BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 983
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 983 (Melendez)
As Amended August 22, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |72-3 |(May 9, 2013) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 26, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : Makes various changes to the California Self-Storage
Facility Act governing the respective rights and
responsibilities of owners of self-service storage facilities
and occupants who rent storage space in those facilities.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes the facility owner to have a vehicle, watercraft,
or trailer towed from the premises if rent and other charges
have not been paid for 60 days, and the owner has sent the
occupant a 10-day advance preliminary lien notice by
first-class mail stating the name, address, and telephone
number of the towing company and the street address of the
location where the towed property can be redeemed.
2)Provides that the owner shall not be liable for the property
or damage to the property when the towing company takes
possession of the vehicle, watercraft, or trailer, and
requires the towing company to be in compliance with and to
act in accordance with specified sections of the Vehicle Code
in removing the property.
3)Allows the parties to create additional rights, duties, and
obligations in and by virtue of the rental agreement,
including, but not limited to, the right to limit the value of
the property the occupant may store in the storage space.
The Senate amendments delete various provisions authorizing the
owner to send the preliminary lien notice and other written
communications to the occupant by electronic mail, in order to
reflect agreed-upon amendments previously made in Assembly
Judiciary Committee in 2013.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
AB 983
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COMMENTS : This bill, sponsored by California Self Storage
Association, seeks to make modest changes to the California
Self-Service Storage Facility Act (Act). Senate amendments to
the bill have substantially narrowed the focus of the bill, so
that it no longer shifts the burden from the facility owner to
the occupant to bring a court action to stop a lien sale of the
occupant's property in cases where the storage fees have gone
unpaid.
According to the author, customers often will leave vehicles and
boats on the storage facility's property when they default on
payments, taking up valuable space, but there is no provision in
law to have these items removed from the property. This bill
seeks to authorize a facility owner to have a vehicle,
watercraft, or trailer towed from the facility if rent and other
charges have not been paid for 60 days, provided the owner sends
all notices required under the Act, and provided the owner sends
10-day advance notice to the occupant stating the name, address,
and telephone number of the towing company and the street
address of the location where the towed property can be
redeemed. In addition, the bill provides that the owner shall
not be liable for the property or damage to the property when
the towing company takes possession of the vehicle, watercraft,
or trailer, and requires the towing company to be in compliance
with and to act in accordance with specified sections of the
Vehicle Code in removing the property.
The author also states that "there have been issues where a
customer will assert that items left in a unit that are damaged
are worth more than the fair market value, but the law is
unclear on whether parties can agree to a maximum value of the
unit's contents." Accordingly, this bill would provide that
existing law does not impair or affect the right of the parties
to create additional rights, duties, and obligations in and by
virtue of their rental agreement, including, but not limited to,
the right to limit the value of the property the occupant may
store in the storage space.
Existing law requires that certain documents, including the
preliminary lien notice, notice of lien sale, and declaration of
opposition, are sent by the facility owner to the occupant
either by first-class mail or certified mail, as specified.
These important documents inform occupants of the itemized fees
due, their rights to redeem their property under the law, and
AB 983
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the procedures and options available to them to protect their
property rights and avoid a lien sale. In general, consumers
are not likely to be aware that a notice has not been received
if an electronic mail transmission is for some reason
unsuccessful, and the risk of unknowingly failing to receive
such documents if transmitted electronically is the loss of the
occupant's property. For these reasons, this bill was
previously amended by the author last year in the Assembly
Judiciary Committee to delete selected provisions of the bill
authorizing the use of email to provide these documents instead
of by regular mail. However, the bill was subsequently amended
in the Senate to reauthorize these notices to be sent by email
under certain circumstances. The most recent amendments to the
bill delete these email-related provisions in order to return
mailing requirements under the bill back to current law and
reflect the agreed-upon amendments previously made in the
Assembly Judiciary Committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0005424