Let's talk about self storage.

We sent the 15 day Notice to Vacate to a tenant May 1, 2022. Her termination was set for May 15th 2022. Since the 15th was a Sunday, we extended it to the 16th. The tenant will only text asking for more extensions. As of today, the daughter has asked to take over the account. The daughter does have a unit with the same facility but is not listed on the delinquent account. We can not get the delinquent tenant to add the daughter to this account. The unit is totally full. The delinquent tenant has made no attempt to remove their belongings. Now that the date for the Notice has past, what are the facilities legal rights to remove the contents?

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Melissa Morse
Owner
Simple Storage, LP
Keller TX
(972) 400-8457
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If she has not paid her rent, then you should be able to proceed with foreclosure proceedings.

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Mark Hansen
Rosehill Mini Storage
(281) 351-8590
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If you have a signed lease, proceed with the regular foreclosure process. If you don't have a signed lease (we still have a few from prior ownership), from my understanding of the GoldBook, after the 15 days are up you will then have to send a notice of holding over for 3 days. If the tenant is still there I believe that you have to take them to small claims court.

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Terri Wood
Executive Assistant
Ideal Self Storage
Waco TX
(254) 301-4071
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Agree with everyone else that if you have a lease and they haven't paid rent, you would just proceed with normal lien sale procedures. If you don't have a lease, then you're going to be stuck going through the eviction process. The most recent article of the TSSA magazine addresses this process and may be helpful for you if you have to go this route.

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Katie Cowen
Director of IT
Move It Storage, LP
Dallas TX
(214) 389-3939, x 5501
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Unfortunately, if the tenant won't remove the contents or give written permission for the daughter to assume the contract for the unit, the next step is giving a three-day notice to vacate for holding over per the lease term (TSSA form E-4). If the tenant still doesn't respond or move out, the next step is filing for an eviction with the local Justice Court (JP). You'll pay a filing fee and then they'll serve the tenant. If he or she doesn't respond, you'll get a default judgment for the eviction, but then have to file for forcible detainer and a constable will supervise the removal of the contents.

Your other option is to proceed with a foreclosure if you have a signed, written lease. You probably had a reason for terminating the lease instead of going to foreclosure route in the first place, but remember a foreclosure is the only way you'll receive any funds for the amount owed via auction. (Or, you can make a deal with the customer to take less if they are willing to immediately move out.)

An eviction should ultimately get the tenant out, but will end up costing you more money.

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Ginny Sutton
Executive Director
Texas Self Storage Association, Inc.
Round Rock TX
(512) 374-9089
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