California Abandoned Tenant Property Notice

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   California's Notice of Right to Reclaim Abandoned Property is the written notice, in the form Civil Code Section 1984 prints, that a landlord gives a former tenant when personal property remains after the tenancy has terminated and the premises have been vacated. Section 1981(a) calls the chapter an optional procedure, and Section 1981(e) says that if its requirements are not satisfied, nothing in it affects the rights and liabilities of the landlord, the former tenant or anyone else.

2. 2

   Section 1983(a) requires notice to the former tenant and to anyone else the landlord reasonably believes owns the property, and Section 1985 prints a version for those other owners. Where the property consists of records, the tenant is presumed to own them. The chapter does not reach manufactured homes, mobilehomes or commercial coaches, and under Section 1980.5 it does not apply to commercial real property other than self-storage units.

3. 3

   The final claim date must be not less than 15 days after personal delivery or not less than 18 days after the notice is deposited in the mail. Mail goes first-class, postage prepaid, to the last known address; a copy must go to the premises the tenant vacated; and if there is reason to think the notice will not arrive, also to any other known address. Section 1983(c) lets the landlord also send it by email if the former tenant provided one.

4. 4

   The two-day window is a cost rule, not a deadline. If the property stayed in the dwelling and the former tenant, or another person reasonably believed to own it, reclaims it within two days of vacating, Section 1987(c) requires release without any storage charge, and Section 1990(c) says no costs are assessed. The Section 1984 form therefore carries a separate blank for a date not less than two days after vacating, by which the tenant may minimize the costs of storage.

5. 5

   The $700 figure in Section 1988(a) turns on the landlord's reasonable belief about total resale value. Unclaimed goods go to a public sale by competitive bidding, but if the landlord reasonably believes the goods not released are worth less than $700, it may retain them or dispose of them in any manner once the claim date in the notice has passed. Whichever path applies, the notice must carry the matching statement from Section 1984(b), and landlord and tenant may both bid at a public sale.

6. 6

   Notice of a public sale is published under Government Code Section 6066 in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county where the sale is held, with the last publication not less than five days before the sale and none before the last claim date in the notice. After storage, advertising and sale costs, any unclaimed balance is paid into the county treasury within 30 days of the sale, and the former tenant or another owner may claim it within one year of that payment.

7. 7

   While the goods wait they are left on the vacated premises or stored in a place of safekeeping with reasonable care, and the landlord is liable only for loss caused by a deliberate or negligent act. A former tenant who claims pays reasonable storage for all the property; another owner only for what they claim; no cost is charged twice; and storage on the premises is the fair rental value of the space. After a writ of possession is executed, Code of Civil Procedure Section 1174 sends unreleased goods to the same Section 1988 sale rule.

California Requirements for Abandoned Tenant Property Notice

• The Date the Tenancy Ended and the Premises Were Vacated

  Civil Code Section 1983(a) applies where personal property remains after a tenancy has terminated and the premises have been vacated. Record both dates. Confirm the premises are residential or a self-storage unit, not other commercial real property (Section 1980.5), and that the goods are not a manufactured home, mobilehome or commercial coach (Section 1981(c)).

• The Two-Day Storage-Saving Date

  Enter a date not less than two days after the former tenant vacated. If the property stayed in the dwelling and is reclaimed within two days of vacating, Sections 1987(c) and 1990(c) require release with no storage charge. The form tells the tenant that claiming by this date may minimize storage costs.

• A Final Claim Date of at Least 15 or 18 Days

  Set the final claim date not less than 15 days after personal delivery or not less than 18 days after the notice is deposited in the mail, under Section 1983(b). Write the calendar date in the Section 1984 blank and state that reasonable storage costs may be charged before the property is returned.

• A Description Good Enough to Identify Each Item

  Describe the property in a manner reasonably adequate for the owner to identify it. A locked, fastened or tied trunk, valise, box or other container may be described as such without listing its contents. Property left out of the notice is outside the protection of Section 1989, so list everything you intend to dispose of. Records are presumed to belong to the tenant.

• The Correct Statement Under Section 1984(b)

  Insert statement (1), public sale after publication with the balance paid to the county and claimable within one year, or statement (2), that the property is believed to be worth less than $700 and may be kept, sold or destroyed without further notice after the claim date. Base the choice on your reasonable belief about total resale value and keep the inventory and photographs behind it.

• Delivery to the Tenant, the Vacated Premises and Every Reasonably Believed Owner

  Deliver personally or by first-class mail, postage prepaid, to the last known address, with a copy to the vacated premises when mailing, and to any other known address if the first may not reach the tenant. Email may be added if the tenant supplied an address. Send the Section 1985 version to each other person you reasonably believe owns any of the goods.

• Safekeeping, Reasonable Care and the Storage Charge

  Leave the goods on the vacated premises or store them in a place of safekeeping with reasonable care (Section 1986). After the two-day window, charge only reasonable storage: all the property for the former tenant, only their own items for another owner, never the same cost twice, and fair rental value of the space for storage on the premises (Section 1990).

• The Public Sale Publication and the County Treasury Payment

  For statement (1), publish notice of the sale under Government Code Section 6066 in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county, with the last publication at least five days before the sale and none before the final claim date. Deduct storage, advertising and sale costs and pay the unclaimed balance into the county treasury within 30 days of the sale (Section 1988(c)).