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{{Dial-A-Law TOC|expanded = credit}}
This script explains what warehouse liens are and how they work under the BC ''[http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96480_01 Warehouse Lien Act]'' (the Act).
==What is a warehouse lien?==
A warehouse lien (also known as a ''lien for storage'') is a charge or claim by a person in the business of storing goods (known as a “warehouser”) on goods stored in their warehouse. A warehouse lien helps a warehouser get paid for storing goods by being able to retain possession of . It lets them keep those goods and ultimately eventually sell them to recover the cost of storage if the owner of the goods has failed to does not payfor the storage. Warehousers automatically have a lien on goods given to them for storage, whether the goods are given by the owner of goods or by any person entrusted with possession of who the owner gave the goods by the ownerto.
==Does a warehouse lien exist and what amounts does it cover?cover—sections 2 and 3==This is described in section 2 of the Act. A warehouse lien exists automatically—unless it’s void under section 3 (explained in the next section). Also, the lien exists regardless of who left the goods for storage: the owner of the goods, someone with the owner’s authority, or someone who received the goods from the owner, or from a person with the owner’s authority.
A warehouse lien covers reasonable charges for all the following things:
*storing and preserving the goods;*any money the warehouser advanced paid for the goods including interest, insurance, transportation, labour, weighing, and other expenses; and*any notice the warehouser had to give under the Act, and advertising and selling the goods if they are not paid for before they are advertised and sold.
==Notice of warehouse lien if goods left not left by ownerowner—section 3==This is described in section 3 of the Act. The warehouser must give notice of the lien to the owner of the goods, but only if owner (or a person with their authoritythey authorized) was not the one who left deposited the goods for storage at the warehouse. If the owner of the goods (or a person with their authoritythey authorized) left the goods at the warehouse personally, no notice is needed because the owner already knows the goods are there. On the other hand, if a person who had the goods (because the owner or a person they authorized gave them the goods) put the goods in storage, then the owner is entitled to notice of this.
The warehouser must also give notice of the lien to anyone who had registered a financing statement of a security interest in the goods. This security interest must have existed at the time the goods were left at the warehouse.
Importantly, the warehouser must give notice of the lien within 2 months of when the goods were left at the warehouse. The notice must have all the following information:
*a brief description of the goods;*the location of the warehouse where the goods are stored, the date they were left there, and the name of the person who left them; and*a statement that the warehouser is claiming a lien for the goods under the Act.
==Lien not valid if required notice not givengiven—section 3==
The lien no longer exists against a person if the warehouser does not give notice to that person, as section 3 requires. For example, if a warehouser knew that a person who is not the owner of the goods (or a person acting with the owner’s authority) left the goods for storage—and the warehouser does not give notice of the lien to the owner—the lien no longer exists against the owner after 2 months from when the warehouser knew who the owner was. Similarly, if the warehouser knew that a financing statement had been registered against the goods when they were left, but does not give notice to the person with the security interest in the goods, the lien no longer exists against that person after 2 months from when the warehouser knew who the person was.
==Notice that warehouser intends to sell the goods—section 4 of the Act==Warehousers who want to sell the goods to pay off the debt must use a public auction. First, they have to must give written notice to the following four parties (using one of the two methods in section 8) that they intend to sell the goods:
*the person who owes the debt to the warehouser for the goods.
*the owner of the goods.
*a statement that, unless the charges are paid by the date in the notice, the goods will be advertised for sale and sold by public auction at a time and place set in the notice.
==Advertising that the goods will be sold by public auctionauction—section 4==This is described in section 4 of the Act. If the charges are not paid by the date in the notice, the warehouser must advertise the sale before holding the public auction. The advertisement must be published at least once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper in the local area where the sale is to be held, and must contain all of the following:
*a description of the goods to be sold;
*the name of the person who owes the debt for the charges covered by the lien;
The warehouser must wait for at least 14 days after the first advertisement is published to sell the goods.
==What happens with the sales proceedsproceeds—section 6==This is described in section 6 of the Act. The warehouser must use the money from selling the goods to pay off the debt for storing them and the other charges allowed under section 2. If any money is left after these charges are paid, the warehouser must pay it to a person entitled to it, along with a statement showing how the amount paid was calculated. If it’s not clear who is entitled to any remaining money, or if a person entitled to the money has not demanded it within 10 days of the sale, the warehouser must pay it into the Supreme Court of British Columbia, along with a calculation statement.
==Ways to give noticenotice—section 8==This is described in section 8 of the Act. The required written notice required under the Act must be given in one of two ways:
*delivering the notice to the person; or
*mailing the notice to the person at the person’s last known address, by registered mail.
==Can self-storage operators claim a warehouse lien?==
No—only a warehouser can claim a warehouse lien. The Act defines a warehouser as a person in the business of storing goods as a bailee for hire. Self-storage operators are not bailees for hire, meaning that so they cannot claim a warehouse lien.
==What problems does the Act present for a warehouser?==
To claim a lien, a warehouser must still be in possession of have the goods. The Act does not permit a “non-possessory lien”, meaning a lien over goods one is not still in possession ofthat a person no longer has. This means that So if a warehouser has returned the goods to the person who left them before receiving payment being paid for storing them, the lien is no longer valid. Warehousers must therefore be careful that they do not surrender possession of to give up goods that are subject to they have a lien on before they receive payment are paid for the storage of storing those goods.
==More information==
A warehouse lien is only one type of lien. Other types exist, in both common law and under other statutes, and a lien is only one type of remedy. Other remedies are available for collecting to collect debts, including hiring a collection agency, suing, seizing and selling assets, and garnishing wages. Consult script Script [[Collection of Debts (Script 250)|250]], “Collection of Debts”, for has more information. The law in this area can be complex. For legal advice, consult a lawyer. The ''[http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96481_01 Warehouse Receipt Act]'', may also apply in these situations, but it’s beyond the scope of this script.
[updated May 2015Oct 2017]
'''The above was last reviewed for accuracy by Anna Kurt and Jack MontpellierNathan Ganapathi, and edited by John Blois.'''
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