In Indiana, you may begin enforcing a storage lien once a renter has been in default continuously for at least 5 days. Your notice, sent by email or verified mail, must demand payment at least 30 days after mailing, and the sale must be set at least 60 days after the default (IC 26-3-8-12).
Verified on 2026-10-23: IC 26-3-8, read on the official Indiana General Assembly site.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Review your notices and sale plan with your attorney before you act.
Indiana lien timeline at a glance
Indiana's self-service storage law is IC 26-3-8, and the lien is created by IC 26-3-8-11. The lien attaches on the date personal property is placed in a rented space, and every rental agreement must carry a bold type statement about the lien and how you enforce it (IC 26-3-8-11(c)). The lien is superior to other liens and security interests, except one perfected before the sale and any tax lien (IC 26-3-8-11(b)). The chapter was last amended by P.L.93-2023.
| Step | Earliest timing | What the law requires | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Rent due, default | Day 0 | The renter fails to perform a duty under the rental agreement. | IC 26-3-8-1 |
| 2. Late fee | Each month in default | The fee may not exceed the greater of $20 or 20% of monthly rent. | IC 26-3-8-11.5(a) |
| 3. Deny access or move property | Day 5 | After the renter has been in default continuously for at least 5 days, you may begin enforcement, deny access and move the property to another space. | IC 26-3-8-12(a), (b) |
| 4. Lien notice | Day 5 | Send by email or verified mail to the last known address. Demand payment before a time at least 30 days after mailing. | IC 26-3-8-12(c) |
| 5. Advertising | After the notice period, and at least 10 days before the sale | Publish once in a county newspaper, or use another commercially reasonable method likely to attract at least three independent bidders. | IC 26-3-8-14(a) to (d) |
| 6. Sale | Day 60 or later | The sale time in the notice must be at least 60 days after the renter's default, and at least 10 days after the ad. | IC 26-3-8-12(c)(7), 14(d) |
Worked example: rent was due on January 1 and never paid. Counting January 1 as day 0, day 5 is January 6, the first day you may mail the notice. A notice mailed January 6 must set a pay-by time no earlier than February 5. An ad run after February 5 allows a sale on February 15 at the earliest by the 10 day rule, but the sale must be at least 60 days after default, so the earliest sale date is March 2 (derived, in a non-leap year). Section 14(a) opens with "After the expiration of the time stated in the owner's notice", so we count the ad from the pay-by date, which is the cautious reading.
What the Indiana lien notice must say and how to send it
You must send the renter, "by electronic mail or verified mail and addressed to the last known address of the renter," a written notice (IC 26-3-8-12(c)). Verified mail is any method offered by the United States Postal Service or a private delivery service that provides evidence of mailing (IC 26-3-8-9.5). The statute does not condition email on the renter's consent, but the address must be one the renter gave you for the latest rental agreement or in a written change notice (IC 26-3-8-3).
The notice must include:
- An itemized statement of your claim, showing the amount due at the time of the notice and the date it became due.
- A demand for payment before a specified time at least 30 days after the date of mailing.
- A statement that the contents of the rented space are subject to your lien.
- A statement that you have denied access, and a statement that you have moved the property to another suitable space, if you did either.
- The name, street address and telephone number of you or another person the renter may contact.
- A conspicuous statement that unless the claim is paid in time, the property will be advertised for sale or otherwise disposed of at a specified place (if applicable) and time at least 60 days after the renter's default, or, for a motor vehicle, trailer or watercraft, towed or removed.
The sale or other disposition must be conducted in the same manner, and at the same place and time, that the notice specified (IC 26-3-8-12(e)).
Alternate contacts and lienholders
Your rental agreement must include space for the renter to designate an alternative contact to receive notices required by the chapter (IC 26-3-8-9.8). A renter who declines to name one does not lose or change any rights or remedies. The alternative contact has no right to access the rented space or the stored property unless the rental agreement expressly says otherwise. Make the notice-only role clear on your rental form.
The chapter does not require a separate notice to lienholders. It makes your lien superior to other liens except a lien or security interest perfected before the sale and tax liens (IC 26-3-8-11(b)).
