LANDLORD CONFISCATED MY PROPERTY

[francesc]

Hello, I informed my landlord 30 days prior to my moving that I was going to leave by the end of September. I had a one year lease which was not up yet, but the landlord is selling the property, so didn't mind. She told me I could let her keep my security deposit in lieu of September rent. I did. My husband and I both have health issues. Friends that were going to help us had an emergency and could not help, so my husband and I had done the best we could to vacate by the last of September. However, because of our health, we could not, but emptied the premises and left some of our belongings on the front porch. The landlord was knowledgeable of this and I even called them to let them know we would be picking it up. I had spoken to the new tenant who said he had no problem with it. My husband went back to pick up our belongings and they were gone. When I spoke to the landlord by phone, she said all my things were taken to the dump and invented stories about damages we had made inside the house which is false. Does she have the right to keep my belongings (I don't believe she took it all to the dump)? I am heartbroken. She took 85% of my clothes, furniture, expensive bookcases, etc. What is my recourse? Please help, thanks. Oh, the property is located in Fulton County, New York State.

[Downtown]

The LL is under no obligation to store your belongings...would have been smarter to claim they were stolen off the front porch.
However, if you had established a reasonable pickup date and LL agreed file in SCC. The new tenants can testify that they were told.
The key word here is reasonable.
You will have to show value of proerty lost.

[HardKnocks]

Oh, come ON!!! Who in their right mind would believe that she took your stuff to the dump instead of keeping or selling it?

This happened to my mother once. The landlord (private owner, 2-family house) decided he wanted to move back in. So he told her he wanted her out. The day before she was supposed to be gone, he threw her stuff out. We came back to the place to find most of her personal belongings in the garbage. And when we knocked on the door (he'd changed the locks) we saw that the landlord had kept all her furniture and furnishings, and his kids were sitting there watching my mother's TV.

We barged in, picked up the phone and called the cops. Not to mention all our male relatives and friends. We got her stuff back.