Where would you go if you found yourself suddenly without a home, probably due to financial difficulties or natural disaster?
Well, for some that could mean staying with family or friends, but for others, it could mean living in a storage unit where they can stack their belongings.
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Can You Sleep In A Storage Unit? Or Live there
Unfortunately, you cannot sleep or live in a storage unit. It might seem to be a viable option, especially with the cost of rent being extremely high in some areas, but storage units are not designed to allow individuals to sleep inside of them. Suffice to say they are not sustainable or safe.
Storage units do not have a bathroom or other necessary amenities to maintain a safe and healthy lifestyle. Not to mention that they are likely to have different structures from regular houses we are used to living in.
Why You Can’t Sleep or Live in a Storage Unit
You will be Caught
First, sleeping in a storage facility is unlawful since it defeats its function. Sleeping in a storage unit may work for a while, but you’ll be caught and tossed out with your rent.
We think you’ll be caught since most storage facility leases prohibit loitering or dwelling in the unit. With security cameras, gate codes, and management monitoring, you may sneak away unobserved. If detected, you and your belongings will be evicted and face criminal prosecution, especially if children are sleeping in the storage unit.
It’s Quite Uncommon
Even if you disregard that you will be caught, sleeping and living in a storage unit is not comfortable or sustainable. You may have something to sleep on, but that wouldn’t change the fact that not all storage units are climate-controlled.
Some units are extremely hot in the summer and tend to freeze during the winter. Climate-control units may be slightly accommodative, but you will be left in a dark place with no windows.
Another thing is that storage units do not have running water, which is essential to maintain sanitary living conditions. All this combined with limited access to electricity and light can make for poor living conditions.
It’s Dangerous
Many storage units are designed with doors that roll upwards and these types of doors can hardly be opened from inside. As a result, a person sleeping or living inside of a unit would have to leave it partly closed so they could get out.
While this may not seem like a big deal, those who work at storage facilities often think differently. Remember it is their job to keep people’s belongings safe. So if they see a door slightly opened, they will most likely close and put a new lock on it, assuming someone forgot.
Therefore, if someone is inside that unit, they can no longer be able to get out, and this can naturally bring about a variety of different problems.
Still, speaking of danger, rigging a storage unit for electricity or heat could lead to a fire, and when this happens, even a climate-control storage unit will not maintain temperature for human levels of comfort.
Adequate ventilation is non-existent in storage units. In a standard storage unit, there are only four walls and a door, which will most likely become hard to breathe.
What It’s Really Like Sleeping or Living in a Storage Unit
Despite being illegal and unsafe, people live in storage units for a variety of reasons. It is rare but not unknown. You will be evicted immediately if found residing in a storage unit. You and your things will be evicted.
Given that storage facilities are unfit for human habitation, you could face criminal penalties, especially if you have children. However, living in a storage container is unlawful, so you must spend most of your day outside or silently within.
Either way, you’ll be short on options for bathing and using the bathroom. Personal hygiene suffers, and health concerns can result without access to fresh running water.
What Storage Units Are For?
A storage unit, also known as self-storage, is an industry that allows valued customers to rent enough room or space for their belongings. Renting a storage unit is for a short-term basis only.
Storage units are usually a great help for those people who are relocating and would like to have some space for their extensive items. When your belongings are ready to be moved to another location, that’s when they need a storage unit.
Afterward, they can be transferred to your new relocated house. Moreover, storage units have different sizes, based on the space you need.
Where Should You Go?
In case you know someone who doesn’t know where to turn, we advise anyone facing hard times to approach the storage facility staff. They’re likely to be well-versed in this situation and may have local resources for food banks and shelters.
They can even serve as a liaison and help you get back on your feet. The management can also provide a storage unit for your current belongings to keep them for you. However, under no circumstances should the facility management allow you to sleep on the premises. It is illegal.