Consumer test

Consumer test: Self storage

What should you do when you've got more 'stuff' than space? Sean Deacy reports

Driving into a city used to mean passing through an outer-ring of small factories and warehouses. Now these industrial hulks seem to have switched to a different type of use: storage. Giant box-shaped buildings rising up beside the arterial roads filled with the overspill of possessions belonging to people who have run out of space.

They offer a way of keeping things that you don't want to throw away but don't have room to store. In particular, it's aimed at bulkier stuff, such as furniture, sports equipment, or large quantities of boxes.

People moving house, or those who are going to work abroad and want somewhere to lodge their furniture, use storage as a temporary measure.

Or if you have furniture left by a relative and don't have anywhere to put it in the short-term, these big self-storage warehouses offer flexible accommodation. It's also a stop-gap if couples are splitting up and need somewhere to put their possessions.

No doubt social commentators would see the rise of the storage centre as being linked to a more mobile, less rooted way of living, with more fragmented, single-person households.

But in the end, it's an alternative for everyone with more stuff than space.

How much will it cost?

The biggest factor is how much space you need. There will be a rising tariff usually linked to how many square feet you want. You can rent in sizes, such as up to 25 sq feet, 50 sq feet, 100 sq feet, 150 sq feet or 200 sq feet.

The longer you're planning to use it, the cheaper it becomes. For instance, taking Henfield storage units as an example, 100 sq feet for up to three months costs £34 per week, but for the same space for more than a year, the price falls to £25.

And in terms of cost per square feet, the bigger the storage area rented, the cheaper it becomes.

Again with Henfield, 25 sq feet for a short-term rent costs £12 per week, while 50 sq feet is £18.

Even with national chains, there are local variations. And if you don't need regular access to your possessions, travelling further can lower the charges.

For instance, the Big Yellow Self Storage Company in Brighton charges £172 per month for 100 sq feet, in Oxford it's £192, while in Wandsworth, south-west London, it's £233.

Check for additional expenses, such as up-front deposits, charges for accessing your storage room, paying for your own padlock or for using lifting and carrying equipment.

Storage companies will also try to sell packaging boxes. For the contents of a three-bedroom house, it will cost about £50 in packing boxes.


If you're planning a long storage period, there can be savings made by paying in advance. Safestore has a 10% discount for pre-paying for a year or 5% for six months.

Individual branches often have their own offers to attract new business, such as a free first month, or reductions. And there can be differences in price for the same floor space, depending on whether it's in the ground or upper floor. The quotes for Shurgard in Kensington show that the cost of 50 sq feet can be between £150 and £215, with the ground floor most expensive.

Students are being seen as a potential market for storage - offering them somewhere to leave their possessions over the long summer holidays. There are student deals - Big Yellow Self-Storage gives a 5% reduction.

Shurgard has a 10% reduction for emergency services workers.

How much space?

This is tricky if you are faced with a collection of odd-shaped furniture and boxes. Access Storage chain has a handy estimator which says, as a starting point, that 10 sq feet is about the same as an old-fashioned telephone box. Which is to say, not much.

The basic 25 sq feet would be about a quarter of a single garage - enough for a washing machine, fridge and about 30 medium-size packing boxes.

The contents of a studio flat - a small sofa, bed, chest of drawers, fridge and washing machine, plus enough clothes and assorted possessions to fill 20 medium packing boxes would be about 50 sq feet.

A two-bedroom flat is estimated to need 75 to 100 sq feet, allowing for two beds, chairs, wardrobe and table and 30 medium-sized packing boxes. Moving upwards, if you needed to store the contents of a three-bedroom house, estimate at between 125 sq feet and 150 sq feet, which also includes space for some garden furniture. In terms of cost, this is going to mean £125 to £160 per month.

Storage firms say that a typical Transit-style load would fill 35 to 50 sq feet of storage space. A 20ft removals van would carry the equivalent of about 140 sq feet. These containers are not particularly high, maybe less than a standard room height, so don't count on being able to cunningly stack upwards from a small floor space.


There are concerns in both directions - customers want to be sure that it's safe to leave their possessions in these lock-ups; and the storage companies want to make sure that no one is leaving anything illegal or dangerous on their premises.

The premises should be dry and secure from theft or fire, with CCTV cameras and alarms. Access can be with locks or PIN numbers.

There will also be security checks. For example, Big Yellow Self Storage requires photo ID, such as a passport, proof of address and a digital photo to keep on file.

There are differences in what can be stored. Some firms won't keep valuables, such as gold and jewellery, and others which will only rule out items that threaten safety, such as flammable or explosive materials or firearms.

If there are suspicions of anything illegal being held, the police have right of access to any storage area.

The storage companies also try to sell insurance to customers. This can be about £10 per month for goods worth up to £3,000.

However, these policies, too, can exclude certain valuables, because these spaces are really intended to be lock-ups for storing household goods, rather than substitutes for bank safe-deposit boxes.

What you will pay

Big Yellow Croydon

25 sq feet per month £69

50 sq feet per month £107

100 sq feet per month £176

Big Yellow Norwich

25 sq feet per month £52

50 sq feet per month £93

100 sq feet per month £164

Shurgard Reading

25 sq feet per month £69

50 sq feet per month £104

100 sq feet per month £153

Shurgard Kensington

25 sq feet per month £72 - £129

50 sq feet per month £150 - £215

100 sq feet per month £199 - £325

Henfield Horsham

25 sq feet per month £48

50 sq feet per month £72

100 sq feet per month £136

Space Maker Leeds

25 sq feet per month £48

50 sq feet per month £77

100 sq feet per month £148

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