Attorney Staff asked 7 years ago
I live in CA. My friend rented a portable storage container in 05 & parked it on my property. He went to jail. I have been paying on it monthly ever since. I have struggled with the payments and they have always been late. I pay the late fee and go on. Friday when nobody was home he came and took the container full of my and Jail boy’s belongings. Didn’t he need my permission to come on my property? Didn’t he have to notify me? He sends me a bill monthly. I never signed a contract with him? What are my rights so he doesn’t sell my things?
Attorney Staff answered 7 years ago
The answer will depend on the terms of the rental contract. The rental agreement should have a repossession provision in there that gives the owner the option to go onto the property, put it on a truck, and bring it back to the facility.
This is a new area of law and California law isn’t straightforward about the rights of a mobile storage unit owner, but the prevailing opinion is that the lien rights of permanent storage facilities apply. If the contract is silent about the rights of the owner to repossess the unit, the storage facility laws allow the owner to put a lien on the stored property and sell it to recover costs and payments due. A notice of the repossession and lien must be sent to the address, allowing at least 14 days to pay overdue amounts before the property is sold.
In repossession, the owner may enter private property to recover the item, as long as it’s done without breaching the peace and not entering an enclosed or locked area.
Please see the information at the following links:
http://www.mobileselfstoragemagazine.com/Archive_1008/going-once-going-twice.html