personal property+change of locks

[rodrive]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

Thank you in advance for reading this.

On August 1st I moved into a home owned by two people. One lives in the home, the other in CT. I signed no lease and paid no deposit but verbally agreed to stay for 2 years and verbally agreed that I would give 60 days notice to move out. Well, just a few days into it, it was clear that it would not work out, and I began to feel uncomfortable and threatened by the landlord that lived there. So I gave notice that I was moving out sooner - at the end of the month. And neither one of them objected. Well, sometime during all of this I lost my set of keys (they were possibly stolen). I notified them immediately, and said that if I did not find them within 48 hrs that I would pay to have the locks changed. I did not ever find my keys and I asked the landlord to get a quote to change the locks, or I could get the quote if they preferred. I have asked repeatedly for the quote, and I have now been gone for 12 days, and I have still not seen anything. I recently emailed them to ask if I had left anything behind (I believe I left a jewelry box with expensive jewelry in it, since it was on the very top shelf of my closet). They responded by saying I have no reason to contact them until I pay them for the locks and they mentioned nothing about my personal property I left behind. Well, I have asked again for a quote, and I still have yet to receive one. More than anything I want my jewelry that I left behind because I'm afraid the longer they wait, the less of a chance I will ever see it again. What can I do about this whole situation?

 

[seniorjudge]

Sue the bad people in small claims court.

 

[HomeGuru]

Sue the small people in bad claims court.

 

[Cvillecpm]

File police report on lost jewelry and claim on your renter's insurance.

You should have had the locks changed IMMEDIATELY and notified the landlord and provided keys....YOU LOST THE KEYS. YOU FIX THE PROBLEM!

By stalling you appear to WANT the valuables to disappear and claim against your landlord. They are SMART to wait you out.

 

[MIRAKALES]

Question: What would be the reason for advising the LL of the “expensive jewelry” left on the very top shelf of the closet?
It would have been wiser to arrive unannounced and request the items (police escort if necessary to file report).

Within less than ONE month’s time tenant manages to lose a new set of premise keys and “expensive jewelry.” If any of the above is believable, the entire scenario would make the tenant liable and irresponsible. The lost/stolen keys to the premises can be estimated by comparing the cost of comparable locksets at a hardware store plus cost of installation. The lost/stolen jewelry would require a police report. LL would not be responsible for the jewelry because there is no proof that the jewelry existed or that tenant left the jewelry at the premises.

Another Question: What is a VERBAL two year lease with a two month notice to vacate requirement? If this is a parent/family relationship then the scenario makes more sense. Otherwise, this is a VERY unusual LL/tenant relationship and odd, to say the least.