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How to rent out a storage unit: a move-in checklist

8 min readUpdated

Renting out a storage unit looks simple: someone wants a 10x10, you take their money and hand over a gate code. In practice the move-in is where most later trouble starts. A rate nobody wrote down, a missing phone number or a code that never reached the gate becomes a dispute, a tenant you cannot reach, or a renter stuck at the keypad at 8pm. This is the checklist to run every time, from the first call to a gate code that works, for an owner running one to five sites.

Every step works on paper or in any software. Where Storage Facility Creator handles a step, we say how and name the screen.

Quote the whole move-in cost on the first call

Most move-in arguments are about money the renter did not expect. Quote three numbers before they arrive: the monthly rate, what is due today, and the next billing date. In a 30-day month: "The 10x10 is $95 a month. Moving in on the 20th, you pay $34.83 for the 11 days left plus a $20 admin fee today, then $95 on the 1st." Use your own numbers.

Write your proration method down. If you bill everyone on the 1st, the usual method is the daily rate times the days left, counting move-in day. A renter arriving on the 28th then owes a full month a few days later, so many operators collect the next month too. Some states limit fees and deposits, so check your state's self-storage statute before you set amounts.

In SFC, monthly rent posts to every tenant's ledger on the 1st, prorated for a mid-month move-in, and a month a move-in already covered is never billed again. The default deposit is set when you create the facility and can be changed in facility settings.

Use a lease with the clauses that matter

The lease protects you when a tenant stops paying, stores something they should not, or says nobody mentioned the late fee. Use one written for self storage, not a generic rental form. Many statutes require particular terms or notices in the lease, so check your state's self-storage statute and have the lease reviewed by a local attorney or your state self-storage association.

In SFC you upload your own lease as a PDF and tap the page to place signature, initials, date and unit-number fields; sample agreements are included if you have none yet. At the counter, create an agreement from your lease on the tenant page and tap Sign in person, and the walk-in signs on your office tablet with no account. The signed PDF is filed on the tenant's record and the tenant is emailed a link to their copy.

Whatever lease you use, check it covers:

  • Rent, due date, grace period and late fee, within your state's limits.
  • Default: when you overlock, when access is denied, and your state's lien timeline.
  • What cannot be stored, and that no one may live in the unit.
  • Whether you require insurance, and that the facility does not insure the contents.
  • Access hours, rate-change notice, and the notice a tenant gives to move out.
  • The autopay authorization, and that the tenant fits their own lock.

Check ID and take every contact detail

Look at a photo ID for every renter, check that the name matches the lease and the card, and check it against your list of people you will not rent to again. Take more contact detail than feels necessary: mobile, email, mailing address and an alternate contact. A tenant who goes quiet months later can only be reached through what you wrote down on day one, and that includes any notice your statute requires.

In SFC each tenant's page holds contacts, ID and vehicles alongside the rate, gate code, autopay and contracts. The facility's Do Not Rent list is checked when you add a tenant, and texting consent is recorded then too, so ask at the counter and record the answer as given.

Get proof of insurance at the counter

A renter who assumes the facility insures their belongings is a complaint waiting to happen. Many operators require coverage, from a homeowner's or renter's policy that covers stored belongings or a storage-specific policy, and say so in the lease. Ask for proof at move-in: a declarations page or certificate with the tenant's name and the policy end date.

In SFC, open the tenant page, go to Insurance and choose Update to record the provider, the policy end date (Policy expires) and the proof document. Policies expiring within 30 days, or already expired, are flagged on the dashboard, so you can ask for the renewal before the gap.

Take the first payment and switch autopay on

Give an itemized receipt for the first payment, and never write a card number down. Then make autopay the default while the card is out: "Rent goes on this card on the 1st, and you can switch it off any time." Recurring charges need the tenant's written authorization, so keep a signed form with the lease.

SFC's move-in wizard takes the prorated rent, admin fee, deposit, an in-person signature and the gate code in one flow, and tracks the deposit until you apply it to a balance or refund it. Cash and checks get a printed or emailed receipt. With the facility's own Stripe account connected, staff can take a card in the app with no separate terminal, save it on file and switch autopay on from the tenant's page.

Walk the unit, fit the lock and test the gate code

Walk to the unit with the renter. Check that the door rolls and latches, look for damage or damp, and take a dated photo for the "it was like that when I got here" argument at move-out. The tenant fits their own lock and you keep no key; a disc lock sold at the counter saves them a trip.

Give each renter a gate code of their own, limited to your access hours, and test it with them at the keypad before they drive off. With a shared code you cannot tell who came in.

In SFC a gate code is generated per tenant at move-in, with the days, hours or dates you choose, and switched off at move-out. SFC does not connect to gate hardware, keypads or kiosks, so key the code into your gate controller before you test it. Locks and boxes go through the retail point of sale, and the tenant's contact log takes a note on the unit's condition.

The online version of the same move-in

Plenty of renters would rather rent at 10pm from a phone, but what you check at the counter with your own eyes does not happen by itself online.

In SFC, online rentals are an add-on at $25 per facility per month, and the facility website runs only on your facility's own domain name, such as yourfacility.com, so you need one first. Renters pick an open unit and are checked against your Do Not Rent list before any hold. They e-sign the app's standard rental terms and pay the prorated first month and any move-in fees by card through Stripe Checkout into your own Stripe account. The move-in starts the day they pay, and the tenant, signed agreement, ledger entry and gate code land in your dashboard. If a renter does not finish, the hold expires and nothing is charged; if one has paid but the move-in cannot be completed, they are refunded and you get an alert.

Then finish the checklist from your desk: key the gate code into your controller before the renter arrives, ask for insurance proof and ID, offer autopay on the card they paid with, and walk the unit on their first visit.

The move-in checklist to keep at the counter

Run it in order for every move-in: money and signatures before the code, and the code tested before the renter leaves.

  • Quote the rate, today's prorated amount, fees, deposit and the next charge date.
  • Check photo ID and your Do Not Rent list.
  • Take phone, email, mailing address, an alternate contact and texting consent.
  • Sign the lease, with the autopay authorization.
  • Record proof of insurance and its end date.
  • Take payment, give an itemized receipt, and save the card for autopay.
  • Walk the unit, note its condition, and fit the tenant's own lock.
  • Key the gate code into your controller and test it with the renter.

Questions operators ask

How much should a new storage tenant pay on move-in day?

Prorated rent for the rest of the month, any admin fee, and a deposit if you charge one; near month end, many operators also collect the next month. Check your state's statute for limits on fees and deposits. In SFC the move-in wizard takes the prorated rent, admin fee and deposit in one flow.

Should I require storage tenants to carry insurance?

Many operators do, with the requirement written into a lease reviewed against your state's statute and proof collected at move-in. In SFC the tenant page's Insurance section records the provider, the policy end date and the proof document, and the dashboard flags policies expiring within 30 days.

Can someone rent a storage unit online without visiting the office?

Yes, with SFC's online rentals add-on ($25 per facility per month, on your facility's own domain). The renter picks a unit, e-signs and pays by card, and the move-in lands in your dashboard with a gate code to key into your gate controller before they arrive.

Do online renters sign my own lease?

During an online move-in in SFC, renters e-sign the app's standard rental terms. To put them on your own lease, create an agreement from it on their tenant page and tap Send for signature; they sign from the emailed link, with no account.

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