Advertising the sale
After the time in your notice has passed and the property has not been otherwise disposed of, you prepare for a sale (IC 26-3-8-14(a)). Publish an advertisement one time before the sale in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the facility is located (IC 26-3-8-14(b)). As an alternative, you may advertise "in any other commercially reasonable manner that is likely to attract at least three (3) independent bidders" (IC 26-3-8-14(c)).
Either ad must state that the property in the renter's space will be sold to satisfy the lien, give the facility address, the space number or designation (if any) and the renter's name, describe the manner of sale, and give the time and place of sale. The sale must be held at least 10 days after the newspaper publication, or after the first publication, transmission or communication of an alternative ad (IC 26-3-8-14(d)). If the sale is not completed, you must tell the renter in writing, at the last known address, what other disposition you intend (IC 26-3-8-14(d)).
Late fee limits
For each month a renter is in default, you may impose and collect a late fee that does not exceed the greater of $20 or 20% of the monthly rent (IC 26-3-8-11.5(a)). In addition, you may recover all reasonable costs and expenses of rent collection and lien enforcement incurred because of the default (IC 26-3-8-11.5(b)). These amounts are part of the lien (IC 26-3-8-11(a)).
Sale rules, surplus and records
- Where to sell. Any sale is held at the facility or, if it is not a suitable place, at the suitable place nearest to where the property is held. It may instead be held through a publicly accessible Internet web site (IC 26-3-8-15(a)).
- Redemption. Before any sale or other disposition, the renter may redeem by paying an amount sufficient to satisfy the lien. You must then immediately return the property (IC 26-3-8-13).
- Buying at the sale. The owner may buy the property at any sale (IC 26-3-8-15(b)).
- Surplus. You may satisfy the lien from the proceeds. Any excess is held for delivery to the renter on demand. If it is not claimed within 1 year after the sale, it is treated as unclaimed property under IC 32-34-1.5 (IC 26-3-8-15(c)).
- Records. The chapter sets no record retention period. Keep proof of every notice, the ad, the bids and the payout.
Vehicles and boats
"Personal property" includes motor vehicles, trailers and watercraft (IC 26-3-8-7). If the stored property is one of these and the renter does not pay within the time in your notice, you may, as an alternative to a sale, cause it to be towed or removed from the facility (IC 26-3-8-12(d)). Your notice must say which path you will take (IC 26-3-8-12(c)(7)(B)). The chapter does not set further steps for towing or for title, so ask your attorney about title and lender issues before you tow or sell.
Active-duty military (SCRA)
Federal law adds protections for servicemembers, and owners must check military status before a sale. See 50 U.S.C. 3958. IC 26-3-8 does not mention military status.
Common mistakes checklist
- Using a lease form or software setting built on an older timeline instead of the current IC 26-3-8-12.
- Setting a sale date fewer than 60 days after default, or fewer than 30 days after mailing the notice.
- Sending the notice to an address the renter never gave you.
- Leaving out a required item in the notice, such as the itemized claim or a contact name and telephone number.
- Holding the sale at a different time, place or manner than the notice states.
- Selling fewer than 10 days after the ad.
- Charging a late fee above the greater of $20 or 20% of monthly rent, or charging it more than once per month in default.
- Selling before checking servicemember status.
- Keeping no proof of mailing, no ad copy and no bid records.
Tools to help
Use the lien timeline calculator to count your dates, read about lien and auction management, and see all state lien laws. The self storage auction process guide walks through the sale, and the lien notice template is a starting draft.
Owners running a facility in Indiana who want deadlines tracked for them can compare tools in our best self storage software roundup or read about self storage software that manages liens and auctions. Owners comparing against Storable's SiteLink, Storable Edge or Storable Easy can read Storable alternatives.
What the statute does not say
We read IC 26-3-8 in the 2025 Indiana Code on 2026-10-23. We did not research court decisions or any change enacted after that edition. The text does not state whether the ad may run before the pay-by time in the notice, so the worked example uses the cautious reading. It also does not name certified mail as a method, only verified mail, which it defines as any mailing method that provides evidence of mailing. It sets no record retention period and does not address SCRA.
Last reviewed: October 23, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. This is not legal advice, review with your attorney.
