Our office has been injected into an alarming number of cases involving package thefts so we felt obligated to take this subject on. With so many people ordering online, it has almost become an entirely new practice area of law for us.

With a rise in online shopping, we have seen a corresponding spike in package thefts. If we discover that a tenant is stealing packages, housing providers should commence an eviction action with no debate or discussion.

These thieves can be quick, brazen, and increasingly inventive in their disguises. One such criminal slithers up to a porch wearing a garbage bag and steals a package before scurrying away. You may find it to be amusing but assuredly, the property owner did not.

Other picky porch pirates are not so stealthy, sometimes opening boxes to see if their ‘booty’ contains expensive electronics or other valuable items.

Just as shopping behavior and modes of delivery have changed, so has technology to identify crooks. Smart doorbell technology and surveillance tools can be extremely helpful in removing bad actors and have emerged as a compelling evidentiary tool in courts. Yet we have to be cautious because, despite all of the marvels of technology, it does not come without controversies and limitations when it encroaches on privacy.

Although the theft of packages is not a “curable” transgression and we will hastily commence an eviction once detected, it gets murkier when discussing the responsibilities of landlords and their agents to secure the premises, prevent the theft of packages, and avoid liability.

 

We don’t want to rattle off a litany of case law. Instead, we’ll summarize it in a bulleted fashion.

• Landlords have a general duty to secure the premises and take reasonable steps to secure common areas against foreseeable criminal acts of third parties.
• This duty, however, does not typically extend to the individual units unless the landlord retains control over those areas or has been negligent in securing them.
• We have to balance a trio of factors. One is the scope of a landlord’s duty to protect from third-party crimes, such as theft, the foreseeability of the harm, and the burden of the duty to be imposed. Let’s put an asterisk on this and we’ll discuss it later.
• The tenant is in the best position to protect their own property and generally speaking, the landlord is not held liable for the loss of the tenant’s property unless they have specifically undertaken duties to protect the property. Like in many landlord-tenant disputes, we’ll have to look at the rental agreement and see what the mutual expectations are.

With that being said, here are our takeaways

Housing providers already have an obligation to ensure that entrances and locks are in good working order and the rash of package thefts only puts an exclamation point on this.

Having a well-lit, monitored building can deter porch pirates and provide a sense of security for residents. We urge surveillance in common areas as long as it does not violate the law.

We are aware of specialized package holder lockers on site, but they are often unaffordable for small property owners. Tenants have other options for picking up packages such as going to a secure Amazon location or having them delivered to work or someplace where a person is present. Alerting a neighbor that a package is arriving and putting it in their care may also be helpful. We should educate renters on their faculties to secure packages.

Krista Gulbransen is the head of the Berkeley Property Association and is quick to point out how rampant mail theft is, but goes a step further saying that mail carriers are sometimes robbed of master keys in rental properties.

We go back to our point on foreseeability. Are there instances of package thefts, or mail receptacles being comprised? If so, owners or their agents need to take action to avoid liability, give residents peace of mind, and ensure that the only pirate they see is at an entertainment venue.

Written by Daniel Bornstein, Esq., Bornstein Law

More than a practitioner in landlord-tenant law, Daniel Bornstein is the Broker of Record for Bay Property Group, a property management company that protects and optimizes the investments of landlords. He is also renowned for his educational seminars and is called upon as an expert witness in complex real estate litigation matters. To avoid or resolve friction within rental units and cauterize risk, Daniel is happy to dispense informed advice to owners, property managers, and other real estate professionals looking to survive and thrive in today’s challenging and litigious rental housing market. Call 415-409-7611 or email daniel@bornstein.law.