That's not how it works. Just because someone forgot something doesn't mean they forfeit ownership of the item. Finders keepers is not a real thing. Yeesh.

 

read my post again as changed it before you finished your post...its not stealing if the previous tenant does not care enough to come get them then IT IS JUST A GOOD FIND ON KUP-is-DION'S PART NOT STEALING..did the op go into a shop and take them? no! did he go into someones house and take them? no! then it is in no way the same as stealing! honestly get off his case everyone Kup-is-Dion has done/doing nothing wrong! AND again there is no way of contacting and he has already said he would give them back

 

previous tennant owes landlord a grand. is he stealing?  
there's a reason the guy hasn't come back for the toys, and doesn't want to be contacted.

 

hit the nail right on the head!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a lot of double standards in this thread

 

Yeah, I'm loving this.

'Hey guys! So I got a new place to live. The previous tenant was such a shithead that he skipped out on $1000 and apparently left the place as such a complete sty that the landlord was willing to let me go without placing a security deposit if I cleaned the place up. And hey, bonus, I found a stash of toys in crawl space!'

Fan response: 'ZOMG! Hunt that previous tenant down. He's such a a poor, poor soul. You can't keep this wonderful human being separated from his toys, you gigantic thief asshole!'

Nevermind the fact that, as has been pointed out, there's actually nothing saying those toys BELONG to the previous tenant. They could easily belong to two or three tenants ago.

I seem to remember some saying about sins and stones. Also, glass houses.

 

Wow, you're really lucky.

 

You really have no clue how the law works..

Legally: Once the previous tenants skipped out on rent and moved out, they gave up all ownership of anything left in or on the property. At this point anything that was left on or in the property becomes the property of the owner of said property. However there are stipulations, in some states/cities, that state the owner of the property has to keep the previous tenants property in storage for a set amount of time based on the state/city that you are in. Once the proper becomes rented again, then anything in the property belongs to the owner. As long as the owner has made a legit effort to remove (and store) any of the previous tenants property.

The new tenant has now moved in, found an object(s) in the property, and has notified the owner. The owner is now currently the owner of anything in said property. The owner has now given the new tenant permission to keep anything found on the property.

It now technically and legally becomes the property of the new tenant with no legal obligation to return it to the previous tenant.

And before you say, that the owner of the property did not store it with the rest of the property that was located in/on the property so he can't give it away, as long as the current tenant has notified the owner of the property of the found objects then the tenant is under the assumption that the owner has already done everything legally and the property has become legally the owners property, the new tenant has no legal obligation to return said objects to the previous tenants. If the previous tenants have any issue, they would have to sue the owner of the property for the value of said objects.

Morally: The new tenant should notify the owner of the property so the owner can make an attempt to contact the previous owner or provide contact information for the previous tenant. (which legally he should not be allowed to, but that would need to be checked against the lease between the owner and the previous tenant). If the previous tenants return to the property and ask for said objects, the current tenant should be obligated to give them back. However the current tenant has no moral obligations to track down the previous tenant.

Anything more than this would be getting into the area of being a Good Samaritan by going above morally proper etiquette.

Personally: I don't understand how this is a debate/discussion because the law is quite clear and so is etiquette, but i'm a little toasted right now so take it how you want.

Erland

 

Wanted to comment on this too. Have you ever been evicted before, or had a family or friend evicted? I'm guessing not. Because if you had seen it before, you'd know that your items are likely now in the dumpster outside your apartment. Garbage is free game for anyone, and I guarantee you when people saw this happening at my last complex, it was a scavengefest.

Granted, these toys did not end up in the dumpster, but that's only because of the OP electing to forgo his security deposit and clean the place himself. If a cleaning crew would have done it and found the toys? They'd be with the cleaning crews kids or in your local landfill as trash.

The previous tennant forfeited everything left behind when they skipped out on their rent payments. If the landlord doesn't want it to offset some of his costs, it's fair game imo.

EDIT: interesting erland, I didn't know it was by city/state. Well, out by me, in the trash evicted shit goes  

 

both posts just pure win!

