Bill Text: MI HB4484 | 2013-2014 | 97th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Liens; other; self-service storage facility liens; revise liability of storage facility, allow for late fees, and allow for additional means of disposing of certain property. Amends secs. 3 & 5 of 1985 PA 148 (MCL 570.523 & 570.525).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-03-27 - Assigned Pa 61'14 With Immediate Effect [HB4484 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2013-HB4484-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 4484
March 20, 2013, Introduced by Reps. Pettalia and Rendon and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.
A bill to amend 1985 PA 148, entitled
"Self-service storage facility act,"
by amending sections 3 and 5 (MCL 570.523 and 570.525), as amended
by 2009 PA 177.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 3. (1) The owner of a self-service storage facility or a
self-contained storage unit and the heirs, personal
representatives, successors, and assignees of the owner have a lien
upon all personal property, whether or not owned by the tenant,
located at the self-service storage facility or self-contained
storage unit for rent or other lawful charges incurred relative to
the storage of the personal property, including expenses necessary
for its preservation, or reasonably incurred in its sale pursuant
to this act. The lien attaches on the date the personal property
arrives at the self-service storage facility or self-contained
storage unit or the date a rental agreement for the storage space
is signed by the tenant, whichever is earlier.
(2) The priority of a lien under this act is as provided in
section
5(13).5(14).
(3) If a tenant defaults on a rental agreement, the owner
shall give notice to all holders of a perfected security interest
under the uniform commercial code, 1962 PA 174, MCL 440.1101 to
440.11102, in which the tenant is named as a debtor.
(4) At the commencement of a rental agreement for storage
space at a self-service storage facility or in a self-contained
storage unit, the owner shall provide the tenant with the following
written notice:
"NOTICE: If you fail to make your required payments, you will
have to vacate the unit or your property may later be sold at a
public sale. Before the sale, you will be notified by first-class
mail or by electronic mail of the amount due. The notice will be
mailed to your last known address. In order to preserve your right
to be notified, it is important that you notify us in writing of
any change in your mailing address. Also, you should supply us with
the name and address of another person who can reach you if you are
not at your mailing address, and we will notify that person at the
same time and in the same manner as we notify you.".
(5) A rental agreement under this section may provide for a
limit on the value of the property stored at the facility or unit.
The stated limit shall be considered the maximum value of the
stored property for all purposes.
(6) A rental agreement under this section may provide for a
reasonable late charge for failure of the tenant to timely make
payments for the storage space when due. A monthly late fee of
$20.00 or 20% of the monthly rental amount, whichever is greater,
shall be considered reasonable and is not a penalty. The owner of
the self-service storage facility or self-contained storage unit
has the burden of justifying the reasonableness of any higher late
fee.
Sec. 5. (1) An owner's lien under section 3 shall be enforced
only as provided in this section.
(2)
The tenant and any occupant designated by the tenant in
under section 4(2) shall be notified of the owner's intent to
enforce the owner's lien by written notice delivered in person, by
first-class mail, or by electronic mail to the tenant's and, if
applicable, occupant's last known address. The notice shall include
all of the following:
(a) An itemized statement of the owner's claim, showing the
amount due at the time of the notice and the date when the amount
became due.
(b) A demand for payment within a specified time not less than
14 days after delivery of the notice.
(c) A conspicuous statement that, unless the claim is paid
within the time stated in the notice, the personal property will be
advertised for sale or other disposition and will be sold or
otherwise disposed of at a specified time and place as provided in
subsection (5).
(d) The name, street address, and telephone number of the
owner whom the tenant may contact to respond to the notice.
(e) A statement that if the tenant is a service member and is
transferred or deployed overseas on active duty for a period of 180
days or more, the tenant is entitled to give the owner notice of
that transfer or deployment and is entitled to protections under
this act or other law.
(3)
A notice given pursuant to under
this section shall be is
presumed delivered when it is deposited with the United States
postal service and properly addressed with postage prepaid or when
it is transmitted by electronic mail to the tenant's last known
electronic
mail address. An owner who gives notice under subsection
(2)
shall make an affidavit stating how and when the notice was
delivered
to the tenant and shall attach a copy of the notice to
the
affidavit. The owner shall retain the affidavit for
introduction
into evidence in any potential action under section
6(1).
(4)
Subject to subsection (15), (16),
after the expiration of
the time given in the notice described in subsection (2), the
contents of the storage space may be moved to another storage space
pending its sale or other disposition under this act.
(5) After the expiration of the time given in the notice
described in subsection (2), except as provided in subsection (6),
an advertisement of the sale or other disposition shall be
published once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in the print or
electronic version of a newspaper of general circulation in the
area where the self-service storage facility or self-contained
storage unit is located or posted once per week for 2 consecutive
weeks on a publicly available website identified in the rental
agreement. Regardless of whether a sale involves the property of
more than 1 tenant, a single advertisement may be used to advertise
the disposal of property at the sale. An advertisement under this
section shall include all of the following:
(a) A brief, general inventory, as described in subsection
(7), of the personal property subject to the lien that is to be
sold.
(b) The address of the self-storage facility or the address
where the self-contained storage unit is located and the name of
the tenant.
(c) The time, place, and manner of the sale or other
disposition.
Subject to subsection (15), (16),
the sale or other
disposition shall not take place sooner than 15 days after the
first publication of the advertisement under this section.
