Alright so you got a storage unit. Maybe you are cleaning out your mom’s house. Maybe you are between apartments. Maybe you just have too much crap and your wife finally put her foot down.
Whatever the reason, you are renting a little metal box somewhere. And now you are thinking about leaving.
But then somebody mentions something called a “move-out notice” and you are like… wait what? I just leave right? I grab my stuff and I go?
Nope. Not how it works.
And I am telling you this because I have seen so many people get burned by this. Like genuinely pissed off. Like calling me up screaming on the phone because they got charged for a unit they swear they already moved out of.
I am going to explain this to you straight. No legal jargon. No bullshit.
Why You Cannot Just Ghost On Your Storage Unit
Look, I get it. When you are done with something, you just want to be done. You want to grab your boxes, load up the truck, and never think about that storage place again.
But here is the thing. That storage unit? It is not like a hotel room where you just check out and that is it. It is more like an apartment. Or a gym membership. Or a cell phone plan.
You signed a piece of paper when you moved in. And on that piece of paper, it says you have to tell them when you are leaving.
I know you probably did not read it. Nobody does. I do not read those things either. But I promise you, that rule is in there.
And here is why they have that rule. It is not because they are trying to screw you over. It is because they run their business on a schedule. They need to know who is coming and who is going. They need to plan ahead.
If everybody just left whenever they felt like it, they would never know if a unit was empty. They would have people moving out mid-month, units sitting half-empty, and they would be losing money left and right.
So they put that rule in there to protect themselves. And yeah, sometimes it sucks for you. But I am going to tell you how to get around it so you do not get screwed.
The 30 Day Thing Explained
Most storage places want a 30 day notice. That means if you are planning to move out, you need to tell them at least 30 days before your next bill is due.
Here is where people get confused.
Let us say your rent is due on the 1st of every month. You decide on June 15th that you want to move out. You come in, you clean out your unit, you are done by June 16th.
But guess what? You just paid for June on June 1st. And now you are leaving halfway through the month. Most places are going to say “well you already paid for June so you can stay until the end of the month.”
But wait. What about July?
If you gave your notice on June 15th, that is only 15 days before July 1st. That is not 30 days. So most facilities are going to say “okay you are responsible for July too.”
I know. It feels like a scam. I am not going to lie to you. It feels like you are paying for a month you are not using.
But think about it this way. They already planned their budget based on you being there in July. They already counted your money. If you leave with no notice, they are stuck with an empty unit they could have rented to somebody else. And they have to eat that loss.
So they make you pay for that extra month to cover their butt.
Some places will pro-rate it. Some will not. It depends on the facility. And it depends on the manager. I will tell you right now, at our place, we try to work with people. If you come to us and say “hey I need to move out on the 15th and I already paid for the month” we might cut you a break. But we are not required to. And if you are a jerk about it? Yeah we are probably going to follow the rules to the letter.
How To Actually Do It
Okay so you want to move out. Here is what you need to do.
- First, check your contract. I know you do not want to. But look for the part about “vacating” or “termination.” It will tell you exactly how much notice they need. Usually it is 30 days. Sometimes it is 15. Sometimes it is whatever the facility decides. Just know what you are dealing with.
- Second, you need to put it in writing. I cannot stress this enough. Do not just walk in and tell the person at the front desk you are leaving. Do not just call and leave a voicemail. I am not saying they are dishonest. I am saying they are human. They forget. They get busy. They might not write it down. You need a paper trail. Or an email trail. Something you can point to later and say “look, I told you.”
Send an email. Put your unit number in the subject line. Say “this is my formal notice that I am vacating unit XYZ on this date.” And wait for them to reply and confirm.
If they do not reply, call them and say “hey did you get my email?” Do not assume they saw it. That confirmation is your safety net. If they charge you next month, you can pull up that email and prove you gave notice. - Third, make sure the unit is clean. I am not kidding about this. I have seen units that look like a tornado hit them. Old furniture. Trash. Weird stains. People think “oh they will just throw that away.”
No. We will not. We will charge you for it. And we are allowed to do that because it is in the contract you signed. So bring a broom. Sweep it out. Take your trash with you. Leave it the way you found it. It takes ten minutes and it saves you a cleanup fee. - Fourth, return the lock if it belongs to the facility. If it is your lock, take it home with you. Do not leave it on the door. We do not know if you are coming back or if you are gone. It just confuses everybody.
The One Thing You Should Never Ever Do
Do not just stop paying.
I know it sounds tempting. You are moving out. You are busy. You are stressed. You just want to be done with it. So you figure “I will just not pay and they will figure it out.”
That is a disaster. I am not exaggerating.
When you stop paying, the facility has to start a process called a lien. That is a legal thing where they can sell your stuff to get the money you owe them. And yes, they can do that. It is in the contract you signed.
So you lose your stuff. You get a ding on your credit. And you still owe the money anyway. It is the worst possible outcome.
Just send the notice. It takes five minutes. It saves you a month of rent. It keeps your credit clean. It is such an easy thing to do.
Real Talk About Our Place
Look, we run a storage facility. We are not some giant corporation. We are just people trying to make a living. We know moving sucks. We know life happens. We get it.
At our place, we try to be flexible. If you come to us and say “hey I need to move out on the 15th but I already paid for the month” we will usually work something out. We might pro-rate it. We might give you a credit. We want you to leave happy.
But we can only do that if you talk to us. If you just disappear, we have no choice but to follow the rules. And that means charging you until you officially tell us to stop.
So just talk to us. Send us an email. Come in and see us. We are human. We will figure it out.
Final Thoughts
Moving out of a storage unit should not be stressful. But that move-out notice thing? It trips people up all the time. And I hate seeing people get pissed off over something that could have been avoided with one email.
So here is my advice.
When you decide you are leaving, check your contract. Give your notice in writing. Make sure you get a confirmation. Clean the unit out. And do not just stop paying.
That is it. That is all you have to do.
If you do those things, you will walk away clean. No extra charges. No credit dings. No awkward phone calls.
And if you are renting from us, just come talk to me. I will walk you through it. We will get you sorted out. It does not have to be complicated.
Now go pack your boxes. And do not forget to send that email.
0 Comments