After two months of renting a house, the owner lost it to the bank. The attorney representing the bank informed me that the lease is bone fide and the lease agreement was entered into prior to the notice of forclosure, therefore, I get to stay in the home for the remainder of the one year lease.
The owner wants his stuff that he left in the garage back ( garden tools, weight set, some hand tools…not much else) before giving me back the $2500.00 security deposit. He wants to have his brother come by and get it, becuase he now lives in Texas and I live in California. Well, the 21 day security deposit rule has come and gone and I have not heard anything from the owner. The lease agreement was done by a real estate agency and had a property manager/real estate agent handle the property. She has provided me with the owners phone number, fax number and new address in Texas and informed me that the owner has no right to enter the house anymore.
1. Has the owner forfeited all rights to any personal property left behind after the bank takes ownership? It was written into the lease agreement that all personal property left by the owner remain with the house. Who’s property is it now that the owner has lost the house? Is it now my property?
2. Is it possible to bring a lawsuit against someone who now lives in another state and get a court summons served to him to take him to small claims court in California if necessary?
3.Can I sue the owner for actual damages plus up to twice the amount in punitive damages? Would that equal $2,500.00 + $5,000.00 = $7,500.00? The limit is $5000.00 for small claims in California, so I don’t know what court would apply if I may be entitled to up to $7,500.00.
I’m wondering if the owner pocketed two months of rent money plus the security deposit, and never used any of it to pay on the mortgage? Is that considered theft, breaking some kind of law? If so, who gets the rent money, the bank or me? The real estate agent learned that the owners last wire transfer of payment to the bank was just a day late, so the bank reposessed the house. That sounds pretty strange, and especially to go from default to loss of home in just 90 days…in California!
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California Law
1. What if the landlord doesn’t provide a full refund, or a statement of deductions and a refund of amounts not deducted, by the end of the 21-day period as required by law? According to a California Supreme Court decision, the landlord loses the right to keep any of the security deposit and must return the entire deposit to you.
2. In California, the tenant may commence suit in small claims court based on a landlord’s bad faith retention of all or a portion of a security deposit. California law permits the tenant to recover not only actual damages, but a punitive amount of up to twice the amount of the security deposit.
Thanks for the responses. The owner had my deposit transferred from the property management escrow account to his own bank account. The bank does not have my deposit. That action made me nervous.
So, perhaps the owner has no legal claim to his personal belongings? Interesting.
I never thought about what the bank wants or doesn’t want back at the end of my lease. There is no accurate inventory of the owners property, on any document. For example, it just says gardening tools (not quanity or type), so the bank has no idea really what exactly is in the garage, and who it belongs to.
I suppose I could claim that the washer, dryer and fridge were mine from my prior residence. How would the bank know any different? I could use those items when I am forced to move.
Currently I am waiting on a new lease agreement from the bank and I did give one months rent to the bank via the broker representing the bank.