(Texas) Private sale

Hi I am new here so bear with me.  I am in Texas.  I have a unit over locked.  Certified letter sent and signed receipt in hand.  The renter has not paid and time amount allotted  for them to respond has expired.  I have a person whom is interested in purchasing the unit.  My contract does say:  Owner shall have the right to dispose of the contents by public, or private sale, upon such terms sand conditions as owner may deem fit.

I have checked the state statutes and cannot find anything that has changed.  Grant it I am not an attorney and could have possibly missed something.

Thank you so much for your time and patience!

Blanfear,

Welcome to the forum. First and foremost, I am not an attorney and this should not be construed as legal advice.

Even though you have this clause in your rental agreement, I believe you're still required under Chapter 59 to hold a public sale. Do some facility operators sell their units under the table? Sure, but they're taking a huge risk.

What happens when the tenant comes back a few months from now and claims his/her priceless family heirlooms were in the unit? They get an attorney. The attorney digs around and realizes there was no public sale, no notification in a newspaper of general circulation, etc. Now it's about to get ugly. Keep in mind that there have been million dollar judgements in wrongful foreclosure lawsuits.

Personally, I would publish a notice of public sale (for two consecutive weeks) and sell the unit to the highest bidder. Chances are, you'll end up recovering more on the unit which will help offset the expense of the legal notice.

Just my two cents...it's better to be safe than sorry.

You should read up on Chapter 59 of the Texas Statutes here: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PR/htm/PR.59.htm

Most notably sections 59.042, 59.045, & 59.046 seem to answer your question.

You MUST make a public notice, it MUST be a public auction, and finally, you MUST turn over any excess funds to the tenant (see conditions below).

Sec. 59.042.  PROCEDURE FOR SEIZURE AND SALE.  (a)  A lessor who wishes to enforce a contractual landlord's lien by seizing and selling or otherwise disposing of the property to which it is attached must deliver written notice of the claim to the tenant.

(b)  If the tenant fails to satisfy the claim on or before the 14th day after the date the notice is delivered, the lessor must publish or post notices advertising the sale as provided by this subchapter.

(c)  If notice is by publication, the lessor may not sell the property until the 15th day after the date the notice is first published.  If notice is by posting, the lessor may sell the property after the 10th day after the date the notices are posted.


Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3576, ch. 576, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984.  Amended by Acts 1984, 68th Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 18, Sec. 5, eff. Oct. 2, 1984;  Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 117, Sec. 12(d), eff. Sept. 1, 1985.

Amended by:

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 405 (S.B. 690), Sec. 4, eff. January 1, 2012.


Sec. 59.045.  CONDUCT OF SALE.  A sale under this subchapter must be a public sale at the self-service storage facility or a reasonably near public place.  The lessor must conduct the sale according to the terms specified in the notice advertising the sale and sell the property to the highest bidder.


Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3578, ch. 576, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984.


Sec. 59.046.  EXCESS PROCEEDS OF SALE.  If the proceeds of a sale under this subchapter are greater than the amount of the lien and the reasonable expenses of the sale, the lessor shall deliver written notice of the excess to the tenant's last known address as stated in the rental agreement or in a written notice from the tenant to the lessor furnished after the execution of the rental agreement.  The lessor shall retain the excess and deliver it to the tenant if the tenant requests it before two years after the date of the sale.  If the tenant does not request the excess before two years after the date of the sale, the lessor owns the excess.


Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3578, ch. 576, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984.

Thank you both!  That's exactly what I thought!  Long story short...we bought an existing storage business; I had a membership a couple of years ago with the Texas Storage Association.  I remember a question similar to mine.  The contracts I have or from the previous owner.  I no doubt need to take them to our business attorney and have the revised.  Thank you for finding this exact statute for me!

If you're looking for an air tight rental agreement from an attorney who specializes in self-storage, Jeff Greenberger is the go-to guy. His website is SelfStorageLegal.com.