Roommate Moved out

[wendyp]

my roommate moved out recently and took an expensive rug with her. the rug was left in the house by a previous roommate for the last three years. i have lived in the house the entire time. who does the rug legally belong to? i am in the state of washington if there are specifics for this state.

 

[JETX]

We have no history of the rug prior to your moving into the property 3 years ago, but I assume that it was there when you moved in.

If so, then it is the property of the landlord. Now, he may have come about ownership as abandoned property from a previous tenant, but he would have assumed ownership by abandonment.

 

[wendyp]

roommate and the rug

the previous roommate brought the rug with them when we all moved in together 5 years ago. when she left 3 years ago, and the current roommate moved in (the one that is moving out now), the rug was left in the rental unit. i have lived here the entire 5 years.

 

[wtd]

Since in your second post, you simply repeated the questions in the first post, I would assume that you didn't get the answer that you were looking for.

The answer that you apparently desire - the rug belongs to you -probably won't be coming along anytime soon.

The situation is as Halket described it to you, it was abandoned by the previous roomate and subsequently became the property of the landlord.

The bathtub and water heater are his too - don't even think about it.

wtd

 

[JETX]

Since in your second post, you simply repeated the questions in the first post, I would assume that you didn't get the answer that you were looking for.

The answer that you apparently desire - the rug belongs to you -probably won't be coming along anytime soon.

The situation is as Halket described it to you, it was abandoned by the previous roomate and subsequently became the property of the landlord.

The bathtub and water heater are his too - don't even think about it.

wtd

Not exactly. If the property was brought into the rental unit with the new tenants AND you are the remaining sole original tenant, then the issue of ownership is really cloudy. The landlord could have a claim as it was abandoned by one of HIS tenants. You could have a claim as assumed ownership since you are the last remaining tenant from the original lease (who is to claim you didn't bring it in). And your subsequent tenants could have a possible (slim) claim as part of the liability that they assumed as part of their tenancy.

My suggestion... if a co-tenant is claiming, tell them to prove it. If the landlord is claiming, ask him to provide some support for his claim since it is obviously NOT a fixture of the house (as are the bathtub and water heaters). Otherwise claim it yourself and let others take legal steps to insure their ownership.