California Governor Signs Bill Eliminating Self-Storage Lease Notice of Certified Access

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed an amendment to the state’s Civil Code on July 21 that removes a previous requirement for self-storage rental agreements. With this change, self-storage operators and other unnecessarily impacted commercial-property owners will no longer have to include a lease notice indicating whether a facility had been inspected by a California Certified Access Specialist (CAS). Assembly Bill 1148 (AB 1148) updates section 1938 of AB 2093 to better define the kind of commercial property for which the original legislation was intended. It went into effect immediately.

Though the measure doesn’t specifically exclude self-storage, it defines the type of commercial properties originally targeted by the CAS requirement as those “for rent or lease to persons operating, or intending to operate, a place of public accommodation, or facility to where the general public is invited at those premises.” In its analysis of the bill, the Senate Judiciary Committee indicated members of the senate also sought to clarify what was meant by “public accommodation.”

The amendment was supported by the California Self Storage Association (CSSA) and national Self Storage Association (SSA), along with several building groups. It was also unopposed by disability advocacy groups, according to an Aug. 14 e-mail newsletter to SSA members. In its statement in favor of the bill, the CSSA wrote that AB 2093 “had the unintended effect of applying to self-storage units,” a notion supported by the California Chamber of Commerce, according to the committee’s analysis. In its statement to the legislature, the chamber wrote, “This is not the type of property that is appropriate for a Certified Access Specialist inspection, and therefore, the mandated lease language in AB 2093 is not applicable.”

“California legislators understood that self-storage should not be covered by [Americans With Disabilities Act] access-disclosure law," Tim Dietz, president and CEO of the SSA, said in the newsletter. "The California legislature acted swiftly to correct a real problem for the state's storage industry."

CSSA is a nonprofit trade association dedicated to supporting the self-storage industry in California. The group offers educational events, networking opportunities, legislative advocacy and more.

Founded in 1975, the SSA represents more than 22,000 U.S. self-storage facilities and approximately 12,000 international facilities, according to its website. It’s affiliated with several state and international self-storage associations and currently has 5,500 members.