| A public storage facility, also known as self | | | | near residential and commercial areas are being |
| storage or mini storage facility, is a business that | | | | converted into self-storage. Moving trucks and |
| rents rooms (or units) to people and allows those | | | | vans may be also be available for rent e.g. the |
| people to store items in the room, a kind of | | | | facility may include a U-haul or other truck rental |
| shared warehouse. | | | | franchise. Many storage facilities allow the use of |
| A self storage business rents small end user | | | | a truck for free or even send a truck to your |
| controlled compartment space to a retail | | | | nearby home or business as a move-in promotion. |
| customer or business. The space is typically | | | | The rooms are typically windowless, walled with a |
| secured by the end users own lock and key and | | | | corrugated metal, and lockable by the renter. |
| the facility operator does not have casual access | | | | Chain-link fencing or wire mesh may function as a |
| to the contents of the space unlike in a | | | | more secure ceiling than a suspended ceiling. |
| warehouse. Their is no bailment created and the | | | | Rooms are different sized, from one half closets |
| self storage operator never takes possession, | | | | to enough space to store all the contents of |
| care or custody over the contents of the unit. | | | | multi-story house. A controlled access facility may |
| The self storage operator provides the space and | | | | employ security guards, surveillance cameras and |
| some means of access to it. | | | | some means of electronic gate access such a |
| Less formal public storage | | | | keypad, prox card. Some facilities even use |
| Less formal public storage might be a locker | | | | biometric thumbprint or hand scanners to ensure |
| room, cloak room, left luggage, train stations, | | | | that access is granted only to those that rent. |
| amusement parks (especially water parks), and | | | | In rural areas most facilities contain multiple single |
| airports. There may be an attendant or an | | | | story buildings with units that open to the outside. |
| automated vending machine to collect the fee and | | | | In suburban areas most facilities contain one or |
| control access, or it may simply require dropping a | | | | multiple 1-3 story buildings using passenger & |
| few coins into a slot to allow a key to be | | | | freight elevators or a materials lift to move the |
| removed locking a compartment. At a swimming | | | | goods to the upper floors. Ground floor unit |
| pool or sauna the key will be attached to a wrist | | | | access is still direct to the outside. Urban areas |
| or ankle strap. This type of storage is typically | | | | self storage facilities are often converted |
| not related to a self-storage business. Storage | | | | multistory warehouses. Loading docks are used on |
| such as these are provided as an ancillary service | | | | the ground floor and complimentary rolling carts |
| provided as part of another business. Self-storage | | | | or moving dollies are used by the customers to |
| is a business unto itself. | | | | access freight elevators that take them to the |
| Storage Rental | | | | floor their unit is on. Urban self storage facilities |
| Renting is an agreement where a payment is | | | | might contain only a few floors in a much larger |
| made for the temporary use of a good or | | | | buildings. |
| property owned by another person or company. | | | | Customers are generally allowed to store any |
| The owner of the property may be referred to | | | | non-hazardous, non-toxic, non-perishable material in |
| as the lessor and the party paying to use the | | | | the facility: personal items, furniture, motorcycles, |
| property as the lessee or renter. There is typically | | | | overstocked retail wares, etc. Industry surveys |
| an implied, explicit, or written rental agreement or | | | | indicate that 44% of clients are moving, 34% |
| contract involved to specify the terms of the | | | | don't have enough space currently, and 15% of |
| rental. | | | | clients are people with business needs. Customers |
| Self storage facilities were often located on | | | | are prohibited from sleeping, or otherwise living in |
| cheaper, less desirable land, such as under a | | | | the room. |
| freeway, near an airport, or on the outskirts of | | | | If the customer fails to pay the rent, a lien is |
| town. The facilities will have a catchy name of the | | | | placed on the customers goods and they are sold |
| U store it variety. More recently, in many | | | | at auction. The customer is still responsible for |
| metropolitan cities where competition among | | | | any rent and fees due if the auction does not |
| storage companies is fierce, better parcels of land | | | | clear their balance. |