All civil actions for the recovery or conversion of personal property, wearing apparel, trunks, valises or baggage alleged to have been left at a hotel, hospital, rest home, sanitarium, boarding house, lodging house, furnished apartment house, or furnished bungalow court, shall be begun within 90 days from and after the date of the departure of the owner of said personal property, wearing apparel, trunks, valises or baggage from said hotel, hospital, rest home, sanitarium, boarding house, lodging house, furnished apartment house, or furnished bungalow court.
§ 341a.Recovery For Conversion of Personal Property Left At Hotel, Hospital, Rest Home, Sanitarium, Boarding House, Etc.
Title 2. Of the Time of Commencing Civil Actions · Chapter 3. The Time of Commencing Actions Other Than for the Recovery of Real Property · Last amended 1943 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 341a gives a 90-day deadline, from the date the owner leaves, for actions to recover personal property left behind at a hotel, hospital, rest home, sanitarium, boarding house, lodging house, or similar residential establishment.
Full Text of § 341a
Plain-English Summary
Section 341a covers a narrow but recurring situation: personal property, wearing apparel, trunks, valises, or baggage left behind at a hotel, hospital, rest home, sanitarium, boarding house, lodging house, furnished apartment house, or furnished bungalow court. A civil action to recover that property, or over its conversion, must begin within 90 days of the date the owner departed the establishment.
The 90-day period is short by design — these are the kinds of transient-lodging disputes the Legislature wanted resolved quickly, before records of who left what behind grow stale.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to sue over property left behind at a hotel or boarding house?
90 days from the date the owner departed the establishment, under § 341a.
What kinds of establishments does § 341a cover?
Hotels, hospitals, rest homes, sanitariums, boarding houses, lodging houses, furnished apartment houses, and furnished bungalow courts.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1943, Ch. 405.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: lost property hotel statute of limitations California