Repair and Storage Liens

These types of liens are not particularly well understood by most people that may be able to rely on them or be subject to them. If you are in a business in which you perform repairs to someone’s personal property, or you provide storage, you should be aware of these types of liens. Similarly, if you hire someone to repair an item of your personal property or to store your personal property, you also need to be aware of these liens.

A repair lien commonly arises when you take a motor vehicle to a garage to have it repaired. While this is the most common instance in which such a lien arises, it may also arise if you have someone repair a computer system or other piece of equipment in a business. These liens may be possessory or non-possessory in nature and may give a repairer the right to hold your property until the repairs are paid for or seize your property if the repairs are not paid for and the repairer is not in possession of the item.

For a repairer, this type of lien may provide a very powerful form of security to obtain payment. For the customer, the threat of having one’s equipment withheld or seized should be seriously considered if payment is not being made to a repairer.

Storage liens work in a manner similar to repair liens but arise when a person turns some part of their property over to a storage company for storage which service they pay for.

We have worked with bailiffs and repairers and storers on these type of matters for in excess of 10 years and are well versed in the procedures provided in the legislation for creating, perfecting and enforcing these types of liens. For a repairer to be successful on these types of matters, it is imperative that they have their documentation in order. Any defect in the documentation may invalidate a lien claim. We have worked with many repairers to structure their documentation and procedures to insure they obtain the full benefit of these types of liens and have assisted owners in recovering their property when the repairer has failed to properly document the lien.

Should you wish to discuss a repair or storage lien, please feel free to contact us.