HB131: HB131 Self-service storage facilities; revise advertisement requirements before an owner can enforce an owner's lien

Georgia law lets a self-storage facility owner sell a tenant's stored belongings to collect unpaid rent, but only after following specific notice and advertising steps. Under current practice, owners generally had to publish a sale notice in the legal organ (the official newspaper of record) for the county where the facility sits, once a week for two weeks, before holding the sale. House Bill 131 amends O.C.G.A. § 10-4-213(a), the section of Georgia's self-service storage facility law covering lien enforcement without going to court. It keeps the legal organ publication requirement for vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, watercraft, and recreational vehicles, but allows the sale of any other stored property, such as furniture or household goods, to be advertised in any other commercially reasonable manner instead. The rest of the required notice, waiting periods, and sale procedures stay in place. The change takes effect July 1, 2025, and applies to lien enforcement actions started on or after that date.

• Rewrites part of Georgia's self-storage lien law (O.C.G.A. § 10-4-213(a)) covering how owners must advertise a public sale of a tenant's stored property.
• Keeps the requirement to publish sale notices in the county's legal organ (official newspaper of record) once a week for two weeks specifically for motor vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, watercraft, and recreational vehicles.
• Allows advertisement of the sale of any other stored personal property, such as furniture or boxes of goods, in any other commercially reasonable manner rather than requiring legal organ publication.
• Keeps the standard that an advertisement and sale count as commercially reasonable if at least three independent bidders attend.
• Sets the changes to take effect July 1, 2025, applying only to lien enforcement actions started on or after that date.

Self-storage facility owners and operators in Georgia, tenants who rent storage units and risk losing their belongings over unpaid rent, and buyers who bid at storage unit sales, including those held online.

Storage facility owners could advertise most unit sales more cheaply and quickly, for example online, instead of paying for newspaper legal organ notices, while vehicles and watercraft stored in units would still require the traditional newspaper notice before a sale.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 10-4-213(a), the statute governing a self-storage owner's ability to enforce a lien and sell stored property without going to court.
• Retains the requirement that owners give tenants written notice of default and a chance to pay, with at least 14 days to respond before a sale can proceed.
• Requires legal organ publication (weekly for two consecutive weeks) specifically for sales involving motor vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, watercraft, or recreational vehicles.
• Allows any commercially reasonable advertising method for sales of other personal property, expanding beyond newspaper publication.
• Confirms that a public sale can include listing the property on a publicly accessible website that regularly runs online auctions, without needing an auction license.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applying to lien enforcement actions begun on or after that date.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-12Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-12Act 125
3. 2025-05-12House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-04House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2025-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2025-04-02Senate Taken from Table (Senate)

• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)Primary sponsor
• Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
• Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)
• Mitchell Scoggins (R, HD-014)
• Brian Strickland (R, SD-042)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 26, 2025

   166 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 12 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #92

2. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   54 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #428

3. PassedHouse voteApril 4, 2025

   163 yea, 1 nay (8 not voting, 8 absent)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #406

• self-storage facilities
• landlord-tenant law
• property liens
• consumer protection
• public auctions