StoragePug is a modern marketing company for self storage. We create intelligent marketing websites that allow you to rent units & take payments through your facility’s website.
Every storage facility owner and manager dreads the thought of a live-in tenant. It’s not a situation that is easy to handle, and it’s one that often has a sad story behind it.
However, despite the sympathetic feelings you may have toward these people and their situation, not adequately addressing a live-in tenant can have severe consequences.
It could risk the safety of you, your employees, the tenant and other renters at your facility, as well as the legal liability on the facility that comes with all that.
So why would anyone would choose to live in a storage unit? Most of the time, it is related to finances, as it is much cheaper to rent even the biggest storage unit a facility offers versus the most affordable apartment on the market.
Further, a storage unit is meant to store possessions, not people. It is not safe to live in a storage unit. As the owner and manager of a storage facility, your number one duty is to protect the safety and security of your renters’ possessions as well as your renters themselves.
The reasons why it is not safe for tenants to live in a storage unit are quite clear. Non-climate or temperature controlled storage units are susceptible to extreme temperatures that could be dangerous to people for long periods of time.
Even inside units that are climate controlled don’t offer running water or plumbing, enough lighting or electrical outlets to warm or cook food.
Storage units and facilities are meant to be places where people spend a few hours of time at most, visiting, loading and unloading. They aren’t intended to house anything but objects for more than this time.
In addition to the unsafe nature for renters who attempt to live in a storage unit, it’s also a hazardous situation for the other renters at your facility.
It could be an actual unsafe situation, where a live-in tenant threatens or does something to another renter, or it could be a situation where the law-abiding renter perceives there to be a threat from the live-in tenant’s presence. Either way, it’s bad situation for the people involved, and it's not a good look for your facility.
In most states, it is illegal for renters to live in a storage unit. That’s because storage facilities are commercially zoned and not residential usage.
The best way to remove your liability from such a situation is to set up the proper ground rules and communication at the time of the signing of the lease and then immediately take the appropriate action of notification and removal if someone breaks the terms of that lease.
First and foremost, it is vital that your rental lease agreement clearly states that no loitering is allowed on the storage facility property.
Having that term in writing on the actual lease covers a wide range of actions that you wouldn’t want happening on your property. This can include everything from living in a storage unit to cooking, operating a business out of a unit, performing vehicle maintenance, smoking, or doing any personal grooming.
It is essential that the no loitering policy is spelled out clearly in the lease that all renters must read and sign before being allowed to rent at your storage facility. Also, it’s important that you lay out the policy or steps you will take if loitering of any kind does occur, and what ramifications the tenant faces if he or she continues to break the terms of the lease.
Once that language is in your lease agreements, the next step is to remind people that loitering is prohibited. Let them know similarly to how surveillance cameras are placed around the facility – in plain view and easy to read.
If after you take proactive steps, and you still find that one of your tenants is living in his or her storage unit, then you must begin to take action.
Most likely, it's in your best interest to evict a tenant who has tried living in their unit.
You should follow the process that your lease clearly states. It is not in your best interest for you or any of the facility’s employees to forcibly remove the tenant, for both safety and liability reasons. If it has become a situation that involves police, and you should leave it up to them to help you solve the situation.
While no one likes to think the worst can happen, it’s crucial that you as a storage facility owner or manager prepares for the possible unfortunate case when one of your renters becomes a live-in tenant.
To read more about my favorite StoragePug features, take a look at:
