No, not by yourself. Our terms say you "may not assign or transfer any of Your rights under this Agreement or part with possession of the Unit or Goods whilst they are in the Facility", so you can't sublet your unit, rent out space in it, or pass your agreement to someone else. What you can do is ask us to move the unit into the other person's name. In most cases the goods can stay where they are, and they become the account holder and take on the unit from then on. Their price, deposit and agreement are confirmed with us at the time. If you want to keep the unit and simply let someone else use it, add them as an authorised user instead, with their own access, while the unit stays yours.
What our terms say
These are the clauses that decide it, from our storage licence agreement:
| Clause | What it says | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 46(i) | "You may not assign or transfer any of Your rights under this Agreement or part with possession of the Unit or Goods whilst they are in the Facility" | No subletting, no renting out space, no handing the agreement to someone else yourself |
| 1(a) | You are granted a licence "only to store Goods in the Unit allocated to You by Us" | The right to use the unit is yours, as the customer named on the agreement |
| 14 | "Only You or Your Agents may access the Unit." You're responsible for your agents' actions | Other people can use the unit only through you, and you answer for them |
| 16 | You should not let anyone into the unit other than "Your own Agent who is responsible to You and subject to Your control. If You do so, it is at Your own risk." | Someone who treats the unit as their own, rather than acting for you, is outside that line |
| 22 | The unit is for storage only, and you mustn't use it, "or allow any other person to", as an office, a home, or a business or mailing address | Letting someone else in doesn't widen what the unit can be used for |
| 46(k) | Where there are joint customers, "each individual customer takes on the obligations under this Agreement separately" | Each named customer takes on the agreement's obligations in their own right, and we can hold any one of you to them |
Why you can't sublet a storage unit
A Wigwam unit isn't let to you on a lease. Our terms grant you a licence to store your goods, and say plainly that the licence "shall not create a tenancy or lease or the relationship of landlord and tenant". It doesn't give you exclusive possession of the unit either (clause 25). Subletting means granting part of what you hold to someone else, and a licence to store your goods isn't something you can carve up and pass on.
There's a practical reason too. Everything the agreement asks of you is tied to one named person: the rent, the notice, the contents cover, and the promise that the total value in the unit won't exceed your insured value (clause 31). If a stranger to the agreement were storing their own things there, nobody would be clearly answerable for what's in the unit or whether it's covered.
Handing the unit on to someone else
If you're moving away, or you no longer need the unit and a relative or friend wants it, talk to us before you do anything. Ask us to move the unit into their name. In most cases the goods can stay where they are, so nobody has to empty the unit and move everything into a fresh one. What they'll pay, their deposit and the agreement they sign are confirmed with us at the time.
From the changeover, they become the account holder, which means:
- the rent is theirs;
- they'll need their own contents cover in place, either through our contents protection or their own policy, because our terms make insurance a condition for the account holder (clause 31);
- smart entry access is set up for them;
- your deposit and any balance are squared up as part of the changeover.
Call us on 0800 2545585 or email hello@wigwamstorage.co.uk, tell us who is taking over, and we'll set out what we need from each of you. Ask at the same time what their price, deposit and agreement will be, so neither of you gets a surprise.
If they'd rather start somewhere else, or want a different size, the simpler route is for them to book their own unit and for you to give notice on yours in the usual way. Our guide to how to give notice to leave your storage unit covers that.
Keeping it, and letting someone else use it
If the unit is staying yours and you just want someone else to be able to get in (your partner, your son while you're working abroad, a member of staff), you don't need to transfer anything. Add them as an authorised user and they get access of their own. You stay the account holder and remain responsible for what they do there. Our page on sharing access to your storage unit explains how to set that up.
If two of you want to be named on the agreement, rather than one holder and one authorised user, our terms do provide for joint customers. Each of you "takes on the obligations under this Agreement separately", and we "may enforce our rights against any one of the joint customers": in plain words, each of you answers to us for the agreement in your own right, and we can look to either of you. Ask us when you book whether we can set it up that way.
Common situations
A friend wants to pay you for spare space. We can't allow that. Letting someone use part of your unit in return for payment is subletting, which clause 46(i) rules out. If a family member simply wants to help with the bill on a unit that stays yours, ask us first. If they want space, they have three options: book their own unit, even a small one; become an authorised user of yours, with no payment to you for space, while the unit and everything in it stays your responsibility; or take the unit over, by asking us to move it into their name.
Storing a family member's things. Helping out is fine, provided the arrangement stays yours: our terms need you to own the goods or be entitled to deal with them for their owner (clause 1(c)), and their things count towards your insured value. If they want their own space and their own say over it, a second unit in their name is the cleaner answer.
Handing on to a grandchild, or a student turning 18. A parent can hold a student's unit with the student as an authorised user, and at 18 a student can hold it in their own name. When the time comes to hand it over, ask us to move it into their name as above.
A business changing hands or sharing a unit. If you sell your business or a partner takes over, the buyer can't simply step into your agreement: ask us to move the unit into their name. If the buyer is a limited company, ask us what paperwork a company needs (our page on what documents you need to rent a storage unit covers the basics).
Watch the gap between completion and the changeover. Our terms need the account holder to own the goods in the unit or be "entitled at law to deal with them … as agent for the owner" (clause 1(c)), and to keep them insured for their replacement value (clause 31). Once the sale completes, the stock may belong to the buyer while the unit is still in your name, so arrange the name change to happen at completion. Until then, the buyer's staff don't answer to you, and our terms expect the people you let into your unit to be your own agents, "responsible to You and subject to Your control" (clause 16), so ask us how access works in the meantime. Get the changeover confirmed in writing before you sign.
If two businesses want storage, the answer is usually two accounts, or one clearly responsible account holder. More in our guide on running a business from a self storage unit.
The account holder has died. That's a different process, handled with the executor. See what happens to a storage unit when the renter dies.
Next step
To move a unit into someone else's name, call us on 0800 2545585 and we'll talk you both through it. If the other person would rather have a unit of their own, they can get a price online.
Related questions