Online auctions for self-storage stuff would be allowed under bill passed in House

Self-storage facility owners could hold online auctions for defaulted property in their units, under a bill passed Monday by the House.

The bill, HF3380, initially included a provision allowing facility owners to charge renters a late fee – a contentious issue – but Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover), the bill’s sponsor, said interested parties couldn’t come to an agreement. So she amended the bill, scratching that language, and it passed the House 125-0.

Current law allows self-storage facility owners to auction defaulted property, but only at the facility or at another “suitable place.”

The bill now goes to the Senate where Sen. Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks) is the sponsor.