Colorado Lien Law

38-21.5-101. Definitions.
Statute text
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Default” means the failure to perform in a timely manner any obligation or duty set forth in this article or the
rental agreement.
(2) “Last known address” means that address provided by the occupant in the latest rental agreement or the
address provided by the occupant in a subsequent written notice of a change of address.
(3) “Occupant” means a person, or his sublessee, successor, or assign, entitled to the use of the storage space at a
self-service storage facility under a rental agreement, to the exclusion of others.
(4) “Owner” means the owner, operator, lessor, or sublessor of a self-service storage facility, his agent, or any
other person authorized by him to manage the facility or to receive rent from an occupant under a rental
agreement.
(5) “Personal property” means movable property not affixed to land and includes, but is not limited to, goods,
merchandise, and household items.
(6) “Rental agreement” means any written agreement or lease which establishes or modifies the terms, conditions,
rules, or any other provisions concerning the use and occupancy at a self-service storage facility and which
contains a notice stating that all articles stored under the terms of such agreement will be sold or otherwise
disposed of if no payment has been received for a continuous thirty-day period. Such agreement shall contain a
provision directing the occupant to disclose any lienholders with an interest in property that is or will be stored in
such self-service storage facility.
(7) “Self-service storage facility” means any real property designed and used for the purpose of renting or leasing
individual storage space to occupants who are to have access to such facility for the purpose of storing and
removing personal property. No occupant shall use a self-service storage facility for residential purposes. A selfservice
storage facility is not a warehouse as used in sections 4-7-209 and 4-7-210, C.R.S. If an owner issues any
warehouse receipt, bill of lading, or other document of title for the personal property stored, the owner and the
occupant are subject to the provisions of the “Uniform Commercial Code”, and the provisions of this article do not
apply.
History
Source: L. 80: Entire article added, p. 700, § 1, effective July 1.
38-21.5-102. Lien established.
Statute text
Where a rental agreement, as defined in section 38-21.5-101 (6), is entered into between the owner and the
occupant, the owner of a self-service storage facility and his or her heirs, executors, administrators, successors,
and assigns have a lien upon all personal property located at the self-service storage facility for rent, labor, or
other charges, present or future, 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 this article. The lien attaches as of the
date the personal property is brought to the self-service storage facility and continues so long as the owner retains
possession and until the default is corrected, or a sale is conducted, or the property is otherwise disposed of to
satisfy the lien. Prior to taking enforcement action pursuant to section 38-21.5-103 (1) (b), the owner shall
determine if, in the county where the self-service storage facility is located and in the county of the occupant’s
last-known address, a financing statement filed in accordance with part 5 of article 9 of title 4, C.R.S., has been
filed concerning the property to be sold or otherwise disposed of.
History
Source: L. 80: Entire article added, p. 701, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2001: Entire section amended, p. 1447, § 43,
effective July 1.
38-21.5-103. Enforcement of lien.
Statute text
(1) An owner’s lien as provided for a claim which has become due may be satisfied as follows:
(a) No enforcement action shall be taken by the owner until the occupant has been in default continuously for a
period of thirty days.
(b) After the occupant has been in default continuously for a period of thirty days, the owner may begin
enforcement action if the occupant has been notified in writing. Said notice shall be delivered in person or sent by
certified mail to the last-known address of the occupant, and a copy of said notice shall, at the same time, be sent
to the sheriff of the county where such self-service storage facility is located. Any lienholder with an interest in
the property to be sold or otherwise disposed of, of whom the owner has knowledge either through the disclosure
provision on the rental agreement or through finding a validly filed financing statement in the county where the
self-service storage facility is located or in the county of the occupant’s last-known address, or through other
written notice, shall be included in the notice process as provided in this section.
(c) The notice shall include:
(I) 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;
(II) A brief and general description of the personal property subject to the lien. Such description shall be
reasonably adequate to permit the person notified to identify such property; except that any container including,
but not limited to, a trunk, valise, or box that is locked, fastened, sealed, or tied in a manner which deters
immediate access to its contents may be described as such without describing its contents.
(III) A notification of denial of access to the personal property, if such denial is permitted under the terms of the
rental agreement, which notification shall provide the name, street address, and telephone number of the owner or
his designated agent whom the occupant may contact to respond to such notification;
(IV) A demand for payment within a specified time not less than fifteen days after delivery of the notice;
(V) 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 at a specified
time and place.
(d) Any notice made pursuant to this section shall be presumed delivered when it is deposited with the United
States postal service and properly addressed with postage prepaid.
(e) (I) After the expiration of the time given in the notice, an advertisement of the sale or other disposition shall be
published 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:
(A) A brief and general description of the personal property reasonably adequate to permit its identification as
provided in subparagraph (II) of paragraph (c) of this subsection (1); the address of the self-service storage facility
and the number, if any, of the space where the personal property is located; and the name of the occupant and his
last-known address;
(B) The time, place, and manner of the sale or other disposition. The sale or other disposition shall take place not
sooner than fifteen days after the first publication.
(II) If there is no newspaper of general circulation in the county where the self-service storage facility is located,
the advertisement shall be posted at least ten days before the date of the sale or other disposition in not less than
six conspicuous places in the neighborhood where the self-service storage facility is located.
(f) Any sale or other disposition of the personal property shall conform to the terms of the notification as provided
for in this section.
(g) Any sale or other disposition of the personal property shall be held at the self-service storage facility or at the
nearest suitable place to where the personal property is held or stored.
(h) Before any sale or other disposition of personal property pursuant to this section, the occupant may pay the
amount necessary to satisfy the lien and the reasonable expenses incurred under this section and thereby redeem
the personal property. Upon receipt of such payment, the owner shall return the personal property, and thereafter
the owner shall have no liability to any person with respect to such personal property.
(i) A purchaser in good faith of the personal property sold to satisfy a lien as provided in this article takes the
property free of any rights of persons against whom the lien was valid and free of any rights of a secured creditor,
despite noncompliance by the owner with the requirements of this section.
(j) In the event of a sale under this section, the owner may satisfy his lien from the proceeds of the sale, subject to
the rights of any prior lienholder. The lien rights of such prior lienholder are automatically transferred to the
proceeds of the sale. If the sale is made in good faith and is 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 three 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) If the requirements of this article are not satisfied, if the sale of the personal property is not in conformity with
the notice of sale, or if there is a willful violation of this article, nothing in this section affects the rights and
liabilities of the owner, the occupant, or any other person.
History
Source: L. 80: Entire article added, p. 701, § 1, effective July 1.
38-21.5-104. Notice posted in office.
Statute text
Each owner acting pursuant to this article shall keep posted in a prominent place in his office at all times a notice
which shall read as follows:
“All articles stored by a rental agreement, and charges not having been paid for thirty days, will be sold or
otherwise disposed of to pay charges.”
History
Source: L. 80: Entire article added, p. 703, § 1, effective July 1.
38-21.5-105. Additional liens.
Statute text
Nothing in this article shall be construed as in any manner impairing or affecting the right of parties to create liens
by special contract or agreement, nor shall it in any manner affect or impair other liens arising at common law or
in equity, or by any statute of this state.
History
Source: L. 80: Entire article added, p. 703, § 1, effective July 1.