- Legal EditorHenry Dahut, J.D.
Henry Dahut, J.D.
Attorney - Legal Publisher - Educator
Henry Dahut is a licensed California trial attorney. Over the course of his 30-plus years practicing law, Henry has represented and counseled countless clients in legal trouble.
Read more → -
Can I Be Locked Out Of My Storage Unit?
I lost my job about a year ago and had to give up my apartment. I had to rent a self-storage unit to store most of my belongings until I could find a new apartment. In the meantime, I fell behind on my storage payments, and the storage company informed me that they had placed a lien on my unit and that I would not have access to my property (they changed the locks) until I brought my account current with them.
Legal Right To Sell Vehicle
The storage people also informed me that they had the legal right to sell my property in the unit at an auction unless I paid them in full. Can they legally do this?
Yes, they can. When you originally signed a contract with the storage company, you gave them the legal right to lock you out and lien the contents within your storage unit if you defaulted on your storage contract by failing to make your storage payments.
Review Your Storage Agreement
Your first step you need to take is to review the terms of your storage contract and determine if it states they can declare you in default and lock you out of your unit.
In the meantime, until the default is cured, which translates into bringing your account current, including payment of all late fees, they will have the legal right to lien the contents of all your property within your unit.
Auction Must Follow Strict Rules
The next step the storage company will likely take, which must be in specific compliance with the lien and auction laws in your state, is to sell your property at auction. The auction proceeds are then used to pay the storage company their storage fees, including all late charges and expenses.
Auction is Open The Public
Self-Storage auctions are generally open to the public, with most bidders buying the unit’s contents to resell your property at a hefty profit. This has become a big business, and it tends to be predatory. In most cases, you have the legal right to pay your outstanding storage bill until the moment the auction begins.
Once the auction on your unit commences, the storage unit door is opened, and the bidders are permitted to view the contents but not enter the storage unit. The laws in most states now require that none of the sold items can be taken until the auction is officially closed.
