Police came in with a search warrent which now, we know,that he is in jail and may be there a while.. Question is. What about his unit now. he is separated from wife and she has called and asked about getting her stuff out and into a smaller unit. She is listed on the lease agreement in access area, but he is tenant and he is the only one signed.. He had left his lock off and we had overlocked it for him to come and relock but police got here first.

Can she come in and take her stuff out. Does she have to go to the jail and get it in writing from him and how do I know that he did write the letter.

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Carol Parker

...check out the ISS archives for related discussion from recognized legal minds. In my non-professional 'been there, done that' opinion, the less you know or become involved, the better. Most similar situations become aggravated when you as storage manager get 'caught in the middle.' Since the unit is still the responsibility of the incarcerated tenant, you should expect him to contact you directly via mail or phone (If he behaves himself in the pokey he'll earn that privilege) with directives regarding payment and access. I for one would be uncomfortable securing his unit with a facility lock if it is not deliquent... there are a multitude of problems that this may create for you. Once he has authorized access, you might insist that this 'stand-in' tenant secure the space himself. Finally, I would give little extra regard for this situation as long as the rent remains paid...

I have personally dealt with a nearly identical situation in which a woman was arrested on some charge and spent six months in our county jail. During this time, she contacted me about her situation and her storage; I instructed her to designate a responsible person on the outside to handle her payments and control access (her mother, in this case). From time to time she would call (always collect, by the way) to verify that we had been receiving payments, etc. All in all it went well, and when she got out she retrieved her property with no problems or complaints.


Good Luck with This One!

John Roser

On Tuesday, May 13, industry legal expert Jeffrey Greenberger and ISS will be hosting a Legal Learning Webinar titled, "What to Do When a Self-Storage Tenant Dies, Disappears or Is Debilitated." Sounds like this might have some information that could be helpful to you. Attendance to this event is free -- you can find details at www.insideselfstorage.com/webinars. Let us know if this helps!

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Teri Lanza
Business Development Manager/Ed Director
Inside Self-Storage

wouldn't you know the one webinar I really wanted to attend and I will be out of the country on vacation -- of well, I will contact Teri about buying a copy of that one.

I have several tenants that have "done time" the latest his wife was paying for it until about 4 months ago. I think she disappeared with the best friend. Anyway never heard from him or her again -- that unit went to auction.

I have had to deal with that situation before! Jails and prisons usually have Notary Public's available to the prisoner to deal with cases like these!

If the tenant signs an access agreement for the wife, and it is signed by a Notary, it should be acceptable.

(*_*) Shaekirk

I had a similar situation, where the tennant was in prison and his girlfriend had her stuff in the storage unit. I contacted the prison office and explained the problem and faxed a copy of an assignment of contract for him to put the unit in his girlfriends name. He signed it and the prison faxed it back with his signature assigning it to his girlfriend, she then signed the agreement which transfered the contract to her. She still has the unit and pays the rent.