In Louisiana, the Self-Service Storage Facility Act (La. R.S. 9:4756 to 9:4760) sets no minimum days of default. Give a notice with at least 10 days to pay, advertise at least 10 days after the later of mailing or the pay-by date, and sell at least 10 days after the ad, about 20 days from notice.
Verified on October 25, 2026 against the codified statute and the enrolled Act 468 of 2026, which took effect August 1, 2026, on the Louisiana Legislature's site.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Review your notices and sale plan with your attorney before you act.
Louisiana lien timeline at a glance
Louisiana calls the lien a "privilege." It can start moving the day a tenant defaults, because the statute has no waiting period. The catch is the paperwork before that: the tenant must have been told about the privilege in the signed rental agreement, or by a separate written notice.
| Step | Earliest timing | What the law requires | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Default | Day 0 | Failure by the lessee to perform on time any obligation under the rental agreement or the Part. | R.S. 9:4757(1) |
| 2. Privilege notice | Before enforcement | The tenant must be told of the privilege in a signed rental agreement (bold type of at least 12 points, initialed by the tenant), or by written notice sent by verified mail and by email. With no signed agreement containing it, enforcement cannot start until 30 days after that written notice is sent. | R.S. 9:4758.1(A), (B) |
| 3. Late fee and lock | Day 0 | A reasonable late fee if the lease states it. You may remove the lock to describe the contents, and place your own lock. | R.S. 9:4759(1), (13) |
| 4. Notice of intent to enforce | Day N, no minimum default | Itemized claim and date due, whether access is denied, owner contact info, a demand for payment within at least 10 days after mailing or delivery, and a statement that the contents will be advertised and sold at a stated time and place. | R.S. 9:4759(2) to (5)(a) |
| 5. Advertisement | At least 10 days after the later of mailing or the pay-by date | One ad in a newspaper of general circulation where the facility is, or on a public website that regularly runs personal property auctions or sales. | R.S. 9:4759(5) |
| 6. Sale | At least 10 days after publication | Sale or other disposition conforming to the notice. | R.S. 9:4759(5)(a), (6), (7) |
Worked example: you send a compliant notice on March 1 with a pay-by date of March 11. The ad can run no earlier than March 11. The sale can be no earlier than March 21. That is 20 days from the notice, our derived shortest path. If you gave a longer pay-by date, every later date moves with it.
What the Louisiana lien notice must say and how to send it
The notice must be delivered in person to the tenant, or sent by verified mail to the last known address and by email to the address the tenant provided and listed in the rental agreement. Verified mail is any method offered by the United States Postal Service or a private delivery service that provides evidence of mailing (R.S. 9:4757(9)). Email works alongside verified mail, not in place of it. Act 468 of 2026 removed the text message wording that used to sit in R.S. 9:4759(3). The tenant's actual receipt is not required (R.S. 9:4759(5)(a)).
The notice must include:
- An itemized statement of your claim, showing the sum due at the time of the notice and the date it became due.
- Notice that the tenant has been or will be denied access, if the rental agreement permits denial, with the name, street address and telephone number of you or your designated agent.
- A demand for payment within a specified time not less than 10 days after the date of mailing or delivery.
- A statement that the contents of the rented space are subject to your privilege and, unless the claim is paid in the time stated, will be advertised and sold or otherwise disposed of at a specified time and place.
"Last known address" means the mailing address or email address the tenant provided in the latest rental agreement or in a later written notice of change of address (R.S. 9:4757(4)). The statute does not say how to give notice if no email address is listed in the rental agreement, so collect an email at move-in.
Alternate contacts and lienholders
Louisiana has no alternate contact rule. The statute refers only to the email address in the rental agreement. Your privilege is inferior to a prior recorded vendor's privilege, chattel mortgage or perfected security interest (R.S. 9:4758), so check for a lender on a stored vehicle or boat.
