HB 277: "An Act relating to liens by owners of self-storage facilities; distinguishing self-storage facility liens from another type of storage lien; and excluding self-storage liens from the treatment of certain unclaimed property."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 277 01 "An Act relating to liens by owners of self-storage facilities; distinguishing self-storage 02 facility liens from another type of storage lien; and excluding self-storage liens from the 03 treatment of certain unclaimed property." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 34.35 is amended by adding a new section to article 5 to read: 06 Sec. 34.35.227. Application. AS 34.35.220 - 34.35.225 do not apply to self- 07 storage facilities. In this section, "self-storage facilities" has the meaning given in 08 AS 34.35.649. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 34.35 is amended by adding new sections to read: 10 Article 13A. Self-Storage Facilities. 11 Sec. 34.35.600. Self-storage facility liens. (a) A person who owns a self- 12 storage facility has a lien on the personal property that is stored in a storage unit for 13 the payment of the rental charges for the unit. 14 (b) If the rental charges for a storage unit are unpaid for 60 days after the
01 charges are due under the unit renter's agreement with the facility owner, a facility 02 owner may deny the unit renter access to the unit by changing the lock or by other 03 means, and may take possession of the personal property stored in the self-storage 04 unit. 05 Sec. 34.35.610. Mailed notice required. (a) If a facility owner takes 06 possession of personal property under AS 34.35.600(b), the facility owner shall send a 07 written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the unit renter at the unit 08 renter's last known address. 09 (b) The notice mailed under (a) of this section must inform the unit renter that 10 (1) the facility owner has taken possession of the personal property in 11 the storage unit for nonpayment of rental charges; 12 (2) the facility owner will publish this notice one time in a newspaper 13 of general circulation in the judicial district where the self-storage facility is located; 14 (3) after 21 days have elapsed from the date of the publication under 15 AS 34.35.620 without payment of the amount owed, the facility owner will dispose of 16 the property at a place, at a time, and in a manner determined by the facility owner in 17 the sole discretion of the facility owner, consistent with AS 34.35.630; 18 (4) the amount owed under (3) of this subsection includes any mailing 19 and publication costs that have been incurred by the facility owner under this section 20 and AS 34.35.620; 21 (5) if, after the property has been disposed of by the facility owner, the 22 proceeds of the disposition exceed the amount owed, the unit renter may claim the 23 excess proceeds from the facility owner within one year from the date of publication 24 of the notice; 25 (6) the amount owed under (5) of this subsection includes the costs, 26 including personnel and administrative costs, of disposing of the property; and 27 (7) the unit renter will not receive another notice. 28 (c) The notice mailed under (a) of this section must also identify the self- 29 storage facility by name and address, state the name of the facility owner, provide a 30 telephone number for reaching the facility owner or the owner's agent, and provide an 31 address where the unit renter can pay the amount owed.
01 Sec. 34.35.620. Publication required. In addition to the notice required by 02 AS 34.35.610, the facility owner shall publish one time in a newspaper of general 03 circulation in the judicial district where the self-storage facility is located the 04 information required by AS 34.35.610(b) and (c) to be in the notice mailed under 05 AS 34.35.610. 06 Sec. 34.35.630. Disposal of property and proceeds. (a) When a facility 07 owner has taken possession of property under AS 34.35.600, the facility owner has 08 complied with AS 34.35.610 and 34.35.620, and the unit renter has not paid the 09 amount owed within 21 days from the date of the publication made under 10 AS 34.35.620, the facility owner may, without further notice to the unit renter, dispose 11 of the property at a place, at a time, and in a manner determined by the facility owner 12 in the sole discretion of the facility owner, consistent with (b) of this section. 13 (b) If the property subject to the lien appears to be salable, the facility owner 14 shall attempt to sell the property. If the facility owner cannot sell the property or if the 15 property appears to have little value, the facility owner may sell, give away, or throw 16 away the property. 17 (c) If all or part of the property is sold under this section, the proceeds shall be 18 applied to reduce the amount owed by the unit renter. If the proceeds exceed the 19 amount owed, the excess becomes the property of the facility owner unless the unit 20 renter claims the excess within one year from the date of publication under 21 AS 34.35.620. 22 (d) The facility owner shall keep for one year from the date of publication 23 under AS 34.35.620 a written record of when and how the facility owner disposed of 24 the property. The facility owner shall allow the unit renter to review the record upon 25 request. 26 Sec. 34.35.640. Release of recorded lien. Notwithstanding AS 34.35.900(a), 27 a facility owner is not required to deliver to the unit renter an acknowledgment of 28 satisfaction suitable for recording when a lien under AS 34.35.600 - 34.35.649 is 29 satisfied by payment. 30 Sec. 34.35.649. Definitions. In AS 34.35.600 - 34.35.649, 31 (1) "amount owed" means
01 (A) the rental charges owed to a facility owner by a unit renter; 02 (B) any costs incurred by a facility owner for mailing and 03 publishing the notice of the lien under AS 34.35.610 and 34.35.620; and 04 (C) any costs, including personnel and administrative costs, 05 incurred by a facility owner for disposing of the property; 06 (2) "facility owner" means a person who owns a self-storage facility; 07 (3) "self-storage facility" means a facility 08 (A) that provides storage space for rent for payment of a rental 09 charge; and 10 (B) where the unit renter controls the access to the storage unit 11 and controls the storage unit's contents by a lock or other means; 12 (4) "storage unit" means a rental unit in a self-storage facility; 13 (5) "unit renter" means the person who rents a storage unit. 14 * Sec. 3. AS 34.45 is amended by adding a new section to article 1 to read: 15 Sec. 34.45.095. Application. AS 34.45.010 - 34.45.085 do not apply to self- 16 storage facilities. In this section, "self-storage facilities" has the meaning given in 17 AS 34.35.649.