This is general information, not legal advice. Review every notice and sale with your attorney.
In California, you may send a preliminary lien notice once rent or charges have been unpaid for 14 consecutive days. If the tenant still has not paid by the termination date in that notice (at least 14 days after mailing), the lien attaches, and you can send a notice of lien sale that sets a sale date at least 14 days after mailing. The earliest path is therefore roughly day 28 to the lien, plus at least 14 more days to the sale, before advertising rules and any court step. The law is the California Self-Service Storage Facility Act, Business and Professions Code section 21700 and following.
California is stricter than many states on paperwork. If your rental agreement does not meet the Act's requirements, the lien does not attach.
Start with your rental agreement
The chapter applies, and the lien attaches, only if the agreement meets its terms (21712). Among other points, it must ask for, and provide space for, the name and mailing or email address of another person to receive the preliminary lien notice and later notices. If the tenant gives one, notices go to both. If the tenant leaves it blank, your remedies are not affected. Pull your lease form and check it against section 21712 with your attorney.
California lien timeline, step by step
| Step | Earliest timing | What the law requires | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Day 0 | Rent or charges unpaid. | 21703 |
| Preliminary lien notice | Day 14 | After 14 consecutive days unpaid, send an itemized notice with a termination date at least 14 days after mailing, an access-denial warning, and your contact details. Send to the occupant and the alternate. | 21703, 21704 |
| Lien attaches, lockout allowed | Day 28 if sent on day 14 | If unpaid by the termination date, the lien attaches. You may deny access, enter and remove property to safekeeping. | 21703(c), 21705 |
| Notice of lien sale | After the lien attaches | Send with a blank declaration in opposition. Sale date at least 14 days after mailing. | 21705 |
| Advertisement | After the sale notice period | Two consecutive weekly newspaper ads, or one newspaper ad plus one online ad. | 21707(a) |
| Sale | Not before the date in the sale notice | Commercially reasonable, in person or on a public website that customarily runs online auctions. | 21706, 21707(b) |
The statute does not say how soon after the termination date you must mail the sale notice, so those later days are relative. Worked example: preliminary notice mailed on day 14 with a termination date of day 28. You mail the sale notice on day 29 with a sale date of day 43 or later.
Notice requirements
Methods
Send the preliminary notice and later notices by certified mail (postage prepaid), by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, or by email under section 21712(c). Email works only if the rental agreement says lien notices may be sent by email to the occupant and the alternate, and the occupant signed to consent. You must be able to show actual delivery and receipt, for example an electronic signature acknowledgment, proof the occupant opened or downloaded it, proof they logged into a secured app and viewed it, or a reply email with delivery path evidence. If you cannot, resend by mail.
Alternate contact
Required in the lease form as described above. When the tenant gives an alternate, send every notice to both.
The declaration in opposition
The sale notice must include a blank declaration in opposition. If the occupant returns a valid one, you must go to court (small claims or another court) and may sell only after judgment (21710).
Advertising the sale
Either run an ad once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the public notice district or county, or run one newspaper ad plus one ad on a public website that customarily conducts or advertises online auctions, with the online ad up 7 days before the sale. If there is no newspaper, post notice at least 10 days before the sale in 6 or more conspicuous places. The ad must state the name of the person on whose account the goods are stored and the facility name and location (21707(a)).
Late fee limits
The lien covers late fees incurred under the rental agreement (21702). The sections we reviewed set no numeric cap. Whether general California law on penalties limits your fee is a question for your attorney.
Sale rules, surplus and records
- Commercially reasonable sale. In person or on a public website that customarily runs online auctions (21707(b)).
- Surplus. You hold the excess for the occupant. The occupant, or a person with a court order, may claim it within one year of the sale. After that you pay the remaining excess to the county treasury where the sale took place (21707, 21709).
- Secured creditors. A creditor with a perfected interest may pay the amount in the preliminary notice to take the property. A claimant can halt a sale by paying the lien plus one month's rent and getting a court order within 30 days (21708, 21711).
- Buyer protection. A good-faith purchaser takes free of the lien debtor's rights, even if you did not comply (21711).
- Records. Keep the lease, signed consents, notices, proof of mailing or email delivery, the ads and the sale record.
Vehicles and boats
We found no special vehicle or boat provisions in sections 21700 to 21716. Vehicles and boats may be subject to separate Civil Code and Vehicle Code procedures that we did not research. Talk to your attorney before selling any titled vehicle or vessel.
Active-duty military (SCRA)
Federal law adds protections for servicemembers, and owners must check status before a sale. See 50 U.S.C. 3958. We found no California-specific servicemember provision in the Act.
Common mistakes checklist
- Lease lacks the alternate contact request or other required terms.
- Sending the preliminary notice before 14 consecutive days unpaid.
- Termination date less than 14 days after mailing.
- Emailing notices without signed consent and proof of delivery.
- Locking out before the termination date.
- Forgetting the blank declaration in opposition.
- Selling after a valid declaration is returned without going to court.
- Sending surplus nowhere after one year.
Tools to help
Use the lien timeline calculator, read about lien and auction management, browse all state lien laws, follow the self storage auction process guide, and start from the lien notice template.
What we could not confirm
The official California legislature site was blocked when we researched, so we used Public.Law copies from the 2025 edition. Sections 21704, 21706, 21708 to 21711, 21713, 21715 and 21716 were read in summary form only. Check the current text on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov with your attorney before you rely on this page.
Last reviewed: October 19, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Review every notice and sale with your attorney.