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SENATE BILL 180
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
Linda M. Trujillo
AN ACT
RELATING TO SELF-SERVICE STORAGE; PROVIDING THAT THE LIMIT FOR
THE MAXIMUM VALUE OF STORED PERSONAL PROPERTY ALLOWED FOR IN
RENTAL AGREEMENTS IS DEEMED TO BE THE MAXIMUM VALUE OF THE
STORED PERSONAL PROPERTY; PROVIDING THAT AN ACTION TO SELL
PROPERTY MAY BE TAKEN UPON FORTY-FIVE DAYS OF CONTINUOUS
DEFAULT; ALLOWING THE IMPOSITION OF LATE FEES FOR RENTAL
PAYMENTS IN DEFAULT; PROVIDING FOR AN ALTERNATIVE CONTACT IN A
RENTAL AGREEMENT TO RECEIVE A NOTICE OF INTENT TO ENFORCE A
LIEN; AMENDING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE POSTING OF NOTICE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 48-11-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987,
Chapter 314, Section 3) is amended to read:
"48-11-3. RENTAL AGREEMENT.--
A. The rental agreement shall contain a notice
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stating that all articles stored under the terms of that
agreement will be sold or otherwise disposed of under the terms
and conditions of the Self-Service Storage Lien Act if the
[tenant] occupant is in default. The agreement shall contain a
disclosure provision stating the name and address of any
lienholder with an interest in the property that is or will be
stored in the self-service storage facility. The agreement
shall also contain the address of the [tenant ] occupant.
B. The rental agreement shall include a space for
the occupant to designate an alternative contact, including the
name and the postal or electronic address of the alternative
contact, to receive the notice of intent to enforce a lien
pursuant to Paragraph (2) of Subsection A of Section 48-11-7
NMSA 1978. The failure or refusal of an occupant to designate
an alternative contact shall not affect an occupant's or
owner's rights or remedies under the Self-Service Storage Lien
Act or any other provision of law. The alternative contact, if
any, shall not have any rights to access the storage space or
to the personal property stored in the storage space unless
expressly stated in the rental agreement.
C. For a rental agreement entered into before the
2025 changes made to this section, the owner may comply with
this section by sending a notice to the occupant by verified
mail or electronic mail informing the occupant of the option to
designate an alternative contact to receive the notice of
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intent to enforce a lien pursuant to Paragraph (2) of
Subsection A of Section 48-11-7 NMSA 1978. The notice shall
include a form for the occupant to designate an alternative
contact, including the name and the postal or electronic
address of the alternative contact, and an address where the
occupant may return the completed form ."
SECTION 2. Section 48-11-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987,
Chapter 314, Section 5) is amended to read:
"48-11-5. LIEN ESTABLISHED.--When an owner has a lien, it
is on all personal property located at the self-service storage
facility for rent, late fees for any rental payments in
default, labor or other charges in relation to the personal
property and for expenses necessary for its preservation or
expenses reasonably incurred in its sale or other disposition
pursuant to the provisions of the Self-Service Storage Lien
Act. The lien attaches as of the date the occupant goes into
default and continues as long as the owner retains possession
of the personal property and until the default is corrected or
a sale is conducted or the property is otherwise disposed of to
satisfy the lien."
SECTION 3. Section 48-11-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987,
Chapter 314, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:
"48-11-7. ENFORCEMENT OF LIEN.--
A. An owner's lien, as provided under the Self-
Service Storage Lien Act, for a claim that has become due may
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be satisfied as follows:
(1) after the occupant has been in default
continuously for a period of five days, the owner may deny the
occupant access to the occupant's space for storage;
(2) after the occupant has been in default
continuously for a period of thirty days, the owner may enter
the space and may remove the personal property within it to a
safe place; provided that the owner has sent a notice of intent
to enforce a lien, pursuant to Subsection B of this section, to
the occupant [at the occupant's ] and the alternative contact,
if any, at the last known address of the occupant and
alternative contact within five days of entering the space.
The owner shall also give notice to all lienholders listed in
the disclosure provision in the rental agreement; and
(3) no action to sell [any ] property as
provided in the Self-Service Storage Lien Act shall be taken by
an owner until the occupant has been in default continuously
for a period of [ninety ] forty-five days.
B. The notice of intent to enforce a lien shall
include:
(1) an itemized statement of the owner's claim
showing the sum due at the time of the notice and the date when
the sum became due;
(2) a brief and general statement of the
personal property subject to the lien; [That description shall
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be] provided that the description is reasonably adequate to
permit the person notified to identify the property, except
that any container, including a trunk, valise or box that is
locked, fastened, sealed or tied in a manner that deters
immediate access to its contents, may be so described without
describing its contents;
(3) a notification of denial of access to the
personal property that [notification shall provide ] includes
the name, street address and telephone number of the owner or
the owner's designated agent whom the occupant may contact to
respond to that notification;
(4) a demand for payment within a specified
time, not less than fifteen days after the delivery of the
notice; and
(5) a conspicuous statement that unless the
claim is paid within the time stated in the notice, the
personal property will be advertised for sale or other
disposition and will be sold or otherwise disposed of to
satisfy the owner's lien.
