Money & Debt

A storage place can sell your property to pay off any past due amount you owe. But before it sells your property, it has to follow certain steps. The manager has to tell you about the past due amount by certified mail, email or in person. The notice has to include:

• A statement that says how much you owe and the date it became due,
• The name, address and phone number of the storage place,
• A statement that says you have at least 14 days to pay, and that if you don’t pay, the manager will sell your property,
• The time, location and type of sale (for instance, at an auction),
• A statement that tells you if you can get into the unit, and
• Contact information of someone you can talk to to respond to the notice.

If you don't pay within 14 days, the manager can put an ad in the newspaper advertising the sale. The ad must run for at least two weeks before the day of the sale. If there is no local newspaper, the manager can put signs around the neighborhood 10 days before the sale. The ad must describe your property, and the address, time, and place of the sale.

You can stop the sale of your property at any time. You will need to pay the past due amount plus any reasonable costs paid by the storage place. But once the sale happens, your property is no longer yours.

Sometimes the storage place makes more money at the sale than what you owe. Then the manager must pay you whatever is left over after taking out the past due amount. You have one year to claim it.