After a death, or when a parent downsizes, store the things nobody has decided about yet: furniture, household things and anything that may sell (ask us first about jewellery and watches), so the family can choose later without the house sale, or a rented or council home's return date, rushing you. Keep the original will and papers you may need during probate with you, not in a unit: you'll need the original will to apply for probate. Some things can't go in a unit at all. Our terms bar "currency, deeds and securities" (clause 18(i)) and "items which are unique in nature and/or where the value to You cannot be assessed on a financial basis" (clause 18(j)), which we read as covering things like the only print of a photograph or a mother's wedding ring. Those shouldn't go in a unit, so keep them with a family member. There's no need to decide everything at once.
What goes where
| Item | Where it goes | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The original will | With the executor | GOV.UK: to apply for probate, "You'll also need the original will, if there is one" |
| Bank, pension, tax and insurance papers | With the executor | Needed to value the estate, and some must be kept (see the next section) |
| Deeds, share certificates, cash | Not in a unit | Clause 18(i) |
| One-of-a-kind keepsakes: the only copy of a photo, letters, a much-loved ring | With a family member | Clause 18(j), explained below |
| Jewellery, watches, silver of real value | Ask us first | Not named in our terms; see storing valuables |
| Furniture, china, books, clothes, everyday household things | In the unit, if undecided | Safe while the family decides |
| Paint, fuel, gas bottles, aerosols, power banks | Not in a unit | Clauses 18(c) and 20(b); see the prohibited goods list |
For jewellery, our guide to what you can and can't store suggests that "Fine jewellery and items of serious monetary or sentimental value are better housed in a bank safety deposit box."
Papers the estate needs: keep them with you
Before anything leaves, go through drawers, handbags and pockets for papers, keys and cash: letters from banks and pension providers, insurance policies and bills. GOV.UK suggests finding the organisations to contact "by searching through the person's papers", and names the bank and pension provider among them, and "their landlord, if they had one – the person may have paid rent in advance".
GOV.UK also says that after you value an estate, "You must keep copies of any" will, signed Inheritance Tax forms and supporting documents, records of how you worked out values, and final accounts, because "HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can ask to see your records up to 20 years after Inheritance Tax is paid." For the will and other papers you may need during probate, our executor guide says: "A fireproof box at home or a solicitor's safe is better for those."
Keepsakes and one-of-a-kind things
Clause 18(j) bars an item that is unique, or whose value to you can't be put in money, or both. We read a dining table or an everyday set of china as having a price. Your mother's letters or the only photograph of your grandparents are different: nothing on sale would replace them. We read clause 18(j) as covering items like those (storing valuables explains our reading). Some of our guides speak warmly about keepsakes in a unit, but the terms apply. Keep the irreplaceable things with the family member who will look after them, and scan photos and letters so every sibling has a copy (storing photographs).
Whatever goes in the unit is stored "at Your sole risk and responsibility" (clause 30), so pack it dry, wrap fragile things piece by piece and label every box (crates or cardboard?, how to label boxes).
Furniture and the undecided pile
Our executor guide suggests four piles: "keep, give to a specific person, sell later, and let go". Our executor guide says "The unit is where most of the first and third categories go", and "If a beneficiary wants a particular item moved into the unit for safekeeping, you can do that within your role." Photograph and list everything before it moves: after a death, GOV.UK counts "household and personal items" in the estate's value. If a removals or clearance firm moves things in, our notice guide says "a removals crew cannot be left to load into the unit without you" (do I have to be there?).
Our room-by-room size guide says around 25 sq ft "covers the contents of a single spare room", around 50 sq ft "is the right starting point for a one-bed flat or a studio clearance", and around 75 or 100 sq ft "covers a two or three-bed family move"; it adds that "many families overestimate and book the 100 square foot unit". On our September 2026 price lists, the median (middle value) of the listed prices is about £78 every four weeks for 25 sq ft, £143 for 50 sq ft, £176 for 75 sq ft and £230 for 100 sq ft, before any introductory offer (the lists show weekly prices too); prices differ by site. Nothing is added at checkout: the total in your quote is what you pay, and our prices include VAT. Our minimum term FAQ says "2 weeks is our minimum term". When the house is clear, give written notice (clause 41); our move-out FAQ says the notice period is "Normally 14 days". Budget for cover too: the goods must be insured for their "Replacement Value" (clause 31). For things nobody wants, see should I store, sell or give it away? and storage before a house clearance.
If you're the executor or administrator
GOV.UK says a personal representative is "legally responsible for the money, property and possessions of the person who died" until everything has been passed on, and that debts and taxes are paid before the estate is distributed. Moving things into storage can start before the grant: our executor guide calls it "an act of preservation", but check with the solicitor for your estate. If there's more than one of you, GOV.UK says you should agree "what assets you need to sell and when". So before giving anything away, even a keepsake a sister asks for, agree it with your co-executors, check with the estate's solicitor if there is one, and note it on your list.
Our guide for solicitors puts it simply: "the executor is the contracting party", so the unit goes in your name. Who pays for storage while an estate is sorted out covers the bill.
If you're family but not the executor
Until the estate is settled, your parent's things are the estate's, so agree with the executor, or if there isn't one, with the others who will inherit, before taking anything home. If no one needs probate, the page on who pays, linked above, covers agreeing it with the people who will inherit. The executor can authorise you to get into the unit: our terms say "Only You or Your Agents may access the Unit" (clause 14). See sharing access to a unit.
If your parent is alive and downsizing
Their things are still theirs, so get their agreement on what goes into storage and what goes. If the unit is in your name, their say-so matters under clause 1(c) (see the next section). Size the unit to what won't fit the new home, not to the old one. Their will, deeds and important papers stay with them or their solicitor: our guide to what you can and can't store suggests that "Title deeds and wills belong with your solicitor". If your parent has dementia, see how storage can help when a parent with dementia moves.
If there's already a unit
If your parent rented a unit with us, unless otherwise agreed in writing it carries on until someone gives written notice (clause 41): see what happens when the renter dies and what happens to things left behind. If an estate's things are going into your own unit, you promise us you own them or are "entitled at law to deal with them" as agent for the owner (clause 1(c)), so get the executor's agreement, and raise your cover so the total value stored doesn't exceed it (clause 31; how much cover do I need?).
When you're ready
If the last few weeks have been hard, Cruse Bereavement Support's free helpline is on 0808 808 1677. When you're ready, get a price online, find a site near the house on our locations page, or call us on 0800 2545585 and tell us roughly what's staying. We'll help you pick a size.
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