03 Jan 2023
It was not that long ago that operators were required to send lien notices to tenants by certified mail. The self-storage industry has shifted in some states to allow operators to send notices to tenants by verified mail to the tenant’s last known address. This shift relieved the operators of the burden of having to prove that the notice was delivered, instead only requiring the operator to show that notice was sent to the tenant. It also resulted in a significant cost savings to facility operators. Now, most states allow operators to email their lien notices to tenants, though many have a caveat which requires the operator to send notice to the tenant by verified mail if the operator does not receive delivery confirmation for the emailed lien notice.
While many facilities have moved away from mailing lien notices to tenants and towards emailing the notices, there are still many operators who mail out lien notices to tenants. Additionally, operators must remain familiar with verified mailing if the state law requires it when the operator does not receive delivery confirmation for the emailed lien notice.
However, many operators are rightfully confused as to what exactly is “verified mail” since it is not something you can go to your local post office and ask for without getting some bewildered looks. The answer is found in the self-storage laws of each state, as each state that requires verified mail defines the term in its self-storage laws. As such, the meaning of verified mail can be different from state to state, but it is usually defined as “any method of mailing that is offered by the United States Postal Service that provides evidence of mailing”. This is a fairly broad definition that allows operators to avoid having to use ...
