West Virginia Code 38-14-3 – Self-service storage lien
(a) The operator has a lien on all personal property stored within each leased space for agreed rent, labor, late fees, and other charges and for expenses reasonably incurred in its sale or disposition pursuant to this article. The lien attaches as of the date the personal property is stored within each leased space and remains a lien until the occupant has satisfied the terms of the rental agreement.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 38-14-3
- Default: means the failure by the occupant to perform on time any obligation or duty set forth in the rental agreement or this article. See West Virginia Code 38-14-2
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Leased space: means the individual storage space at the self-service storage facility which is rented to an occupant pursuant to a rental agreement. See West Virginia Code 38-14-2
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Occupant: means a person, a sublessee, successor, or assign, entitled to the use of a leased space at a self-service storage facility under a rental agreement. See West Virginia Code 38-14-2
- Operator: means the owner, operator, lessor, or sublessor of a self-service storage facility, an agent, or any other person authorized to manage the facility. See West Virginia Code 38-14-2
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Personal property: means movable property, not affixed to land. See West Virginia Code 38-14-2
- Rental agreement: means any written agreement that establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, or rules concerning the use and occupancy of leased space at a self-service storage facility. See West Virginia Code 38-14-2
- Self-service storage facility: means any real property used for renting or leasing individual storage spaces in which the occupants themselves customarily store and remove their own personal property on a "self-service" basis. See West Virginia Code 38-14-2
(b) In the case of any motor vehicle or watercraft which is subject to a lien previously recorded on the certificate of title, the operator has a lien on the vehicle or watercraft as long as the motor vehicle or watercraft remains stored within the leased space.
(c) The rental agreement shall contain:
(1) A statement advising the occupant of the existence of the lien and that the personal property stored within the leased space may be sold to satisfy the lien if the occupant is in default;
(2) A statement advising the occupant that personal property stored in the leased space may be towed or removed from the self-service storage facility if the personal property is a motor vehicle, trailer, or watercraft and the occupant is in default for more than 60 days; and
(3) A statement advising the occupant that a sale of personal property stored in the leased space to satisfy the lien if the occupant is in default may be advertised:
(A) In a newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction where the sale is to be held or where the self-service storage facility is located;
(B) By electronic mail or text; or
(C) On an online website.