Can my landlord hold my possessions hostage if I have paid my rent?
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Can my landlord hold my possessions hostage if I have paid my rent?
We are students. Our apartment had mold so our landlord moved us to a hotel for 4 weeks while the house and our clothing and furniture were cleaned. We were told we wouldn’t had to pay for anything. Now he wants us to pay $57,000. we said no. Break is over and we are returning to the apartment for school Now, our clothes and bedding are at the cleaners and he said we must pay for them to get them back. He is out of money. The cost is $7,000. The cleaners will sell them in 30 days.
Asked on January 4, 2012 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Under the law of all states in this country, a landlord cannot legally hold a tenant's possessions in exchange for the tenant paying back rent. To do so is a civil wrong. However, in your situation, the landlord is not holding your possessions that have been cleaned. Rather, the cleaners where he took the items to is holding the items for payment.
The cleaning company is not your landlord. If the cleaners sell your possessions because the landlord cannot pay the cleaning charges owed, your landlord who placed the possessions there would be obligated to pay you the fair market value of the items.
I suggest that you have a face to face meeting with your landlord about the current situation to resolve it followed by a written letter memorializing the meeting.
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