 

The easiest way out is to contact the police. Tell them you found them. They can do the leg work if they deem it necessary. After 30 days (usually depending on local policy) the items will legally be yours, even if the owners show up after that you can say tough nuts. THAT will cover all your bases.

 

really ? you think the police would waste their time over toys?  

 

I agree with this, in principal. And it's probably morally the extent to which I'd feel obligated.

But I also just can't imagine walking into a police department with a small box of toys and going 'Hey, lookie what someone left at my house.' You'd be asking to get laughed out of there. Police usually only care about fairly large sums of unclaimed money. And even then, they don't actually DO anything. They just sit on it, and if no one shows up it's yours.

 

They would tell you it's a civil matter between you and the owner of the property and tell you have a good day.

EDIT:

The only way they would take a report is if it was large amount of money or a vehicle that needs to be registered. With either one, either the DMV or the IRS would need proof you reported it to the police to make sure that they can contact the owners, either because the vehicle is reported stolen, or the money is reported lost and/or stolen.

 

and probably laugh as your walking out

anyone would think he had found a gold bar from the reactions in this thread

 

I doubt the police would bother to track someone down over some toys which in the end might not even have belonged to them in the first place.

 

Here are my thoughts, it sounds as though the original poster has the right motives. I don't think there is any legal way for him to contact the previous tenants. That is definately honorable that you are willing to wait it out to see if they come for the toys and I commend you for that. I think the thread was started to possibly get others opinions and I'm shocked at some of the comments. The previous tenants side of the story has been untold so there are countless reasons why the toys were left behind and why they owe the landlord. Items like toys are just material things here on earth and it does not matter what we accumulate be it riches or other items, what matters is what is on the inside in the form of honesty and integrity.
This kind of reminds me of what happened to my wife a few years ago. She was in a mall shopping one day and went to the restroom to wash her hands. She took a ring off and set it on the sink. You guessed it, she forgot to put the ring back on and by the time she realized she left it in the restroom and came back, the ring was gone. She went to the customer service desk and left her contact info just in case someone turned it in and even filed a police report. So my question is, is this a case of "finders-keepers" in that the person that found the ring was within their rights to take the ring. Afterall, they are the ones that have to bear the burden of guilt.
Agh, sorry if I was preaching too long.

 

I guess most of you here think that Storage Wars and other type shows, should go and contact the deadbeat owners who skipped out on their rent because something they left behind turned out to be valuable? Like some have said already, the person you are all feeling so bad for was knowingly stealing when he skipped out on his rent. The OP only has an obligation at most to his landlord who basically gave him free reign to keep and/or trash items at his discretion. Even if the former tenant did show up, I don't think OP has any obligation to return anything. I really don't see problem here. I do find it interesting that two TF Collectors ended up renting the same place though!

And yeah, as others have said, since these TFs were hidden in the crawl space, who is to say these were even from the previous tenant. These things could have been hidden in that crawl space for years. It's not OP's responsibility to go on a moral expedition to locate all prior tenants since the years those toys were released.

 

I bet other peeps won't even post this and just keep it to themselves.

Classics for kids? Hahahaha yeah right.

The shame of skipping out should prevent anyone with a shread of decency in claiming these.

Fucktard should have paid his rent instead of toys...

Legit find. That is all. Hahaha I can just imagine the look on your face. lol

Karma's a bitch. If I were you I'd sell a couple for really low then do whatever with the rest. I keep giving back when life gives me something.

 

The difference is that the toys, once the tennant left and skipped out on rent, were legal property of the landlord. Landlord did not want them, they are owned by the OP now.

He has every right to tell the previous owners to go blow a goat if they come knocking on his door for them. He is the legal owner now. Finders keepers by law, ftw.

I don't want to go into morality of the subject, but I think someone finding a ring in a mall and not turning it in to security, or calling local police, is a completely different subject all together. She was still the legal owner of said object, and now someone else possesses it because she misplaced it. That's a difference, imo.