SECTIONS 1993-1993.09 - California Statutes

CIVIL CODE

SECTION 1993-1993.09

1993. This chapter shall only apply to commercial real property. As
used in this chapter:
(a) "Commercial real property" has the meaning specified in
subdivision (d) of Section 1954.26. For purposes of this chapter,
commercial real property shall not include self-storage units.
(b) "Landlord" means any operator, keeper, lessor, or sublessor of
any furnished or unfurnished premises for hire, or his or her agent
or successor in interest.
(c) "Owner" means any person other than the landlord who has any
right, title, or interest in property.
(d) "Premises" includes any common areas associated therewith.
(e) "Reasonable belief" means the actual knowledge or belief a
prudent person would have without making an investigation, including
any investigation of public records, except that, if the landlord has
specific information indicating that an investigation would more
probably than not reveal pertinent information and the cost of an
investigation would be reasonable in relation to the probable value
of the property involved, "reasonable belief" includes the actual
knowledge or belief a prudent person would have if an investigation
were made.
(f) "Records" means any material, regardless of the physical form,
on which information is recorded or preserved by any means,
including in written or spoken words, graphically depicted, printed,
or electromagnetically transmitted. "Records" does not include
publicly available directories containing information an individual
has voluntarily consented to have publicly disseminated or listed,
such as name, address, or telephone number.
(g) "Tenant" includes any lessee or sublessee of any commercial
real property and its premises for hire.

1993.01. Notwithstanding Section 1980.5, the requirements of
Sections 1982, 1987, and 1990 shall apply to property that is subject
to this chapter.

1993.02. (a) This chapter provides an optional procedure for the
disposition of property that remains on the premises after a tenancy
of commercial real property has terminated and the premises have been
vacated by the tenant.
(b) This chapter does not apply if Section 1862.5, 2080.8, or
2080.9, or Article 2 (commencing with Section 2081) of Chapter 4 of
Title 6, apply. This chapter does not apply to property that exists
for the purpose of providing utility services and is owned by a
public utility, whether or not that property is actually in operation
to provide those utility services.
(c) This chapter does not apply to a manufactured home, as defined
in Section 18007 of the Health and Safety Code, a mobilehome, as
defined in Section 18008 of the Health and Safety Code, or a
commercial coach, as defined in Section 18001.8 of the Health and
Safety Code, including any attachments or contents, whether or not
the manufactured home, mobilehome, or commercial coach is subject to
registration under the Health and Safety Code.
(d) This chapter does not apply to the disposition of animals
subject to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 17001) of Part 1 of
Division 9 of the Food and Agricultural Code.
(e) This chapter does not apply to residential property or
self-storage units.
(f) If the requirements of this chapter are not satisfied, nothing
in this chapter affects the rights and liabilities of the landlord,
former tenant, or any other person.

1993.03. (a) If property remains on the premises after a tenancy
has terminated and the premises have been vacated by the tenant, the
landlord shall give written notice to the tenant and to any other
person the landlord reasonably believes to be the owner of the
property. If the property consists of records, the tenant shall be
presumed to be the owner of the records for the purposes of this
chapter.
(b) The notice shall describe the property in a manner reasonably
adequate to permit the owner of the property to identify it. The
notice may describe all or a portion of the property, but the
limitation of liability provided by Section 1993.08 does not protect
the landlord from any liability arising from the disposition of
property not described in the notice, except that a trunk, valise,
box, safe, vault, or other container that is locked, fastened, or
tied in a manner that deters immediate access to its contents may be
described as such without describing its contents. The notice shall
advise the person to be notified that reasonable costs of storage may
be charged before the property is returned, where the property may
be claimed, and the date before which the claim must be made. The
date specified in the notice shall be a date not less than 15 days
after the notice is personally delivered or, if mailed, not less than
18 days after the notice is deposited in the mail.
(c) The notice shall be personally delivered to the person to be
notified or sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid, to the person
to be notified at his or her last known address and, if there is
reason to believe that the notice sent to that address will not be
received by that person, also to any other address known to the
landlord where the person may reasonably be expected to receive the
notice. If the notice is sent by mail to the former tenant, one copy
shall be sent to the premises vacated by the tenant.

1993.04. (a) A notice given to the former tenant that is in
substantially the following form satisfies the requirements of
Section 1993.03:

Notice of Right to Reclaim Abandoned Property
To: _____________________________________________
(Name of former tenant)
_________________________________________________
(Address of former tenant)
When you vacated the premises at_________________
,
(Address of premises, including room, if any)
the following personal property remained:
_________________________________________________
(Insert description of the personal property)
You may claim this property at___________________
________________________________________________.
(Address where property may be claimed)
Unless you pay the reasonable cost of storage
for all of the above-described property, and
take possession of the property which you claim,
not later than _______ (insert date not less
than 15 days after notice is personally
delivered or, if mailed, not less than 18 days
after notice is deposited in the mail) this
property may be disposed of pursuant to
Section 1993.07 of the Civil Code.
(Insert here the statement required by
subdivision (b) of this section)
Dated:____________
(Signature of landlord)
(Type or print name of
landlord)
(Telephone number of landlord)
(Address of landlord)

(b) The notice set forth in subdivision (a) shall also contain one
of the following statements:
(1) "If you fail to reclaim the property, it will be sold at a
public sale after notice of the sale has been given by publication.
You have the right to bid on the property at this sale. After the
property is sold and the cost of storage, advertising, and sale is
deducted, the remaining money will be paid over to the county. You
may claim the remaining money at any time within one year after the
county receives the money."
(2) "Because you were a commercial tenant and this property is
believed to be worth less than the lesser of seven hundred fifty
dollars ($750), or one dollar ($1) per square foot of the premises
you occupied, it may be kept, sold, or destroyed without further
notice if you fail to reclaim it within the time indicated above."

