Landlord Entered Apartment, Stuff Is Missing

[Dustin Jones]

I'm in the middle of moving out. My move-out date was supposed to be the end of this month, but when I returned to the old apartment to pick up another load of stuff to move to the new one, I found the locks changed and a pile of broken and discarded belongings in bags on the side of the house. These turned out to be mine once I opened them--the contents of my apartment had been all mixed together and thrown out as garbage.

I had to call them to get someone to come open the door so I could inspect the premises. Once inside, my worst fears were confirmed, that my electronics and small appliances had been cleaned out. I am now minus one air conditioner and two laptop computers, as well as all my personal items.

The landlord says this was a miscommunication with one of the contractors bonded to them to do apartment clean-outs, and that they won't be compensating me for the lost goods including several hundred dollars of computer stuff that's now ruined from being thrown out of a third-story window in a garbage.

They also claim that the missing stuff must have been stolen by a vandal (who must have locked the door behind him on his way out!?!?) and I should file a police report. It looks far more likely that whoever took the liberty of cleaning my apartment decided to keep a few things.

Is there any recourse for situations like this?