The last few decades have
seen a proliferation of purpose-built developments offering “self-service”
storage units to the public at large – typically the size of a single garage or
smaller - in exchange for a monthly rental or fee.
The rental of these
storage units is ideal for a party down-sizing, or going through a divorce, or
renovating, or relocating, or simply for use as an extra storage facility in an
era characterised by increasingly smaller living spaces.
As attractive as such
storage facilities are to the man in the street, they are also becoming an
increasingly attractive proposition for the temporary storage of stolen or
counterfeit goods, or contraband.
It is not uncommon for
landlords whose business it is to rent out such storage units to be faced with
a demand from a law enforcement official to be given access to one or more
storage units. This may in turn lead to the seizure (by the law enforcement
official) of some or more of the goods stored there.
Possibility
of police search and seizure
So, for example, the
Criminal Procedure Act permits a police official to search (and by extension to
enter upon, where applicable), any land, building, structure, or container,
without a search warrant, if he or she believes that a search warrant would be
issued to him or her but that the delay in obtaining a warrant would defeat the
object of the search.
The same piece of
legislation also permits the police official to seize any goods he or she finds
there which he or she suspects of being concerned in the commission of a
criminal offence.
Similarly, the Customs
and Excise Act permits a customs officer to enter upon any premises without a
search warrant, if he or she believes that a search warrant would be issued to
him or her but that the delay in obtaining a warrant would defeat the object of
the search.
A landlord dares not –
under pain of prosecution – obstruct a law enforcement officer that is about
his or her lawful duties.
Conclusion
In this environment, a
landlord also needs the protection of a suitably worded agreement to, amongst
others: establish that it had no cause to believe that the goods were stolen or
were otherwise unlawful; permit it to grant access to the storage unit in the
absence of the lessee; and absolve it of any responsibility for any goods so
seized and removed from the storage unit by the law enforcement official.
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