to keep and that you are authorized to dispose of the remaining personal property.

If you cannot get a response from her or whoever controls the estate, the first step is to post a notice of belief of abandonment.  After the 18 days expires, you can then either have a sale or dispose of the items (depends on value). If the estimated value is over $700, then you need to have a sale.

You can move the items to storage and charge them for storage, if need be before the sale.

Best to have a professional give the estimate of value.  Lots of folks out there do liquidations.  Estate sale folks, etc. 

See these links:

http://www.aoausa.com/forms_member/145_Notice_Of_B...

http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/notice_of_belie...

It's never fun when someone passes away.  Especially if there are special circumstances like yours.  Work with the heirs gently and be mindful of the laws protecting tenants and their property in California. 

Don't forget to disclose the death to renters and buyers if the tenant died in the house.  You'll need to do that for the next three years if he passed away in the home.  Consult your attorney for disclosure verbiage depending on how he died if he died in the house.

Good luck to you and keep us updated on what happens.