S 9870: Enacts "Shavon's law" prohibiting enforcement of a lien where an occupant has a pending social services department storage fee assistance request or appeal; provides the necessary steps for ensuring such enforcement is paused.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9870  IN SENATE April 9, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the lien law, in relation to prohibiting enforcement of a lien where the occupant has a pending social services department storage fee assistance request or appeal The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 "Shavon's law". 3 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 182 of the lien law is amended by adding 4 three new paragraphs (i), (j) and (k) to read as follows: 5 (i) "Social services department" shall mean the division or officer of 6 city government or the office, official or board charged with authority 7 to administer public assistance or care in a county social services 8 district. 9 (j) "Storage assistance" shall mean any allowance or grant adminis- 10 tered by a social services department to pay storage or other fees to 11 the owner. 12 (k) "Supporting evidence" includes, but is not limited to, a paper or 13 digital copy of one of the following: (i) the occupant's application to 14 a social services department for storage assistance; (ii) a social 15 services department's receipt of such application; (iii) a social 16 services department's written determination; (iv) a request for a fair 17 hearing to contest denial or delay of an application for storage assist- 18 ance, or acknowledgement of such a request; (v) a decision after a fair 19 hearing on a social services department's determination or delay, 20 including a decision that the social services department shall grant, 21 evaluate, or reevaluate the occupant's application; or (vi) the occu- 22 pant's social services department mobile application indicating a docu- 23 ment described in subparagraphs (i) through (v) of this paragraph. 24 § 2. Subparagraphs (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) and (vi) of paragraph (a) of 25 subdivision 2 of section 182 of the lien law are renumbered (iii), (iv), 26 (v), (vi) and (vii) and a new subparagraph (ii) is added to read as 27 follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD15504-01-6 
 S. 9870 2 1 (ii) name, address, electronic mailing address, and telephone number 2 of the social services department the occupant designates as responsible 3 for the occupant's payments under the agreement; 4 § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 182 of the lien law, as 5 amended by chapter 424 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as 6 follows: 7 (c) Every occupancy agreement as required by this section shall 8 contain the following conspicuous notices: (i) "Notice: The monthly 9 occupancy charge and other charges stated in this agreement are the 10 actual charges you must pay"; (ii) "Notice: You may choose to be 11 contacted for legal matters related to late or lien notices, via elec- 12 tronic mail by providing your electronic mail address in at least two 13 locations within the occupancy agreement"; (iii) "Notice: Auction of 14 your items is prohibited if you provide evidence or a social services 15 department certifies that there is a pending social services department 16 storage assistance payment, application for storage assistance, or fair 17 hearing request regarding a storage assistance decision or delay. If a 18 social services department is required under paragraph (b) of subdivi- 19 sion seven-a of section 182 of the lien law to timely certify the status 20 of a storage assistance payment, application, or fair hearing, then the 21 social services department shall be responsible for paying the costs of 22 additional storage costs and fees caused by the delayed certification". 23 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 7 of section 182 of the lien law, as 24 amended by chapter 424 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as 25 follows: 26 (a) An owner's lien may be enforced by public or private sale of the 27 occupant's goods that remain in the self-storage facility, in block, or 28 in parcel, at any time or place and on any terms which are commercially 29 reasonable after notice to all persons known to claim an interest in the 30 goods. The notice shall include an itemized statement of the amount due, 31 the description of the property subject to the lien, the nature of the 32 proposed sale, a demand for payment within a specified time not less 33 than thirty days from mailing of the notice and a conspicuous statement 34 that unless the claimant pays within that time the goods will be adver- 35 tised for sale and sold at public or private sale in a commercially 36 reasonable manner. The notice shall further include the time and place 37 of any public or private sale and it shall state that any person claim- 38 ing an interest in the goods is entitled to bring a proceeding hereunder 39 within [ten] twenty days of the service of the notice if [he] such 40 person disputes the validity of the lien, [or] the amount claimed, or 41 the owner's compliance with this article. The notice shall be personally 42 delivered to the occupant, or sent by registered or certified mail to 43 the occupant's last known address, or sent by verified mail and elec- 44 tronic mail to the occupant's last known address. Any notice made pursu- 45 ant to this section and sent by verified mail shall be sent to the last 46 known address provided by the occupant, pursuant to the occupancy agree- 47 ment. Any notice made pursuant to this section and sent by electronic 48 mail shall only be effective if: (i) the occupancy agreement states that 49 the occupant has consented to receive late or lien notices by electronic 50 mail; and (ii) the occupant has provided the occupant's electronic mail 51 address in at least two locations within the occupancy agreement. 52 § 5. Section 182 of the lien law is amended by adding a new subdivi- 53 sion 7-a to read as follows: 54 7-a. Special rules when storage fees are paid by a social services 55 department. (a) Whenever a social services department or official has 56 made one or more payments under an agreement, or the occupant has desig- 