C. All notices made pursuant to this section shall
be by verified mail or electronic mail pursuant to the
occupant's option at the time of entering into the current
rental agreement.
D. An owner shall provide written notice by
verified mail to the [occupant's ] last known address of the
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occupant or alternative contact or by electronic mail to the
[occupant's] last known electronic address of the occupant or
alternative contact. If an owner sends a notice by electronic
mail and does not receive a response, return receipt or
delivery confirmation from the electronic address to which the
notice was sent within three business days after the day on
which the notice was sent, the owner shall deliver a one-time
notice by verified mail to the [occupant's ] last known address
of the occupant or alternative contact .
E. After the expiration of the time given in the
notice of intent to enforce a lien, the owner shall publish an
advertisement of the sale or other disposition of the property
once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county where the self-service storage
facility is located. The advertisement shall include:
(1) a brief and general description of the
personal property reasonably adequate to permit its
identification as provided in Paragraph (2) of Subsection B of
this section, the address of the self-service storage facility
where the personal property is located and the name and last
known address of the occupant; and
(2) the time, place and manner of the sale or
other disposition; provided that the sale or disposition shall
take place [not sooner than ] at least fifteen days after the
first publication.
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If there is no newspaper of general circulation in the
county where the self-service storage facility is located, the
owner shall post the advertisement at least ten days prior to
the sale or other disposition in at least six conspicuous
places in the neighborhood where the self-service storage
facility is located.
F. [Any] A sale or other disposition of the
personal property shall conform to the terms of the
notification as provided for in this section.
G. [Any] A sale or other disposition of the
personal property shall be held at the self-service storage
facility or at the nearest suitable place within the county to
where the personal property is held or stored or may be
conducted on a publicly accessible online website.
H. Before [any] a sale or other disposition of
personal property pursuant to this section is made, the
occupant may pay the amount necessary to satisfy the lien and
the reasonable expenses incurred under this section and thereby
redeem the property. Upon receipt of the payment, the owner
shall return the personal property and thereafter the owner
shall have no liability to any person with regard to that
personal property.
I. A good faith purchaser takes the property free
of any rights of an unsecured lienholder and free of any rights
of a secured lienholder who has received notice by owner as
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provided in this section.
J. In the event of a sale under this section, the
owner may satisfy the owner's lien from the proceeds of the
sale, subject to the rights of any prior lienholder who has not
received notice. The lien rights of such prior lienholder are
automatically transferred to the proceeds of the sale. If the
sale was made in good faith and conducted in a reasonable
manner, the owner shall not be subject to any surcharge for a
deficiency in the amount of a prior secured lien, but shall
hold the balance, if any, for delivery to the occupant,
lienholder or other person in interest. If the occupant,
lienholder or other person in interest does not claim the
balance of the proceeds within two years of the date of sale,
it shall become the property of the owner without further
recourse by the occupant, lienholder or other person in
interest.
K. Nothing in this section affects the rights and
liabilities of the owner, occupant or any other person if there
is a willful violation of any of the provisions of the Self-
Service Storage Lien Act. If the property subject to a lien
described in this section is a vehicle, watercraft or trailer,
the occupant is in default for a continuous sixty-day period
and the owner chose not to sell the vehicle, the owner may have
the vehicle towed from the self-storage facility by an
independent towing carrier that is licensed by the department
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of transportation pursuant to the Motor Carrier Act. Within
one day after the day on which a vehicle is towed, the owner
shall send verified notice to the occupant's last known address
or electronic address that states:
(1) the date the vehicle was towed; and
(2) the address and telephone number of the
person that towed the vehicle.
L. If a rental agreement specifies a limit on the
value of personal property that may be stored in an occupant's
leased space, the limit is deemed to be the maximum value of
the stored personal property.
M. An owner may charge and collect a late fee of no
more than twenty dollars ($20.00) or twenty percent of the
monthly rent, whichever is greater, for each month that the
occupant's rental payment is in default. "
SECTION 4. Section 48-11-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987,
Chapter 314, Section 8) is amended to read:
"48-11-8. NOTICE--POSTING.--Each owner shall post in a
prominent place in [his ] the owner's office at all times a
notice [which] that reads as follows:
"All articles stored under a rental agreement [which ] that
have incurred unpaid charges for thirty days will be sold
or otherwise disposed of to pay charges at the end of
[ninety] forty-five days."."
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