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AN ACT RELATING TO SELF-STORAGE FACILITIES
It
is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec.
1. SHORT TITLE
This
act shall be known as the “Vermont Self-Storage Facility Act.”
Sec.
2. 9 V.S.A. chapter
98 is added to read:
CHAPTER
98. STORAGE UNITS
§
3950. DEFINITIONS
For
the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(1)
“Last known address” means that address provided by the
occupant in the rental agreement or the address provided by the
occupant in a subsequent written notice of a change of address.
(2)
“Occupant” means a person, successor, assignee, agent,
or representative entitled to the use of storage space in a
self-storage facility under a rental agreement to the exclusion of
others.
(3)
“Owner” means the owner, operator, lessor, or sublessor
of a
self-storage
facility, an agent, or any other person authorized by the owner to
manage the facility or to receive rent from an occupant under a
rental agreement.
(4)
“Personal property” means movable property not affixed
to land, and includes goods, merchandise, and household items.
(5)
“Rental agreement” means any written agreement that
establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, rules, or any other
provision concerning the use and occupancy of a self-storage
facility.
(6)
“Self-storage facility” means any real property
designed and used for the purpose of renting or leasing individual
storage space to occupants who are to have access to such space
for the purpose of storing and removing personal property.
A self-storage facility is not a “warehouse” as used in
Article 7 of the Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.) as codified in
Title 9A. If an owner
issues any warehouse receipt, bill of lading, or other document of
title for the personal property stored, the owner and the occupant
are subject to the U.C.C., and this act does not apply.
§
3951. RESIDENTIAL
PURPOSES
(a)
No occupant shall use storage space at a self-storage
facility for residential purposes.
(b)
No owner shall knowingly permit a storage space at a
self-storage facility to be used for residential purposes.
§
3952. DISCLOSURES
A
rental agreement shall contain the following:
(1)
The name and address of the owner and occupant.
(2)
The actual monthly occupancy charge, rent, or lease amount
for the storage space provided, expressed in dollars.
(3)
An itemization of other charges imposed or which may be
imposed in connection with the occupancy, a description of the
charges, whether the charges are mandatory or optional, and the
amount of each charge expressed in dollars.
(4)
A statement of whether property stored in the leased space
is or is not insured by the owner against loss or damage and of
the requirement that the occupant must provide his or her own
insurance for any property stored, written in conspicuous language
and in bold print.
(5)
A statement advising the occupant of the existence of the
lien created by this chapter, and that the property stored in the
leased space may be sold to satisfy the lien.
§
3953. LIEN
The
owner of a self-storage facility has a possessory lien upon all
personal property located in a storage space at a self-storage
facility for rent, labor, or other charges, present or future, in
relation to the personal property, and for expenses relevant to
its preservation or expenses reasonably incurred in its sale or
other disposition pursuant to this chapter.
The lien provided for in this section is superior to any
other lien or security interest.
The lien attaches as of the date the personal property is
brought to or placed in a regular storage space at a self-storage
facility in accordance with the provisions of a valid rental
agreement.
§
3954. ENFORCEMENT OF
LIEN
In
the event of a default under the terms of a rental agreement, the
lien created under this chapter may be enforced in accordance with
the provisions of this section.
(1)
First notice of default.
No sooner than five days after a default, the occupant
shall be notified of the default by regular mail sent to his or
her last known address.
(2)
Second notice of default.
No sooner than 14 days after a default, the occupant shall
be notified of the default by regular mail sent to his or her last
known address. The
second notice shall contain the following:
(A)
An itemized statement of the owner’s claim showing the
sum due at the time of the notice and the date when the sum became
due.
(B)
A brief and general description of the personal property
subject to the lien. There
shall be no requirement to describe the specific contents of a
storage space in a self-storage facility beyond stating that it is
the contents of a specific storage space in a specific
self-storage facility rented by a specific occupant.
(C)
A notice of denial of access to the personal property, if
such denial is permitted under the terms of the rental agreement.
(D)
A demand for payment within a specified time not less than
ten days after the delivery of the notice; any notice mailed
pursuant to this section shall be presumed delivered when it is
deposited with the United States Postal Service, properly
addressed with proper postage prepaid.
(E)
A conspicuous statement that unless the claim is paid in
full within the time stated in the notice, the personal property
will be advertised for sale or other disposition and will be sold
according to law.
(3)
Advertisement. After
the expiration of the time given in the second notice under
subdivision (2) of this section, an advertisement of the sale or
other disposition shall be published once a week for two
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation where the
self-storage facility is located.
The advertisement shall contain the following:
(A)
A brief and general description of the personal property as
provided in subdivision (2)(B) of this section.
