Title: Self-service Storage Facilities

Summary: Provides that advertisement of sale or disposition of property may be advertised on website developed by DFS & CFO; limits liability of CFO; provides that lien sale may be conducted on certain websites; provides that self-service storage facility owner is not required to have license to post property for online sale; deletes required alternative form of advertisement; provides limits for maximum valuation of property; provides options for disposition of motor vehicles or watercraft claimed to be subject to lien; requires specified notice to lienholders & owners of motor vehicles or watercraft subject to lien; requires DFS & CFO to develop, operate, & maintain Internet website for certain purposes; provides for establishment & deposit of fees to cover costs of website; provides rulemaking authority.

Full Text:
An act relating to self-service storage facilities; amending s. 83.806, F.S.; providing that advertisement of a sale or disposition of property may be advertised on a website developed by the Department of Financial Services and the Chief Financial Officer; limiting the liability of the Chief Financial Officer; providing that a lien sale may be conducted on certain websites; providing that a self-service storage fa cility owner is not required to have a license to post property for online sale; deleting a required alternative form of advertisement; providing limits for the maximum valuation of property under certain circumstances; providing options for the dispositio nof motor vehicles or watercraft claimed to be subject to a lien; requiring specified notice to lienholders and owners of motor vehicles or watercraft subject to a lien; amending s. 624.307, F.S.; requiring the department and the Chief Financial Officer to develop, operate, and maintain an Internet website to provide public notice of the sale of property belonging to a tenant of a self-service storage facility; providing requirements for the website; providing for the establishment and deposit of fees to cover the cost of the website; providing rulemaking authority; providing an effective date. CS/CS/HB 2016 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 83.806, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsections (9) an d(10) are added to that section, to read: 83.806 Enforcement of lien.-An owner's lien as provided in s. 83.805 may be satisfied as follows: (4) After the expiration of the time given in the notice, an advertisement of the sale or other disposition sha ll be published once a week for consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the self-service storage facility or self-contained storage unit is located or advertised for consecutive days on the Internet website developed pursuant to s. 624.307(10). Responsibility for providing notice pursuant to this section rests solely with the owner. The Chief Financial Officer is not liable for technical failures or any other cause that may interfere with or interrupt the required 14-day notice or for the content of or any defects in the notice posted on the website.(a) A lien sale may be conducted on a public website that customarily conducts personal property auctions. The facility or unit owner is not required to be licensed to po st property online for sale pursuant to this subsection. Inasmuch as any sale may involve property of more than one tenant, a single advertisement may be used to dispose of property at any one CS/CS/HB 2016 sale. (b)(a) The advertisement shall include: 1. A brief an dgeneral description of what is believed to constitute the personal property contained in the storage unit, as provided in paragraph (2)(b). 2. The address of the self-service storage facility or the address where the self-contained storage unit is loca ted and the name of the tenant. 3. The time, place, and manner of the sale or other disposition. The sale or other disposition shall take place not sooner than days after the first publication or advertisement.(b) If there is no newspaper of genera lcirculation in the area where the self-service storage facility or self-contained storage unit is located, the advertisement shall be posted at least days before the date of the sale or other disposition in not fewer than three conspicuous places in the neighborhood where the self-service storage facility or self-contained storage unit is located. (9) If the rental agreement contains a limit on the value of property stored in the tenant's storage space, the limit is deemed to be the maximum value of the property stored in that space. (10) If a lien is claimed on property that is a motor vehicle or a watercraft and rent and other charges related to the property remain unpaid or unsatisfied for days after the CS/CS/HB 2016 maturity of the obligation to pay the rent and other charges, the facility or unit owner may do one of the following: (a) The facility or unit owner may have the property towed. If a motor vehicle or watercraft is towed, the facility or unit owner is not liable for the motor vehicle or waterc raft or any damages to the motor vehicle or watercraft once a wrecker takes possession of the property. Such wrecker must comply with all notification and sale requirements of s. 713.78. (b) The facility or unit owner may sell the motor vehicle or waterc raft by public auction if an owner or lienholder who receives notice pursuant to this paragraph does not satisfy the lien. Before the public auction, the facility or unit owner must search the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' database to de termine the existence and identity of any lienholder and the name and address of the owner of the motor vehicle or watercraft. If the motor vehicle or watercraft is not titled in this state, the facility or unit owner must search the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System or an equivalent commercially available system to determine the state of registration, the existence and identity of any lienholder, and the name and address of the owner of the motor vehicle or watercraft. Within days after re ceipt of such information, the facility or unit owner must send written notice to the lienholder and the owner, by certified mail, stating that: 1. Such motor vehicle or watercraft is being held by the facility or unit owner; CS/CS/HB 2016 2. A lien has attached; 3. Payment must be made within days after notification to satisfy the lien and take possession of the motor vehicle or watercraft; and 4. The facility or unit owner may sell the motor vehicle or watercraft by public auction if the lien is not satisfie d. (c) If an owner identified as part of a search conducted pursuant to paragraph (b) is the same as the tenant in default who has been notified pursuant to subsection (1), the facility or unit owner may send written notice to the owner by first class mail to satisfy the notice requirements of paragraph (b). Section 2. Subsection (10) is added to section 624.307, Florida Statutes, to read: 624.307 General powers; duties.-(10)(a) The department and the Chief Financial Officer shall develop, oper ate, and maintain an Internet website to provide public notice of the sale of property belonging to a tenant of a self-service storage facility, as defined in s. 83.803. (b) The website must, at a minimum, include information concerning the identity of the tenant, the location of the property, the type of property subject to sale, and the time, place, and manner of sale. (c) The department shall establish by rule a fee for the service of posting notice of the sale of property on behalf of a self-service storage facility owner. The fee must cover the cost CS/CS/HB 2016 of building, maintaining, and operating the website and shall be deposited into the Department of Financial Services Administrative Trust Fund. (d) The department may adopt rules for the administration,operation, and maintenance of the website. Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.