Advertising the sale
One advertisement is enough. It can run on at least one occasion in a newspaper of general circulation where the facility is located, or on a publicly accessible website that regularly advertises or conducts personal property auctions or sales. It must describe the property generally and give the facility address, space number, tenant name, and the time, place and manner of the sale (R.S. 9:4759(5)).
Late fee limits
A reasonable late fee may be charged for each period rent is unpaid, but only if the amount and conditions are in the rental agreement or an addendum. The greater of $20 or 20% of monthly rent is deemed reasonable and not a penalty. You may also charge reasonable rent collection and lien enforcement costs (R.S. 9:4759(13)).
Sale rules, surplus and records
- Where. At the facility, at the nearest suitable place stated in the notice, or on a public website that conducts personal property auctions. Online is allowed (R.S. 9:4759(8)).
- Who buys. Sell to the highest bidder. If there are no bidders, you may buy for at least the amount of the claim, or donate the goods to charity.
- Redemption. The tenant may pay and redeem before the sale (R.S. 9:4759(10)).
- Surplus. Hold it as a credit in the tenant's name. The tenant may claim it within 2 years of the sale, without interest. After 2 years it becomes yours. You may sue for any shortfall (R.S. 9:4759(12)).
- Buyer protection. A good-faith purchaser takes free of claims of persons against whom the privilege was valid, even if you made a mistake (R.S. 9:4759(11)).
- Records. The statute states no retention period. Keep copies of every notice, the ad and the sale results.
Termination and nonrenewal (new in 2026)
Act 468 added two sections that took effect August 1, 2026. Under R.S. 9:4759.1, you may end a rental by a written termination notice that tells the tenant to remove all property within 15 days after delivery, says you may limit access to your posted business hours, and says that failing to remove the property is a default. After that default you may assert the privilege and enforce it by sale or public auction under the Part, except that the advertising requirement does not apply. Under R.S. 9:4759.2, if you give written notice that a rental will not be renewed, property still in the space 15 days after the term ends is deemed abandoned and you may dispose of it without further notice.
The statute does not say whether the 10 day wait after publication in R.S. 9:4759(6) still applies when you run no ad, so the 20 day schedule above is for the ordinary path only. Ask your attorney before using these two sections.
Vehicles and boats
If the property is a motor vehicle, watercraft or trailer and the tenant is in default for 60 days, you may have it towed instead of foreclosing. You are not liable once the tower takes possession, and the tower must be licensed under the Louisiana Towing and Storage Act, R.S. 32:1711 and following (R.S. 9:4759(9)).
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. We found no Louisiana-specific military rule in these sections.
Common mistakes checklist
- Sending the notice by email only, or by mail only.
- Having no email address in the rental agreement.
- No privilege notice in the signed lease, which can add a 30-day wait.
- Running the ad before the later of mailing plus 10 days or the pay-by date.
- Selling less than 10 days after the ad.
- Charging a late fee that is not written in the lease.
- Issuing a warehouse receipt or other document of title, which takes you out of this Part (R.S. 9:4757(8)).
- Selling a vehicle that has a recorded lender.
- Skipping the servicemember status check.
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 covers the sale, and the lien notice template gives you a draft to adapt.
If you track Louisiana lien dates in a spreadsheet, the best self storage software roundup shows which tools build the notice timeline by state, and self storage software explains how Stitch handles it. Moving from a Storable system? Our Storable alternatives guide compares what else is available.
What the statute does not say
We read R.S. 9:4757, 9:4758, 9:4759, 9:4759.1 and 9:4759.2 as codified on the Louisiana Legislature's site on October 25, 2026, plus the enrolled Act 468 of 2026 and the enrolled Act 111 of 2021 that enacted R.S. 9:4758.1. We did not retrieve the live code page for 9:4758.1, so its current wording comes from Act 111 as changed by Act 468 and the Act 468 digest. We did not research court decisions.
The statute does not say what to do when the rental agreement lists no email address, and it does not say that email alone is enough. The 20 day figure is derived from the 10 day periods, not stated as one number. The statute sets no record retention period.
Last reviewed: October 25, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Review every notice and sale with your attorney.
