The tenant was vacated by the City of Long Beach. There were no past due rent and no rent was charged as of the date the unit was deemed uninhabitable by the City Inspector. A rent relocation fee has been sent to the tenant as well as a Notice of belief of abandonment per suggestion of the fair housing foundation. There was no, pay or quit notice sent to the tenant as no monies were wanted from the tenant.
In California, where a tenant has vacated the premises, and the landlord believes the tenant will not return, the tenant can serve a Notice of Abandonment to begin the process of terminating the possession by the tenant of the leased premises.
In order for the notice to be proper, it must be served properly and it must contain the necessary language/information to be adequate. The Notice can be served either personally or by certified mail to an address the Landlord knows the tenant might reasonably receive the notice.
Within 15 days from personal service (or 18 days by certified mail), tender rent (where appropriate) or reject the abandonment. After the time period to do so has elapsed, the tenant's right of possession to the leased premises is terminated. Any property left behind can then be removed from the premises.
Where there is remaining personal property, the landlord has two procedures to choose from to dispose of the property. The first method is to provide a notice to reclaim or abandon personal property (see above for 15/18 day rule for service). It is similar to the notice of abandonment of the leased premises, except this is for personal property left behind in the premises. Upon expiration of this date and no response from the tenant, the landlord has a right to dispose of the property (either destroying or selling).
The second option is initiated by the tenant (request to surrender).
it is recommended that the landlord take temporary possession of that property, store it for 15/18 days (providing a notice of right to reclaim) in a locked and secured storage facility. Any storage costs can be recouped from sale or from the tenant where tenant eventually takes possession of the property.
It is recommended that you seek a local attorney who can counsel you properly with more facts and in your area (Long Beach).
Your question seems specific to Long Beach (local laws/ ordinances) so I suggest you seek counsel from a Long Beach landlord-tenant attorney. Good luck.
When you file an unlawful detainer action, you need to swear under penalty of perjury that the tenant is living in your unit. The whole point of an unlawful detainer lawsuit is to regain possession of a dwelling unit that another person is living in. If the tenant "was vacated," as in, the tenant moved out, then, no--you do not need to file an unlawful detainer in court, because the tenant is not unlawfully detaining the property. In fact, if you do this, you could conceivably be sued for malicious prosecution once the tenant finds out you filed the case.
