Can Someone Put a Lien on My House if Their Property is Inside?

When you owe someone money, the person can generally take a number of actions to reclaim it. Most of these actions begin with the person filing a lawsuit against you, alleging that you've broken whatever agreement entitled him to payment. In some states, that person, if awarded a judgment by the judge in the case, can place a lien on your house for the unpaid debt. However, he can't do this if he just has property in your house.

Liens

A lien is a legal order that states the house or other property on which it is placed cannot be transferred to another party until a set amount of money has been provided to another party. Usually, a party who is owed money in a debt will have a lien placed on another party as a way of compelling them to pay up. Liens are rarely used in other instances.

Property

If a person has left property in your house, he will usually have a right to collect this property. In some cases, such as after evictions in certain states, the person will forfeit the right to the property in your house. The laws on this vary from state to state; however, the process of reclaiming this property does not generally include the placement of liens on the house in which the property is stored.

Reclaiming Property

If a person wishes to get property out of your house and has a legal right to it, there are a number of ways he can go about reclaiming the property. He can ask you to reclaim the property. If there is a dispute about who owns the property, you can go to court about this. In some cases, if you do not want to let the person in your house unattended, you can get your local police force to assist you in supervising the transfer of property.

Considerations

Having property inside of your house would not legally prevent anyone from placing a lien on your house if you owed the person money. Just because you have come into possession of some of his property, or if he is a tenant in your house, does not mean that he surrenders a right to sue you for a debt and, if you fail to pay, petition a judge to hit you with a lien.