Self-service storage facility notices and procedures

If the personal property is worth less than $100, the bill allows the facility operator, after providing proper notice, to donate the property to a nonprofit organization, dispose of the property in a solid waste facility, recycle the property, or remove the property from the facility in another reasonable manner.

This bill requires the facility operator to send the second notice of the failure to pay rent by certified mail or first class mail with a certificate of mailing to the person's last-known address. The bill allows the facility operator to advertise the sale of the personal property by publishing one notice in a newspaper of general circulation where the facility is located in addition to a posting in two public places.

The Internet is included as a public place in the bill.

Currently, the notice of the sale must include a description of the personal property to be sold and the address of the self-service storage facility, the number of the space where the property is located, and the name of the lessee. This bill removes the requirement that the notice include the number of the space where the property is located.

Under current law, the sale of the personal property must be conducted in a commercially reasonable manner. This bill replaces that language with a requirement that the sale be a public sale with three or more bidders or that the personal property be offered for sale to at least three persons who deal with the type of property for sale, or that the sale be conducted in another manner that is commercially reasonable.

The bill requires a rental agreement that includes a provision that limits the value of property stored to print that provision in bold type or underlined type of the same size as the rest of the agreement. If such a provision is in the rental agreement, that limit is presumed to be the maximum value of the property stored.

Current law gives the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) authority to promulgate rules regarding self-storage facilities, investigate violations of the statutory provisions, and refer the matter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) or district attorney to bring a court action against a violator. Current law also allows a private person to bring a civil action for a violation of the statutory provisions, which allows the person to recover his or her damages, costs, disbursements, and attorney fees. This bill removes the statutory private right of action, effectively limiting an individual's right to only bringing an action based on common law, such as conversion, and limits the award to damages, costs, and statutory attorney fees.