A police officer or other law enforcement official requesting that a self-storage manager provide information about a tenant at their facility or allow access to the tenant’s storage space. Understanding the rights of the self storage facility is crucial, especially since the search can have implications to the tenant, the facility, and the law enforcement agency. What is the manager or operator to do when asked to divulge information concerning its tenants or to provide access to a tenant’s space ?
Subpoenas are court orders which do not entitle the right to search, but require the recipient to produce the information requested by the law enforcement agency. An example would be a tenant’s file. Normally, a facility manager would resist providing the information to law enforcement about the tenants based upon their concern that they are infringing upon the tenant’s privacy rights. For the most part, it is probably not a privacy violation to disclose to law enforcement the names since the information is part of the facility’s own business records. However, for the facility’s protection it is probably best to request that the law enforcement agency first obtain a subpoena for the documents before the facility provides copies of any tenant records.
The general rule regarding search warrants is that the search and or seizure of a tenant’s property must be conducted only with judicial approval or in other words with a search warrant issued by the court which entitles the officer to obtain access to the tenant’s space. When an officer first requests access the manager should ask the officer to produce the warrant . The manager should review the document to confirm that it properly identifies the storage facility, the tenant’s name and unit number. Managers are not expected to judge the correctness of a search warrant and cannot be held liable for obeying the commands of law enforcement officials acting within the scope of their authority.
There are certain exceptions , first a facility clearly can allow access to law enforcement to the area in their self storage facility deemed to be common areas or into storage units which are not rented. Second if the units lock has already been cut due to the tenant’s default, there is no remaining right of privacy. In this case it appears to be a right of the facility to allow access to that delinquent unit without the need of a search warrant. The third exception applies to tenants who are on probation or parole. The law provides that those individuals do not enjoy the same expectations of privacy as ordinary citizens. It is always best to request that the officers obtain a search warrant even if the officers indicate the the tenant are on probation or are parolees. Whether the search was a proper will be an issue to be resolved between the tenant and the law enforcement agency.
These facts were taken from an article written by Scott Zucker who specializes in business and commercial litigation.
