Revises requirements for the advertising of a sale of personal property to satisfy the lien of an owner of a facility for storage. (BDR 9-183)
Summary
AB 137 revises Nevada’s self-storage lien sale notice rules. Under current law, when a tenant defaults on rent or other charges, the facility owner may sell the stored personal property after providing notice and advertising the sale. This bill shortens the newspaper advertising requirement from two consecutive weeks to at least one notice in the week immediately preceding the sale.
The bill also updates the fallback notice method for counties or judicial districts without a newspaper of general circulation. Instead of requiring posting in at least six conspicuous places near the sale, AB 137 allows the advertisement to be posted on a publicly accessible Internet website 10 days before the sale. In addition, it removes the requirement that the advertisement include a general description of the property being sold, while retaining the occupant’s name, storage unit number, and facility name and address.
Impact
AB 137 amends NRS 108.477, which governs advertising requirements for sales of personal property to satisfy a storage facility lien. The practical effect is to reduce the notice burden on storage facility owners and modernize the alternative notice option by allowing online posting where no newspaper is available. The bill does not change the underlying lien rights, the ability to sell the property after default, or the rules governing excess proceeds, but it does streamline the procedural steps required before a lien sale may occur.
Sentiment
The available voting record suggests broad support for the bill. It passed the Assembly unanimously, 42-0, and the Senate by a strong margin, 17-4. With no committee transcript available, there is no recorded debate to indicate major opposition, but the final votes show that most lawmakers viewed the measure favorably as a procedural update to existing lien-sale notice law.
Contention
The likely points of contention are the reduced notice period and the elimination of the requirement to describe the property in the advertisement, both of which may be seen as decreasing public notice and transparency for occupants whose property is being sold. Another possible issue is the shift from physical posting to online posting in areas without a newspaper, which may raise concerns about access for people without reliable internet service. Supporters, by contrast, likely view the changes as a modernization and simplification of outdated publication rules for storage lien sales.