Definition of Vandalism in the california penal code
594 P.C. (a) Every person who maliciously commits any of the following
acts with respect to any real or personal property not his or her
own, in cases other than those specified by state law, is guilty of
vandalism:
(1) Defaces with graffiti or other inscribed material.
(2) Damages.
(3) Destroys.
The Key phrase is “not his or her own.” The law doesn’t care if there is a loan against the property, the owner is the person on the deed, even if they have no equity. Breaking the contract is not criminal as someone else mentioned, the contract or loan docs may say that you can’t destroy the house but it is not criminal, the only punishment can be monetary and if they had money they wouldn’t be losing the house.
There are excpetions and one of them is arson, you can’t burn it down, even if it is yours free and clear, not because it is vandalism but because lighting fires is bad. Domestic violence vandalsim is another, destroying the property of your spouse even in a community property state for the purpose of terrorizing them will land you in jail, so put that sledgehammer away because even though your name is on her car, it will be a night in the pokey for you if you redecorate it.
Rather than have the courts or the police prevent it, here’s a novel idea, don’t let people buy houses with nothing down, people with equity rarely destroy their house or sell off the appliances and fixtures. I think they should take pictures of thrashed repos, enlarge them and hang them on the walls in lending institutions, visible to the approvers.
