Support for Shavon’s Law

SUMMARY

S.9870, known as Shavon’s Law, is a New York State bill sponsored by Senator Sepúlveda that would amend Lien Law Section 182 to prohibit self-storage facilities from auctioning homeless New Yorkers’ belongings while a social services storage fee assistance application, payment, or appeal is pending. The bill creates a narrow, temporary safeguard — pausing lien enforcement only for the duration of the pending determination — not a permanent bar on storage auctions. It is named for Shavon Davila, whose ashes were lost in a storage auction caused by a government processing error — an irreversible harm that current law does nothing to prevent.

This bill was introduced at the request of the City Bar’s Social Welfare Committee. Read their full analysis of the proposal: Proposed Legislation Amending New York Lien Law Section 182: Shavon’s Law.

Learn more about the City Bar’s ongoing advocacy and how to support Shavon’s Law at our Shavon’s Law campaign hub.

2026 NYS Legislative Agenda Item

WHAT SHAVON’S LAW WOULD DO

The proposed amendments to New York Lien Law Section 182 would establish a clear, balanced framework to protect homeless New Yorkers’ belongings while social services departments process their applications for storage fee assistance. Specifically, the bill would:

• Where payment has been made by a social services department under an occupancy agreement, require self-storage facilities to send the requisite auction notice to the social services department, an important step should automated payments be enabled and/or a person experiencing a housing crisis not receive a notice of auction.
• Require the social services department to certify within 10 days of receipt of an auction notice whether a storage assistance payment, application, or fair hearing request is pending.
• Require a social services department to bear the cost of any delay in providing such written certification.
• Prohibit auction of items where (1) the social services department fails to certify the status of a storage assistance payment, application, or fair hearing request or (2) a social services district certifies, or an occupant provides evidence of, a pending social services department storage assistance payment, decision, or fair hearing.
• Permit an occupant to, if necessary, request a stay of auction to enforce this prohibition, without requiring that they establish irreparable harm, a standard and burdensome showing required for injunctions under New York law.
• Award attorney’s fees and costs if a stay request is necessary to obtain compliance.

These provisions ensure that lien enforcement is paused only in limited circumstances and only for the duration of the pending determination or appeal.

WHAT THE DATA SHOWS

Social Services Storage Decisions Are Routinely Reversed

The City Bar obtained data from the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) via a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request documenting outcomes of fair hearings challenging HRA storage benefit decisions from 2022 through 2025. The data reveals a consistent, multi-year pattern of erroneous initial determinations — precisely the circumstances Shavon’s Law is designed to address. Note that while this data reflects HRA specifically, Shavon’s Law applies to all social services departments statewide.

• In 2025, HRA’s storage-related decisions were affirmed after a fair hearing in only 9.4% of cases.
• In 2024, the agency affirmation rate for storage decisions was 12.4%; in 2023, 8.6%; in 2022, 11.7%.
• In 2025, HRA withdrew its position in 39.3% of storage fair hearing cases — nearly four times the rate at which it was affirmed.

These figures underscore the core problem Shavon’s Law addresses: under current law, storage auctions can and do occur while social services make unlawful decisions or cause undue delay, with no mechanism for occupants to pause enforcement and no remedy once belongings are lost.

ADVOCACY & RESOURCES

Learn more about the City Bar’s ongoing advocacy and how to support Shavon’s Law at our Shavon’s Law campaign hub.

REPORT

REPORT ON LEGISLATION BY THE SOCIAL WELFARE COMMITTEE

 S.9870 (Sen. Sepúlveda)

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

Shavon’s Law

THIS BILL IS APPROVED

 I.  SUMMARY

 The Social Welfare Committee (the Committee) of the New York City Bar Association (the City Bar) supports S.9870, “Shavon’s Law,” which would amend New York Lien Law Section 182 to prohibit the enforcement of a lien against a self-storage unit where an occupant experiencing housing instability has a pending application, determination, or appeal for storage fee assistance from a social services department.[1] Shavon’s Law addresses a critical gap in current law that permits the permanent loss of personal property while a government benefit decision is pending. By creating a narrow, temporary safeguard, the bill ensures that individuals experiencing homelessness are not irreparably deprived of their belongings due to circumstances beyond their control.

II.  INTRODUCTION

New York Lien Law §182 permits self-storage facility owners to auction the contents of a storage unit when fees remain unpaid, following notice to the occupant. However, the statute does not account for circumstances in which an occupant has applied for, or is actively seeking to challenge a denial of, public assistance to cover those fees.

As a result, individuals experiencing homelessness may lose all of their stored belongings while awaiting a determination from a social services department, despite being eligible for assistance and ultimately entitled to payment.   Because such auctions permanently extinguish property rights, the current statutory framework allows for the deprivation of essential personal property without a meaningful opportunity to be heard.

Shavon’s Law addresses this structural due process gap by providing a limited, temporary prohibition on lien enforcement while a storage assistance determination or appeal is pending.

III.  BACKGROUND

 Under existing law, eligible individuals and families living in shelters, on the street, or doubled-up in the community (i.e., temporarily living in another person’s home), are entitled to emergency assistance grants from their local department of social services to cover the cost of storing personal belongings during periods of housing instability.  When approved, these payments are made directly to self-storage facilities.