(6) If there is no newspaper of general circulation in the
area where the self-service storage facility or self-contained
storage unit is located and a publicly available website is not
identified in the rental agreement, the advertisement shall be
posted not less than 10 days before the date of the sale or other
disposition in not less than 3 conspicuous places in the
neighborhood where the self-service storage facility or self-
contained storage unit is located.
(7) The inventory required under subsection (5) shall
reasonably identify the property. A container, including, but not
limited to, a trunk, valise, or box that is locked, fastened,
sealed, or tied in a manner that deters immediate access to its
contents may be described as being in that condition, and a
description of the container's contents is not required. However, a
container closed in such a manner may be opened and its contents
inventoried, and those conducting the inventory, the owner, and the
owner's employees, agents, and representatives are not liable for
incidental damage to the container caused by the inventory.
(8) A sale or other disposition of personal property under
this section shall conform to the terms of the notification as
provided in this section and shall be conducted in a commercially
reasonable manner.
(9) Before a sale or other disposition of personal property
under this section, the tenant may pay the amount necessary to
satisfy the lien and the reasonable expenses incurred under this
section to redeem the personal property. Upon receipt of the
redemption amount, the owner shall return the personal property to
the tenant. After returning the personal property to the tenant
under this subsection, the owner is not liable to any person
concerning that personal property. If the tenant fails to redeem
the personal property or satisfy the lien, including reasonable
expenses under this section, the tenant shall be considered to have
unjustifiably abandoned the personal property and the owner may
resume possession of the self-service storage facility or self-
contained storage unit.
(10) If any property to which a lien attaches under section 3
is a motor vehicle, aircraft, mobile home, moped, motorcycle,
snowmobile, trailer, or watercraft and the rent and other storage
charges remain unpaid or unsatisfied for 60 days, the owner may, in
lieu of a sale of the property, have the property towed from the
facility by an independent motor carrier with a proper certificate
of authority from the Michigan public service commission under the
motor carrier act, 1933 PA 254, MCL 475.1 to 479.43. An owner who
has property towed under this subsection is not liable or
responsible for the property after the transfer of possession of
the property to the motor carrier.
(11) (10)
Before the sale of a motor vehicle,
aircraft, mobile
home, moped, motorcycle, snowmobile, trailer, or watercraft, the
owner shall contact the secretary of state and any other
governmental agency as reasonably necessary to determine the name
and address of the title holders or lienholders of the item, and
the owner shall notify every identified title holder or lienholder
of the time and place of the proposed sale. The owner is liable for
notifying the holder of a security interest only if the security
interest is filed under the name of the person signing the rental
agreement, the tenant, or an occupant identified in section 4(2).
An owner who fails to make the lien searches required by this
section is liable only to valid lienholders injured by that failure
as provided in section 6.
(12) (11)
Before the sale of personal
property under this act,
a holder of a prior lien on a motor vehicle, aircraft, mobile home,
moped, motorcycle, snowmobile, trailer, or watercraft to be sold
may pay the owner the amount of the owner's lien attributable to
storage of the property, including the reasonable expenses incurred
by the owner under this section. The amount payable to the owner
shall not exceed the equivalent of 4 months' rent. A payment made
to the owner shall be added to the amount of the lien of the prior
lienholder who made the payment and shall be subtracted from the
amount of the owner's lien.
(13) (12)
A purchaser in good faith of the
personal property
sold under this section takes the property free of any right of a
person against whom the lien was valid, despite noncompliance by
the owner with the requirements of this section.
(14) (13)
A person conducting a sale under
this section shall
distribute the proceeds in the following sequence:
(a) First, to satisfy the owner's liens up to an amount
equivalent to 4 months' rent, minus any amount already paid the
owner
pursuant to subsection (11).(12).
(b) Second, to satisfy outstanding balances owed to prior
perfected lienholders.
(c) Third, to satisfy the balance of the owner's liens,
including, but not limited to, all unpaid rent, late fees, and
reasonable lien enforcement expenses.
(15) (14)
Any proceeds of a sale under this
section remaining
after
the distribution is made under subsection (13) (14) shall
be
returned to the tenant by mailing the proceeds to the tenant's last
known address by certified mail and by notifying the tenant by
first-class mail. If the tenant does not claim the remaining
proceeds within 2 years after the date of sale, the remaining
proceeds shall escheat to this state. The owner shall maintain
proper records of money received in any sale held under this
section, and the records are subject to audit by the department of
treasury.
(16) (15)
If an owner receives a notice with
supporting
evidence under section 4(3) from a tenant, the owner shall not
enforce an owner's lien until 90 days after the end of the tenant's
overseas service.
(17) An owner is not liable for any damages or claims related
to the release, use, or misuse of confidential, proprietary, or
personal identification information contained in any documents or
other media stored by a tenant in the facility or unit after the
sale or other disposition of the documents or media.
(18) If an owner reasonably believes that a storage space
contains any documents or other media containing confidential,
proprietary, or personal identification information, the owner may
destroy any or all of the documents or media in lieu of a sale
under this section. An owner who destroys documents or media under
this subsection is not liable to any person for the destruction.
(19) If an owner has knowledge of, and the storage space
contains, any property that the owner may not lawfully sell, the
owner may properly dispose of the property in any manner allowed by
applicable law in lieu of a sale under this section. An owner who
disposes of property under this subsection is not liable to any
person for the disposal.
