Landlords accepting search warrants....

[Bear Giles]

An anonymous writer wrote:

>9) I still wonder if the officers would have been able to get a warrant
>under my circumstances. At the time I was convinced that they wouldn't
>have without additional evidence (of which there assurredly is none).
>I had in the back of my mind that I would rather have them search when
>I didn't expect it or through my landlord when I wasn't there.
		       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This keeps popping up, probably due to old _Dragnet_ episodes...

As I understand contract law regarding leases, a landlord _cannot_
grant permission for a police search unless the lease is in default.
Or, more precisely, if they did you could sue them for "breach of
contract" and extract pretty hefty penalties.

Perhaps California leases have some standard clause which permits
this, but in general a "lease" transfers all "non-freeholder" property
rights, except for those explicitly -returned- within the contract.
That means the tenant is the property owner for all intents and
purposes except for "freeholder" rights (e.g., a tenant can't sell
the property).

Bear Giles