When The Storage Unit Is Sold
S.C. Code 39-20-45 — fifty days in default, written notice at fourteen, and an advertised sale
Fifty days in default. A self-service storage owner may enforce its lien once the occupant has been in default continuously for fifty days, and only after following the notice steps during that time.
When rent is fourteen or more days past due, the owner sends written notice to the occupant's last known address, in person, by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, by certified mail, or by e-mail. It describes the property, states the amount due, demands payment within at least fourteen days, and says the property will be sold, that partial payment does not stop the sale, and that access is denied.
After the fifty days, the owner advertises a public sale to the highest bidder once a week for two consecutive weeks in a local newspaper. The sale is held at the facility, at the nearest suitable place, or online by a licensed auctioneer.
Paying before the sale. Before the sale, the occupant may pay the amount that satisfies the lien and the reasonable expenses and take the property back. A partial payment of rent does not do it.
Where the owner decides the contents are worth less than $300, it may hold them for sixty days from the notice and then dispose of them, which extinguishes the debt. A car or boat left unpaid for sixty days may be towed. A particular sale is a question for a licensed South Carolina attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- S.C. Code 39-20-45 — Self-service storage; enforcement of lien
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Carolina attorney.