I will not go into details. My landlord at my place of business got a marshal to evict me. I had thirty days to remove my stuff. There were many things that were not done legally but I did not have the money to go to court and was trying to negotiate because there was a lot stuff there and was extremely hard to remove but he was not willing to talk. I did not know that he ordered a marshal which also not legal.
After the thirty days he was willing if I paid the rent plus the agreement payment that we made five years ago he would let me in, in order to pack up. I was able to come up with the money for two months. The third month I could not come up with money in time and he did not let me in. In the meantime he took out stuff and gave them away or sold them or he called in people to take stuff.
My question is: 1) was he allowed according to Halacah to sell or give away my stuff or was he supposed to put in on the street and give me the opportunity to pick it up? 2) Secondly, this was done in a span of many weeks and I did not know when stuff was taken out wasn’t he supposed to tell me when he is emptying out so that I can come and take it? My loss was more than $100,000 plus many very valuable items to me like gifts that I got from my Grand Rabbi plus much silverware that I inherited from my grandfather that was invaluable. I would take him to Beth Din but he can deny everything and I cannot prove what was there.
Now just for myself I would like to know what the Halacha is.
Answer:
I’m very sorry to hear about this sorry tale.
Even when a landlord has the right to evict a tenant, he certainly does not have the right to sell his personal items or give them away. Even if he is owed money, he cannot sell items, and doing so would require special permission of Beis Din.
Before taking out items, due warning must be given, so that the owner will be able to collect them.
You can try to take him to Beis Din. As you note, he can deny everything, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that he will do so.
May Hashem compensate your loss, and with sincere wishes of blessing and prosperity.
