New Rhode Island Law Stops Sale Of Storage Locker Items Within 60 Days Of Default

Rhode Island outlawed the sale of storage locker items within 60 days of the renter defaulting.

Gov. Dan McKee signed the legislation into law Wednesday. The bill was introduced by Sen. Frank A. Ciccone III, D-Providence, Johnston, and Rep. Raymond A. Hull, D-North Providence.

“People are struggling these days and it is unfair to sell an individual’s belongings without giving them enough time to pay their unit bills," Ciccone said in a media release. "This legislation will afford people who fall behind on their self-storage rental fees the time and notice to either remove their items or get up-to-date with what they owe to keep the unit.”

In the same release, Hull echoed Ciccone's sentiments.

“It is not right to sell an individual’s property, sometimes their entire lives, because they did not receive enough notice about the sale," he said. "The legislation will protect individuals from losing their possessions in this difficult economy that is affecting everyone.”

The new law mandates that self-storage facilities "cannot sell the property in a leased unit sooner than 60 days after the occupant’s default, and 15 days after the final required publication of the sale on a publicly accessible website or in a newspaper in the city or town where the self-service storage facility is located," the release said.