Also known as:landlord's liens · landlords' lien · landlords' liens · landlord lien · lessor's lien
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A legal right or interest that a landlord holds in a tenant's personal property located on the leased premises. The interest secures payment of rent or other lease obligations and continues until the debt is satisfied. The landlord typically enforces the lien without taking possession of the property until default occurs.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Landlord Asserts Lien on Inventory
Lumen Capital leased warehouse space to Lotus Pharmaceuticals under a written agreement that granted a lien on all inventory and equipment for unpaid rent. When Lotus fell behind on payments, Lumen Capital seized the stored pharmaceuticals and manufacturing equipment remaining on the premises. The lien attached automatically to the tenant's chattels upon execution of the lease and delivery of the goods, allowing Lumen Capital to satisfy the rent arrears from the proceeds of the seized property.
Bank Priority Dispute with Landlord Lien
First State Bank of Maple Park held a perfected security interest in a tenant's equipment. De Kalb Bank later obtained a landlord's lien on the same equipment after the tenant defaulted on rent for the leased premises. The court examined whether Article 9 priority rules governed the conflict between the consensual security interest and the landlord's lien arising outside the statute.
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Uniform Acts
Course Outlines
Study Supplements
Dictionaries
First State Bank of Maple Park v. De Kalb Bank175 Ill. App. 3d 812, 817 (1988)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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Does Article 9 govern creation or priority of a landlord's lien?+
Article 9 expressly excludes a landlord's lien other than an agricultural lien from its scope. Creation and enforcement of the lien are therefore governed by state landlord-tenant statutes or common law rather than the secured-transactions filing and priority rules.
Supporting sources
When does a landlord's lien attach to a tenant's personal property?+
The lien attaches from the time the lease is executed and the tenant brings chattels onto the premises. It covers the tenant's personal property located on the leased premises and secures unpaid rent.
Supporting sources
How does a landlord enforce a lien for unpaid rent?+
In states that recognize the remedy, the landlord may seize and sell the tenant's personal property on the premises through distress proceedings. The proceeds are applied to the rent arrears after any required notice or hearing.
Supporting sources
694 P.2d 1129 (Wash. App. 1985)Property
…at the end of said ten days." [^maj-6]: Olin has made no claim to a superior right to the collateral by virtue of a statutory landlord's lien. RCW 60.72.010. Any such claim would fail because of Olin's disposition of the property and failure to enforce the lien within 2 months. Culp v. McMehan , 123 Wash. 499, 501-02, 212 P.…
Secured TransactionsApplicability and definitions (§ 9-101, et seq.) · Subject matter of Article 9 (§ 9-109)UBEFoundational