New York Lien Law §182 grants storage facility owners a lien on stored property for unpaid fees and permits enforcement of that lien through public auction after notice. While the statute provides an opportunity to challenge the validity of the lien or the amount owed, it does not provide a mechanism to account for pending public assistance applications or appeals.

In practice, individuals seeking storage assistance must often navigate administrative processes that may involve delays, repeated submissions, or appeals. During this time, storage fees may accrue, and the risk of lien enforcement continues unabated.

IV.  WHY AMENDMENTS ARE NECESSARY

The interaction between Lien Law §182 and the administration of storage assistance creates a significant legal gap.  Although individuals may be eligible for public assistance to cover storage costs, there is no statutory protection preventing the auction of their belongings while their application is pending or under review. Even relatively short delays in processing or decision-making can result in the permanent loss of property. 

The consequences of this statutory gap are severe. Once an auction occurs, the harm cannot be undone. Personal belongings, often including essential items, documents, and irreplaceable family mementos, are lost permanently, and existing legal remedies are insufficient to restore them. In effect, current law permits the deprivation of property rights before an individual receives a government determination, precluding any meaningful opportunity to challenge that decision.

The City Bar Justice Center has documented client stories illustrating these harms.[2] In one such case, Nina Davila, an artist and former professor experiencing housing instability, kept her belongings — including an urn containing the ashes of her beloved son, Shavon — in a storage unit paid for through public assistance. When a government error resulted in the delay and then the denial of her payment, the facility auctioned everything before she could challenge it. By the time she found the buyer, Shavon’s ashes had been discarded. The proposed legislation has been named “Shavon’s Law” in honor of his memory.

V.  SHAVON’S LAW: THE LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION

Shavon’s Law provides a targeted and balanced solution by creating a temporary safeguard against lien enforcement where storage assistance determination is pending.

Specifically, the bill would:

• Where payment has been made by a social services department under an occupancy agreement, require self-storage facilities to send the requisite auction notice to the social services department, an important step should automated payments be enabled and/or a person experiencing a housing crisis not receive a notice of auction.
• Require the social services department to certify within 10 days of receipt of an auction notice whether a storage assistance payment, application, or fair hearing request is pending.
• Require a social services department to bear the cost of any delay in providing such written certification.
• Prohibit auction of items where (1) the social services department fails to certify the status of a storage assistance payment, application, or fair hearing request or (2) a social services district certifies, or an occupant provides evidence of, a pending social services department storage assistance payment, decision, or fair hearing.
• Permit an occupant to, if necessary, request a stay of auction to enforce this prohibition, without requiring that they establish irreparable harm, a standard and burdensome showing required for injunctions under New York law.
• Award attorney’s fees and costs if a stay request is necessary to obtain compliance.

These provisions ensure that lien enforcement is paused only in limited circumstances and only for the duration of the pending determination or appeal.

VI.  BALANCING THE EQUITIES

Shavon’s Law appropriately balances the interests of storage facility operators and individuals experiencing homelessness. Self-storage facilities already receive substantial public funding through direct payments from social services departments. New York City pays over 8 million dollars annually to storage providers through public assistance programs. In many cases, these payments are ultimately issued even where initial delays or denials occur.[3]  Indeed, in 2025, HRA’s decisions regarding storage matters were affirmed in only 9.4% of cases after a fair hearing was brought, with similarly low affirmations rates in 2024, 2023, and 2022.[4]

By contrast, the harm to individuals whose belongings are auctioned is severe and irreversible. The temporary delay in lien enforcement contemplated by this legislation is minimal when weighed against the permanent loss of essential property. Additionally, by linking the prohibition on enforcement to the status of a pending application or appeal, the bill incentivizes timely administrative action and provides clarity to all parties.

The relatively minor financial burden placed on storage facilities to wait for the relevant social services department to act pales in comparison to the dual burdens that currently fall on homeless New Yorkers: the strain of repeatedly fighting bureaucratic delay and error and the risk of losing all of one’s property.  Further, by incentivizing bureaucratic efficiency, an amended lien law will reduce the financial risks or losses that self-storage facilities bear in situations where storage assistance payments are delayed or erroneously denied.  In recognition of these unnecessary risks and unfair burdens, Shavon’s Law provides a balanced and limited safe haven for homeless New Yorkers to securely store their belongings.

VII.  CONCLUSION

The City Bar urges the Legislature to enact Shavon’s Law to protect homeless individuals from the deprivation of their due process rights and property rights. The proposed law will (a) incentivize bureaucratic efficiency, (b) in the vast majority of circumstances, impose only a minimal, temporary financial burden on self-storage facilities that earn millions of dollars each year from public assistance storage payments, and (c) enable individuals experiencing housing instability to protect precious, essential belongings, fulfilling the spirit and intent of the relevant New York statutes and regulations. With the approval of Shavon’s Law, the Legislature will ensure that New Yorkers in housing crises can focus on finding a home, rather than engaging in the Sisyphean task of fighting bureaucratic delay on the one hand and a merciless lien law on the other.

Social Welfare Law Committee*
Catherine Frizell, Chair
Amelia Toledo, Member

May 2026

*The Committee thanks the City Bar Justice Center clients for sharing their stories and Professor Stephen Loffredo and pro bono volunteer Alex Leonard for their contributions to the proposed amendments.