A licence to occupy is permission to use a space on the owner's terms without becoming a tenant. The owner keeps control of the property, and the person with the licence has the right to use the space for the agreed purpose and nothing more.
At Wigwam
Every Wigwam storage agreement is a licence. Our terms say so plainly: "This licence shall not create a tenancy or lease or the relationship of landlord and tenant between you and us."
The conditions then spell out what that means in practice:
- you're licensed "only to store Goods in the Unit allocated to You by Us from time to time and only in that Unit" (clause 1(a));
- we "retain control, possession and management of the Facility and the Unit" (clause 2(d));
- the agreement "does not confer on You any right to exclusive possession of the Unit" (clause 25);
- we don't take possession of your goods, and we're not "a bailee, custodian or warehouseman" of them (clause 2(b)).
Why it matters to you
Because we keep control of the unit, we can move you to another unit "not smaller than the current Unit", normally on 14 days' notice, during which you can choose to end the agreement instead. If we ask you to move, we pay your reasonable removal costs when we've approved them in writing first (clause 25). We can also enter the unit in the cases clause 17 lists, such as repairs on at least 7 days' notice, or an emergency.
If you store stock or equipment for a business, the position is the same: clause 2(c) says we "do not grant any lease or tenancy of the Unit", so it gives you none of the rights a business tenancy of premises can carry, and the relocation and notice clauses apply to you exactly as they do to a household customer.
Because we don't take possession of your goods, they're stored at your risk. That's why insuring them is a condition of the agreement (clauses 30 and 31), through our contents protection or your own policy.
Related terms: Storage agreement · Sublet · Contents protection · Lien
Related questions: Can I sublet my storage unit or transfer it to someone else? · Do I need insurance for my unit?