Tenant Signature Not Required on UCC Statement

In “Get Rent Protection with Contractual Lien,” (Insider, February 2009, p. 1), we recommended getting the tenant's signature on the UCC financing statement when it was signing the lease.

However, you no longer need the debtor/tenant's signature on the UCC statement, points out New Jersey attorney Kathleen S. Cook. In the past, debtor/tenant signatures were required to make the contractual lien enforceable in court. But in 2001, Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) was modified to eliminate this requirement, and instead now requires only debtor/tenant authorization.

You will have authorization already, if the contractual lien clause in your lease contains the following (or similar) language: “Landlord is hereby authorized to file financing statements and continuations of and amendments to financing statements without Tenant's signature, in accordance with the Uniform Commercial Code in the State where the Premises are located.”