(B)
The address of the self-storage facility and the number, if
any, of the space where the personal property is located and the
name of the occupant.
(C)
The time, place, and manner of the sale or other
disposition. If there
is no newspaper of general circulation where the self-storage
facility is located, the advertisement shall be posted at least 15
days before the date of the sale or other disposition at the town
hall where the self-storage facility is located in such fashion as
the auction sales of real property are posted.
(4)
Notice to other lienholders.
After the expiration of the time given in the second notice
under subdivision (2) of this section, the owner shall determine
whether the occupant owns any personal property subject to an
active lien registered with the Vermont secretary of state.
If any such lien exists, the lienholder shall be notified
by certified mail not less than 14 days prior to the sale or other
disposition of the property.
Such notice shall include the following:
(A)
A statement describing the property to be sold or otherwise
disposed of. There
shall be no requirement to describe the specific contents of a
storage space in a self-storage facility beyond stating that it is
the contents of a specific storage space in a specific
self-storage facility rented by a specific occupant.
(B)
A statement of the lienholder’s rights under this
chapter.
(C)
A statement of the time, place, and manner of the sale or
other disposition of the property.
(5)
Sale. Upon
fulfillment of the notification and advertisement requirements of
this section, sale or other disposition of the personal property
shall be permitted, provided the following conditions are met:
(A)
The sale or other disposition of the personal property
shall take place not sooner than 15 days after the first
publication under subdivision (3) of this section.
(B)
Any sale or other disposition of the personal property
under this chapter shall conform to the terms of all notifications
required under this section.
If the sale will not or does not take place as provided for
in the notifications, then subsequent notifications shall be made
in the same manner as the original notifications had been made.
(C)
Any sale or other disposition of the personal property
shall be held at the self-storage facility, or at the nearest
suitable place.
(D)
Any sale or disposition of the personal property shall be
performed in a commercially reasonable manner, meaning the owner
sells the goods in the usual manner in any recognized market
therefor, at the price current in such market at the time of the
sale; or otherwise sold in conformity with commercially reasonable
practices among dealers in the type of goods sold; however, the
sale of more goods than apparently necessary to ensure
satisfaction of the obligation is not commercially reasonable
unless necessary due to the nature of the goods being sold or the
manner in which they are customarily sold.
The fact that a better price could have been obtained by
sale at a different time or by a different method from that
selected by the owner is not of itself sufficient to establish
that the sale was not made in a commercially reasonable manner.
(E)
Any sale or disposition of a motor vehicle shall be
performed pursuant to the motor vehicle title act.
(6)
Right of satisfaction.
Before any sale or disposition of personal property
pursuant to this chapter, the occupant may pay the amount
necessary to satisfy the lien in full and the reasonable expenses
incurred under this section, and thereby redeem the personal
property. Upon
receipt of such payment, the owner shall return the personal
property, and thereafter the owner shall have no liability to any
person with respect to such personal property.
(7)
Proceeds in excess of lien amount.
In the event of sale under this section, the owner may
satisfy the owner’s lien from the proceeds of the sale or other
disposition, but shall hold the balance, if any, for delivery on
demand to the occupant. If
the occupant does not claim the balance of the proceeds within two
years of the date of sale, it shall become property of the state
of Vermont and shall be paid over to the treasurer of the state of
Vermont without interest.
(8)
Rights of other lienholders.
The holder of any active lien on personal property stored
in the storage unit and registered with the Vermont secretary of
state may take possession of its liened property at any time prior
to sale or other disposition by paying the owner’s claim.
(9)
Rights of purchasers.
A purchaser in good faith of the personal property sold to
satisfy a lien, as provided elsewhere in this chapter, takes the
property free of any rights of persons against whom the lien was
valid, despite noncompliance by the owner with the requirements of
this chapter.
§
3955. SUPPLEMENTAL
NATURE OF ACT
Nothing
in this chapter shall be construed in any manner to impair or
affect the right of parties to create liens by special contract or
agreement, nor shall it in any manner affect or impair other liens
arising at common law or in equity, or by any statute in this
state.
§
3956. SAVINGS CLAUSE
All
self-storage rental agreements entered into before the effective
date of this chapter, and not extended or renewed before that
date, and the rights, duties, and interests flowing from them
shall remain valid and may be enforced or terminated in accordance
with their terms or as permitted by any other statute or law of
this state.
§
3957. SEVERABILITY
If
any provision of this act or the application thereof is held
invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications of the act that can be given effect without the
invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions
of this act are declared to be severable.
Sec.
3. EFFECTIVE DATE
This
act shall take effect January 1, 2009.
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