1. The operator of a self-service storage facility and the operator’s heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assigns shall have a lien upon all of an occupant‘s personal property located at the self-service storage facility for delinquent rent, late fees, labor, or other charges incurred pursuant to a rental agreement and for expenses incurred for preservation, sale, or disposition of the personal property. The lien established by this subsection shall have priority over all other liens and security interests except for those perfected prior to the time the personal property is brought to the self-service storage facility.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 578A.5

  • Late fee: means any fee or charge assessed for an occupant's failure to pay rent when due. See Iowa Code 578A.2
  • Leased space: means individual storage space at a self-service storage facility which is rented to an occupant pursuant to a rental agreement. See Iowa Code 578A.2
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Occupant: means a person entitled to the use of leased space at a self-service storage facility under a rental agreement or the person's successors or assigns. See Iowa Code 578A.2
  • Operator: means the owner, operator, lessor, or sublessor of a self-service storage facility or an agent or any other person authorized to manage the facility. See Iowa Code 578A.2
  • Personal property: means movable property not affixed to land, including goods, wares, merchandise, motor vehicles, watercraft, household items, and furnishings. See Iowa Code 578A.2
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Rental agreement: means an agreement or lease, written or oral, that establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, or rules concerning the use and occupancy of leased space at a self-service storage facility. See Iowa Code 578A.2
  • Self-service storage facility: means real property designed and used for the purpose of renting or leasing individual storage space to occupants who are to have access to the space for the purpose of storing personal property. See Iowa Code 578A.2
 2. The lien described in subsection 1 attaches on the date on which personal property is brought to the self-service storage facility.
 3. If the rental agreement specifies a limit on the value of personal property that the occupant may store in the leased space, such limit shall be deemed to be the maximum value of the personal property in the occupant’s leased space.
 4. A rental agreement under this chapter may provide for a reasonable late fee for failure of the occupant to timely make payments for the leased space when due. A monthly late fee of twenty dollars or twenty percent of the monthly rental amount, whichever is greater, shall be reasonable and is not a penalty.
 5. The operator and occupant may agree to use electronic mail to satisfy all notice requirements under this chapter. The parties, if consenting to use electronic mail for notice, must consent to use electronic mail for all notices. If the parties agree, the rental agreement shall contain a section outlining the rights and duties for each party regarding the use of electronic mail.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Chapter 578A Contents