Evicted Tenants' belongings
Hello All!
I need some guidance please. We have a tenant in a home in Northridge, CA that we bought from him, then in turn leased to him so that he could stay and try and get back on his feet financially.
He has not paid rent in almost 9 months, and after much heartfelt discussion we opted to evict him. He agreed to go quietly and like a gentleman (his words), and true to them he did leave over the weekend. However, he left TONS of stuff. Furniture, clothing and a lot of personal effects.
He claims that he has 30 days to get everything out and that we are obligated to store it for him. He also wants us to leave a key with the neighbor so that he can continue to move without us needing to make arrangements to meet him there to let him in/out.
I don't want to throw his stuff away, and certainly don't want to make it difficult for him to access it, but am very uncomfortable with his proposed arrangement. I read the government issued California Tenant guide and it does state that we can't discard his belongings, but goes on to say that the tenant only has 17 days to remove items and that we can charge for storage... or we can remove the items, store them remotely and charge him.
Can anyone clarify this for me? I TRULY appreciate your guidance and consideration! We want to 'do the right thing' but need to be protected against furthur loss.
THANKS!
Freedom