Gillespie Bill to Protect Self Storage Owners, Renters Now Law

HARRISBURG – A bill by Rep. Keith Gillespie (R-Hellam) to provide new protections to self-storage facilities owners and those who rent units has been signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf.

“This new law affords both owners of self-storage facilities and renters key updated protections to ensure all facilities in the Commonwealth are playing by the same set of rules,” Gillespie said. “According to a recent study, roughly a third of Americans use storage facilities. At the same time, the number of facilities has increased over the past few years. This law will benefit a large number of Pennsylvanians.” 

Act 109 of 2022, formerly House Bill 1103, modernizes the original law that was created 40 years ago. 

Under the previous law, self-storage facility owners were only permitted to advertise in a newspaper that items in a unit would be disposed of when a renter defaulted on payments. With the readership of newspapers declining, this is not the most effective means of advertising. The new law now allows owners to advertise on the Internet.
 
The previous law also did not address procedures for late fees, but the new law adds the option for owners to impose fees when an occupant fails to pay five days after the due date.

“These changes are significant in making the original law more modern and protect both the owners and the occupants,” Gillespie said.