Third-party storage is, if anything, a godsend. Whether you’re a household finding the upper limits of your home’s creaking capacity, or a business in dire need of operational expansion, you’ll understand just how relieving it can be to have somewhere else to keep things – belongings, stock, tools or otherwise.
But if you’re considering using a storage unit for the first time, whether domestic self-storage in Coventry or commercial storage in Calverley, you might not be familiar with what you can and can’t store in one. There are rules, naturally, to what can be safely stored – as well as some common-sense approaches to storage that keep your stored items safe and sound. Here’s everything you need to know about storage units, and your rights and responsibilities with respect to using them.
Legal Requirements
Generally speaking, what you can and cannot store with a self-storage business is a matter of policy as opposed to law; businesses will dictate what they are and aren’t comfortable with you bringing in, and your failure to adhere to those policies could result in termination of contract or, at worst, civil fines and penalties.
That said, there are some legal bases upon which certain prohibited materials are based. For instance, the safe storage of hazardous and dangerous substances is a legal matter as opposed to a civil one, going to health and safety legislation over company policies.
Prohibited and Restricted Items
As such, it will not come as a surprise to you that self-storage businesses typically prohibit the storage of dangerous substances on site, whether flammable, toxic or otherwise hazardous. Wherever the leakage of, or exposure to, a given substance would risk environmental damage or damage to the facility, you can be assured that it would not be allowed on-site. This extends from flammable fuels to solvents, fertilisers and hazardous building materials like asbestos.
Similarly, most forms of biological material is prohibited for storage – living, dead, waste or otherwise. Amusing as it sounds that someone might try to store livestock in a self-store facility, it is not something that such facilities can ever condone. Besides which, there are semi-frequent attempts by bad actors to use storage facilities as personal habitation.
Food, Perishables, and Specialist Advice
Food is a slightly different, and slightly more complex, matter. Most perishable foods are understandably prohibited by self-storage facilities, given the risk they pose with respect to soiling, decay, animal infestation and the production of hazardous biological waste. That said, non-perishable items like canned and dry goods are typically allowed as forms of storage.
What You Can Safely Store
While the amount of materials you are not allowed to self-store may seem somewhat prohibitive, the list is by no means an exhaustive – and, in fact, you’ll find it possible to store the vast majority of items you’d expect to store. Common items typically allowed include household goods, furniture, business documents, small vehicles and clothing, alongside non-perishable food items. Unique and expensive items should be avoided, purely for the fact that in the event of theft or loss, they would not be covered by any insurance policy.
