mortimer h
New member
...to the owner? I am a business property owner in hillsborough county florida. The tenant left the property with no notice and abandoned several vehicles there. This was in June. For several months we attempted to contact the owners of the vehicles. One responded but repeatedly failed to show up or only showed up after hours. Today the police came to the property. Any business operating in the property were closed but the front gate was open and we were raking up mulch outside.
At first we explained that the previous tenant had left the cars there, and the sheriff agreed that the vehicle owner (who was now present) should have to go to court to retrieve the car. She talked to the owner and then changed her mind and decided that since we were only the property owners, we could not stop the tow truck from entering our property and taking the vehicle after he presented the title to her.
We tried to close the gate but the officer threatened to arrest us, so we let them take the car. Why were they allowed to enter our property? Was it simply because the gate was unlocked? Do we have the right to keep the car after over 3 months of storage and repeated attempts for the owner to pick it up? Any advice would be helpful, thanks.
At first we explained that the previous tenant had left the cars there, and the sheriff agreed that the vehicle owner (who was now present) should have to go to court to retrieve the car. She talked to the owner and then changed her mind and decided that since we were only the property owners, we could not stop the tow truck from entering our property and taking the vehicle after he presented the title to her.
We tried to close the gate but the officer threatened to arrest us, so we let them take the car. Why were they allowed to enter our property? Was it simply because the gate was unlocked? Do we have the right to keep the car after over 3 months of storage and repeated attempts for the owner to pick it up? Any advice would be helpful, thanks.