 S. 9870 3 1 nated in the agreement a social services department as responsible for 2 payment, the owner shall also send a copy of the notice required by 3 paragraph (a) of subdivision seven of this section, by mail and elec- 4 tronic mail, to the person designated by law as one to whom a summons in 5 an action in the supreme court issued against such social services 6 department may be delivered, or to an attorney regularly engaged in 7 representing such social services department. 8 (b) Within ten days of receipt of a notice required by paragraph (a) 9 of subdivision seven of this section, the social services department 10 shall transmit, by mail and electronic mail, a written certification to 11 the owner and the occupant stating: (i) whether the occupant has a stor- 12 age assistance payment or application pending; (ii) whether the social 13 services district has denied an application by the occupant for storage 14 assistance, and the date of that denial; and (iii) whether the occupant 15 has requested a fair hearing to appeal the denial or delay of storage 16 assistance, and the status of that appeal. 17 (c) The office of temporary and disability assistance shall publish 18 and require the use of a standard certification form for social services 19 department compliance with paragraph (b) of this subdivision. The form 20 shall contain the following conspicuous notice: "If the occupant disa- 21 grees with the social services department's certification, the occupant 22 shall immediately provide supporting evidence to the owner indicating 23 that a storage assistance payment, application, or fair hearing is pend- 24 ing". The notice shall further include the definition of "supporting 25 evidence" pursuant to paragraph (k) of subdivision one of this section. 26 (d) An owner shall not enforce a lien prior to receiving the written 27 certification from a social services department required by paragraph 28 (b) of this subdivision. Should the department of social services fail 29 to provide such written certification within the ten days prescribed by 30 such paragraph, the department of social services shall bear the addi- 31 tional storage costs and fees due to the delayed certification. 32 (e) If an occupant provides supporting evidence or a social services 33 department provides written certification that a storage assistance 34 payment or application, or fair hearing request regarding a social 35 services department's storage assistance decision or delay, is pending, 36 the owner shall not enforce a lien unless and until: (i) a decision 37 after fair hearing determines that the occupant is not eligible for 38 storage assistance; or (ii) sixty days after the social services depart- 39 ment determines that the occupant is not eligible for storage assist- 40 ance, if no fair hearing request has been made. 41 § 6. Subdivision 9 of section 182 of the lien law, as added by chapter 42 975 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as follows: 43 9. Special proceeding. The special proceeding may be brought in any 44 court which would have jurisdiction to render a judgment for a sum equal 45 to the amount of the lien or to stay enforcement of the lien. If the 46 person shall show that the owner is not entitled to claim a lien in the 47 goods, or that all or part of the amount claimed by the owner has not 48 been properly charged to the account of such person, or, as the case may 49 be, that all or part of such amount exceeds the fair and reasonable 50 value of the services performed by the owner, the court shall direct the 51 entry of judgment cancelling the lien or reducing the amount claimed 52 thereunder accordingly. If the owner shall establish the validity of the 53 lien, in whole or in part, the judgment shall fix the amount thereof, 54 and shall provide that the sale may proceed upon the expiration of five 55 days after service of a copy of the judgment together with notice of 56 entry thereof upon the person, unless the goods are redeemed prior ther- 
 S. 9870 4 1 eto. If the lien is cancelled, the judgment shall provide that, upon 2 service of a copy of the judgment together with notice of entry thereof 3 upon the owner, the person shall be entitled to possession of the prop- 4 erty. If the person shows a failure by the owner to comply with this 5 section, the court shall prohibit enforcement of the lien and award 6 attorneys' fees and costs to such person. 7 § 7. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 8 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 9 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 10 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 11 on or before such effective date.