Yes, as long as the owner has agreed. You can keep a friend's furniture, a parent's belongings or a customer's goods in your unit. When you sign our storage agreement, you promise that you either own everything in the unit or are entitled to deal with it for the owner under every part of the agreement. From then on, the agreement treats everything in the unit the same way, whoever it belongs to. You insure it, you answer for what's in it, and if the account falls behind, it's covered by our right to sell goods to clear the debt.
What you're promising
Clause 1(c) of our terms says you:
"warrant that You are the owner of the Goods in the Unit and/or entitled at law to deal with them in accordance with all aspects of this Agreement as agent for the owner."
In plain terms, if the things aren't yours, you're holding them with the owner's permission, and that permission has to stretch to everything the agreement can do with them. That includes insuring them, letting people in, and in the last resort a sale if the account isn't paid. So before you say yes to storing someone's things, make sure they know what they're agreeing to.
The terms define "Goods" simply as goods you store in your unit. There's no separate category for things you're minding for someone else. We don't know what's in anyone's unit or whose it is (clause 2), so the agreement works on the basis that you do (clause 1(b)).
The promise also rules some things out. If you're separating, shared furniture and jointly bought items aren't yours alone to move into storage. Our guide to self-storage during a divorce or separation explains why we recommend a unit each, and why a solicitor is the right person to ask about anything jointly owned.
What it means in practice
| Our terms say | What it means for the owner's things |
|---|---|
| Goods must be insured by you for their replacement value, and the total value in the unit mustn't exceed the insured value (clause 31) | Add their things to your declared value, and check your policy covers goods you hold for others |
| Only you or people you authorise may access the unit (clause 14) | The owner can only get in if you give them access |
| No one other than you and us has rights under the agreement (clause 46(g)) | The owner deals with you: the agreement gives them no rights against us |
| You must not store, or allow anyone else to store, prohibited goods (clause 18) | Check what's in their boxes before they go in |
| Goods are stored at your sole risk, and our liability for loss or damage is capped at £100 in total (clause 30) | Insurance is what protects their things |
| You can't transfer your rights or part with possession of the unit or goods while they're with us (clause 46(i)) | You can store their things, but you can't hand the unit over to them |
If what you have in mind is letting someone else use your unit as their own, that's a different question: see whether you can sublet a storage unit. To give the owner their own way in, see how to share access.
Insuring someone else's things
Everything in the unit must be insured while it's with us, through our Contents Protection or your own policy. Our Contents Protection quote is based on the full replacement value of what you store, so include the owner's things when you work out your replacement value. If you use your own policy instead, it should cover goods in a self-storage facility and name us and the full postal address of the site.
Three things to check before you rely on any cover. First, ask whether it extends to goods that belong to someone else. Second, ask who a claim for the owner's things would be paid to. Third, if the owner's own insurance is meant to cover their things, ask us when you book whether we'll accept proof of their policy, because clause 31 puts the duty to insure on you. We don't give insurance advice, so the policy wording or the insurer is the place to confirm what's covered and who is paid.
If the account falls behind
This is the part to explain to the owner before their things go in. Clause 6 gives us:
"a general and particular right of lien, which is a right to seize and sell or otherwise dispose of some or all of the Goods as security for Your obligation to make payments under this Agreement."
It also says we "will sell the Goods as if We were the owner". The clause makes no exception for goods that belong to someone else. Before any sale, our notices go to you, at the postal address and email you've given us (clause 8). The terms make no provision for notice to the owner, and we don't know whose things are in a unit.
You can narrow that gap. Ask us to add the owner as the alternate contact on your account. Our terms let us discuss a missed payment with that contact (clause 28), and if we can't reach you, a notice served on them counts as given (clause 39). Naming them doesn't stop a sale or give them any say over one: it means they may hear about a problem in time to help put it right. Our privacy policy says we may deal with an alternate contact about your account as if they were you, so choose someone you'd trust with that. What happens if you miss a payment sets out the full process.
Common situations
A parent storing a student's things. The unit is usually in the parent's name. Once your child is 18, they can hold the agreement themselves, as our guide for parents booking student storage explains.
A parent's belongings after a move into care. We need a named account holder who is responsible for the unit, and the family member doing the practical work is the natural choice. If you act under a lasting power of attorney, whether the storage is paid from your parent's money or your own, and how you account for it, is a matter for you and your solicitor. Our guide to storing a parent's belongings when they move into care covers this.
A friend or relative abroad or between homes. Agree how long, who pays, and what happens if plans change. Name them as your alternate contact so we can talk to them about the account if we can't reach you. If they'll be living outside the UK, ask us when you book whether an overseas address and phone number can be used for the alternate contact.
A business holding customers' goods. Your promise under clause 1(c) covers every item, so make sure your customers know, and agree, that their goods are held in storage under terms that include our right to sell goods if the account isn't paid (clause 6). Our notices go to you, not to them. Keep a record of whose goods are in the unit, make sure your declared value keeps up as stock comes and goes, and ask your insurer whether you need cover for goods you hold for customers.
Before you say yes
- Get the owner's agreement, including that the storage terms apply to their things.
- List what's going in, and check it against the prohibited goods list.
- Add their things to your declared replacement value and confirm your cover includes them.
- Ask us to add the owner as your alternate contact.
- Decide how they'll get their things back if you're not around.
If you'd rather the agreement were in both names, or in the owner's own name, ask us when you book: see whether someone else can sign the storage agreement.
When you're ready, get a price online or call us on 0800 2545585, and tell us if you're storing things for someone else.
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