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Renting A Storage Unit With Someone Else: What To Consider First

Depending on your situation, you may not necessarily need access to an entire storage unit. Instead, you may only need to use a small area of the space, so you might consider the idea of sharing the unit with someone else. Although there is typically not anything wrong with this arrangement, there are some factors you want to work out beforehand.

Rental Contract

The first thing you need to do is to speak with the storage company about the rental contract. Some storage companies allow for multi-party rentals and then some facilities do not. You want to find this information beforehand to ensure you will not be in violation. If the facility does allow for this arrangement, they will likely allow each person's name to be on the agreement to ensure they have equal access and responsibility. 

Payment Agreement

If the storage facility does allow you to share a unit but will only allow one person on the rental contract, you need to sit down with the other party and determine how you two will arrange your payment agreement. If you are going to share the unit, you two must determine how you will share costs. For instance, will you split the cost each month, or will you pay in alternating months? It is best to work out these details beforehand to make things easier. 

Limiting Access

Since both of you will have belongings in the unit, you cannot necessarily limit the other person's access. However, you can come up with an agreement that only the two of you will have access to the unit; the two of you will not give the access code or keys to another person. Again, when you go over these terms beforehand, there is less chance of someone having access to the unit that you do not want to.

Additional Safeguards

You might also consider the idea of additional safeguards. For example, if you plan to store any high-value items inside the storage unit, you may want to consider the idea of investing in a trunk or tote that you can put a lock on. With this option, you can keep your items safe and secure even inside the unit. You might also consider investing in a slightly larger unit so that each of you can separate your belongings.

Should you decide to share a storage unit with someone else, make sure you consider each of these factors before you move forward with your plan. 

Reach out to a storage unit facility in your area for more information.