Cal. Civ. Code § 8-311
Md. Code Ann., Real Property Art. Title 8 — Landlord and Tenant
Operative Text
(a) Within seven days after the levy, any person who is not a tenant and whose goods are levied on under distress may file a petition with the court where the action of distress is pending for an order to exclude from levy the goods of the person not a tenant. The petition shall set forth the facts as to the ownership of the goods and shall be verified by the petitioner. (b) A copy of the petition shall be served on the plaintiff and defendant. If service cannot be made on either, the petitioner shall certify this fact to the court in writing, stating the reason for it. (c) After a hearing held on not more than ten days’ notice, and on submission of proof satisfactory to the court that the goods are not the property of the tenant, the court shall issue an order excluding the goods from levy. This order authorizes the owner to remove the owner’s goods from the leased premises at the owner’s expense free of any claim of the landlord. (d) The order shall provide that the claimant shall remove the claimant’s goods at the claimant’s expense from the leased premises within a time to be fixed by the court. If the claimant fails to remove the claimant’s goods within the fixed time, then the goods claimed by the claimant no longer shall be excluded from distress and shall be subject to the landlord’s claim for distress as though no petition for exclusion had been filed. (e) If no petition to determine ownership of goods is filed by any third person within seven days after the date of a levy under distress, all goods on the leased premises and included in the inventory conclusively are presumed to be the goods of the tenant and may be disposed of according to the applicable provisions of this subtitle without any liability to the owner for the disposal.
Maryland Real Property § 8-311 addresses situations where a landlord's distress levy (a legal seizure of property to satisfy unpaid rent) captures goods that actually belong to someone other than the tenant. Under this provision, a non-tenant whose property has been seized has seven days from the date of the levy to file a verified petition with the court asking that their goods be excluded from the levy. If the court finds the goods belong to the non-tenant, it will order their release, but the owner must remove them within a court-set deadline or lose that protection. If no petition is filed within seven days, all goods on the premises are conclusively presumed to belong to the tenant.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under § 8-311, property owners and managers conducting a distress action should be aware that third parties—such as roommates, guests, or business owners sharing the space—have a narrow seven-day window to contest the levy over their goods. A compliant operator generally maintains accurate inventories of levied goods and cooperates with court proceedings when a third-party petition is filed. Landlords operating under this section should also be aware that if no petition is filed within seven days, the law treats all inventoried goods as the tenant's property, which can affect how the distress proceeds.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section 8-311 is relevant to tenants whose premises contain property belonging to others, such as a friend's furniture or a co-occupant's belongings, because those third parties have rights in a distress proceeding. A non-tenant whose goods are caught in a levy can file a petition with the court within seven days to assert ownership and seek an exclusion order. Tenants and affected third parties who believe goods have been wrongly included in a levy may wish to consult a tenant-rights organization or legal aid provider familiar with Maryland distress law to understand the available options under this provision.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 14, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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