1993.05. A notice in substantially the following form given to a
person (other than the former tenant) the landlord reasonably
believes to be the owner of personal property satisfies the
requirements of Section 1993.03:

Notice of Right to Reclaim Abandoned Property
To: _____________________________________________
(Name of owner)
_________________________________________________
(Address of owner)
When_____________________________vacated the
(Name of former tenant)
premises at
,
(Address of premises, including room, if any)
the following personal property remained:
(Insert description of the personal property)
You may claim this property at___________________
________________________________________________.
(Address where property may be claimed)
Unless you pay the reasonable cost of storage
for all of the above-described property, and
take possession of the property that you
claim, not later than _______ (insert date not
less than 15 days after notice is personally
delivered or, if mailed, not less than 18 days
after notice is deposited in the mail) this
property may be disposed of pursuant to Section
1993.07 of the Civil Code.
(Insert here the statement required by
subdivision (b) of this section)
Dated:____________
(Signature of landlord)
(Type or print name of
landlord)
(Telephone number of landlord)
(Address of landlord)

1993.06. The personal property described in the notice shall either
be left on the vacated premises or be stored by the landlord in a
place of safekeeping until the landlord either releases the property
pursuant to Section 1987 or disposes of the property pursuant to
Section 1993.07. The landlord shall exercise reasonable care in
storing the property, but he or she is not liable to the tenant or
any other owner for any loss not caused by his or her deliberate or
negligent act.

1993.07. (a) (1) The property described in the notice that is not
released pursuant to Section 1987 shall be sold at public sale by
competitive bidding except that, if the landlord reasonably believes
that the total resale value of the property is less than the
threshold amount, the landlord may retain the property for his or her
own use or dispose of it in any manner.
(2) For the purposes of this section, "threshold amount" means the
lesser of seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) or one dollar ($1) per
square foot of the premises occupied by the tenant.
(b) (1) Notice of the time and place of the public sale shall be
given by publication pursuant to Section 6066 of the Government Code
in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county where
the sale is to be held.
(2) The last publication shall be not less than five days before
the sale is to be held.
(3) The notice of the sale shall not be published before the last
of the dates specified for taking possession of the property in any
notice given pursuant to Section 1993.03.
(4) The notice of the sale shall describe the property to be sold
in a manner reasonably adequate to permit the owner of the property
to identify it.
(5) The notice may describe all or a portion of the property, but
the limitation of liability provided by Section 1993.08 does not
protect the landlord from any liability arising from the disposition
of property not described in the notice, except that a trunk, valise,
box, safe, vault, or other container that is locked, fastened, or
tied in a manner that deters immediate access to its contents may be
described as such without describing its contents.
(c) (1) After deduction of the costs of storage, advertising, and
sale, any balance of the proceeds of the sale that is not claimed by
the former tenant or an owner other than the tenant shall be paid
into the treasury of the county in which the sale took place not
later than 30 days after the date of sale.
(2) The former tenant or other owner may claim the balance within
one year from the date of payment to the county by making application
to the county treasurer or other official designated by the county.
(3) If the county pays the balance or any part thereof to a
claimant, neither the county nor any officer or employee thereof
shall be liable to any other claimant as to the amount paid.
(d) Nothing in this section precludes a landlord or tenant from
bidding on the property at the public sale.

1993.08. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 1993.02, if
the landlord releases to the former tenant property that remains on
the premises after a tenancy is terminated, the landlord shall not be
liable with respect to that property to any person.
(b) If the landlord releases property pursuant to Section 1987 to
a person, other than the former tenant, who is reasonably believed by
the landlord to be the owner of the property, the landlord shall not
be liable with respect to that property to any of the following
persons:
(1) A person to whom notice was given pursuant to Section 1993.03.
(2) A person to whom notice was not given pursuant to Section
1993.03, unless the person proves that, prior to releasing the
property, the landlord believed or reasonably should have believed
that the person had an interest in the property and also that the
landlord knew or should have known upon reasonable investigation the
address of the person.
(c) If property is disposed of pursuant to Section 1993.07, the
landlord shall not be liable with respect to that property to any of
the following persons:
(1) A person to whom notice was given pursuant to Section 1993.03.
(2) A person to whom notice was not given pursuant to Section
1993.03, unless the person proves that, prior to disposing of the
property pursuant to Section 1993.07, the landlord believed or
reasonably should have believed that the person had an interest in
the property and also that the landlord knew or should have known
upon reasonable investigation the address of the person.

1993.09. If a notice of belief of abandonment is given to a lessee
pursuant to Section 1951.3, the notice to the former tenant given
pursuant to Section 1993.03 may be given at the same time as the
notice of belief of abandonment, even though the tenancy is not
terminated until the end of the period specified in the notice of
belief of abandonment. The notices may be combined in one notice that
contains all the information required by the sections under which
the notices are given.