In Minnesota, a tenant is in statutory default only when rent is unpaid 15 days after it is due, and you may sell no sooner than 45 days after default. That makes day 60 from the due date the earliest sale, and day 75 for a registered vehicle or boat, with a notice giving at least 14 days to pay and two weekly newspaper ads first.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Review your notices and sale plan with your attorney before you act.
Minnesota lien timeline at a glance
The rules are in the Liens on Personal Property in Self-Service Storage Act, Minn. Stat. 514.970 to 514.979. It was amended in 2021, and a 2023 change to subdivision 5 of section 514.972 took effect March 1, 2026, so check older lease forms. One thing sets Minnesota apart: the clock starts 15 days after rent is due, not on the due date.
| Step | Earliest timing | What the law requires | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Rent due | Day 0 | Charges are due under the rental agreement. | § 514.971 subd. 7 |
| 2. Default | Day 15 | Default occurs when the occupant has not paid within 15 days after the amounts became due. | § 514.971 subd. 7 |
| 3. Notice of default | Day 15 or later | Hand delivery, verified mail, or email with consent. Demand payment within at least 14 days after delivery. State the access-denial date, owner contact, a conspicuous warning that goods will be advertised for sale with time and place, and the free-removal items. | § 514.973 subd. 2, 3 |
| 4. Deny access | After the stated date | Only if the lease allows it, the notice says so, and any security deposit has been applied to the rent. | § 514.972 subd. 4, 5; § 514.973 subd. 3 |
| 5. Advertisement | After the notice period ends | Once a week for two consecutive weeks in a qualified newspaper where the sale is held. | § 514.973 subd. 4(b) |
| 6. Sale | About day 60 from due date | No sooner than 45 days after default, and at least 15 days after the first ad. Vehicles and boats: 60 days after default. | § 514.973 subd. 4(a) |
Worked example: rent was due January 1 and never paid. Default starts January 16. Forty-five days after default is March 2 (derived). You send the notice January 17 with a pay-by date of January 31. The first ad runs the week of February 1 and the second a week later. The earliest sale is March 2, because the 45 days run longer than the 15 days after the first ad. For a registered truck, 60 days after default is March 17 (derived).
What the Minnesota lien notice must say and how to send it
Send the notice by hand delivery or verified mail (USPS or a private service that gives evidence of mailing). The notice must demand payment within at least 14 days after delivery, give the date access will be denied, name an owner contact, and state conspicuously that the property will be advertised for sale, with the time and place. It must also list the items the occupant may remove free of charge. Mailed notices go to the mailing address and any alternate mailing address in the rental agreement, or to a more current known address. Mail is presumed delivered on deposit (§ 514.973, § 514.974).
Email alone is allowed only with the occupant's informed written consent. The rental agreement must contain the statutory 12-point bold consent notice with a checkbox, and consent can be withdrawn at any time. You must get an electronic receipt showing delivery. If you cannot verify delivery, you must deliver in person or by verified mail, and the 14 days do not start until that delivery.
No lien exists if you hold a security deposit large enough to cover the rent at default (§ 514.972 subd. 3).
Alternate contacts and lienholders
Your rental agreement must offer an optional alternate contact, with a space for the occupant to initial if they decline. The contact receives notice of default only and gets no interest in the contents (§ 514.975 subd. 1). Notice must also go to anyone who has given you written notice of a claimed interest, and to lienholders of record on registered vehicles and watercraft (§ 514.973 subd. 2(a)).
Advertising the sale
Publish once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation where the sale is held, one that qualifies under chapter 331A. The second ad is waived if the lien is paid first. If there is no qualified newspaper, you may post on an independent, publicly accessible website that advertises self storage lien sales or public notices. The ad must describe the goods generally, name the person on whose account they are held, and give the time and place of sale (§ 514.973 subd. 4(b)).
Late fee limits
The act has no late fee provision and no cap. The parties may not waive or change the act by contract (§ 514.978), so a lease clause cannot shorten these steps. Put any late fee in the lease and ask your attorney about general consumer rules.
Sale rules, surplus and records
- Public sale. Held online or at the facility or the nearest suitable place. All bidders, including online bidders, must register and agree to the sale rules.
- Reasonable sale. It must match the notice and be commercially reasonable.
- Redemption. The occupant or another notified person may redeem before the sale.
- Surplus. Hold excess proceeds for the occupant on demand and tell them about the right to the funds. Anything unclaimed more than one year after the sale goes to the state unclaimed property fund (Minn. Stat. 345.31 to 345.60).
- Records. The statute states no retention period. Keep delivery receipts, ad proofs and bidder registrations.
Vehicles and boats
For registered motor vehicles or watercraft, sale is no sooner than 60 days after default, and notice must also go to any lienholder or secured party on the title or known to claim an interest. You may instead have the vehicle or boat towed. The lien ends when the tower takes possession, and you must send the tower's name, address, phone and the redemption address by the notice method (§ 514.973 subd. 2(a), 4(a), 7).
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. Minnesota also requires the rental agreement or application to disclose whether the applicant is in the uniformed services or National Guard or a reserve component (§ 514.975 subd. 3). We found no state lien stay.
Common mistakes checklist
- Counting default from the due date instead of day 15.
- Selling before 45 days after default (60 for vehicles and boats).
- Giving fewer than 14 days to pay after delivery.
- Emailing the notice without the statutory consent box and a delivery receipt.
- Leaving out the free-removal items list or the access-denial date.
- Forgetting the optional alternate contact line in the lease.
- Running one ad, or selling fewer than 15 days after the first.
- Denying access before applying the security deposit.
- 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 starting draft.
What we could not confirm
"Day 60" and "day 75" are derived by adding 15 days of grace to 45 and 60 days after default. The statute counts from default. We found no late fee rule. The 2023 amendment to subdivision 5 took effect March 1, 2026, and the text we read is the current one, so older text may differ. Ask your attorney about the free-removal item rules before you deny access.
Last reviewed: October 19, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Review every notice and sale with your attorney.