The work
What storage actually involves
Who holds it, in what, and how you get at it
Storage during a move takes two shapes. Self storage is a unit you rent and access yourself. Storage in transit is held by the mover, usually in wooden vaults in a warehouse, and you generally cannot walk in and get things.
The second is cheaper for a few months and less flexible. Which is right depends entirely on whether you will need anything out of it.
Climate control is worth paying for with anything wooden, upholstered, electronic or paper, particularly over a summer or a winter. Ordinary units follow the outside temperature and humidity closely.
Insurance
Your home policy may not cover goods in a storage unit
People assume contents insurance follows their possessions. Often it follows the address, with limited or no cover for goods stored elsewhere.
Storage facilities usually require you to have insurance and offer their own, which is frequently more expensive per pound of cover than adding it to an existing policy.
It takes one call to your insurer to find out which applies, and it is the difference between a covered loss and an uncovered one if the building floods.
Failure points
Two things that go wrong
Handling charges at both ends
“What are the handling charges in and out, on top of the monthly rate?”
Storage in transit is priced as monthly storage plus a handling charge in and out. The monthly figure is what gets quoted and the handling is what makes a short stay expensive. Ask for the total for the period you actually need.
Access that is not what you assumed
“What are the access hours, and how far is the unit from where I can park?”
Access hours, whether you can drive to the unit, whether trolleys and lifts are available, and how far the unit is from the door all decide what using the storage is like. A cheap unit at the far end of a building with no lift is a different product.
Before you book storage
How we rank →Six checks, in the order they save you the most. None of them takes longer than a phone call, and the first one is the reason two quotes for the same job can be a thousand apart.
Read first
Moving guides
All guides →The Moving Checklist That Starts Eight Weeks Out
Priya Nathan · September 2026
How to compare moving quotes
Priya Nathan · May 2026
Common questions about storage
Who handles storage?
Storage is handled by moving companies. Not every company in the trade takes this work on, so each ranking lists the services a company genuinely performs rather than everything it advertises.
What should I ask before booking storage?
Ask what the quote includes and excludes, who is doing the work, whether a permit is needed and who is pulling it, and what the workmanship warranty covers. Get the answers in writing before anyone starts.
How do I compare quotes for this?
Put them on one sheet line by line. Differences in price almost always turn out to be differences in scope, material grade or warranty length rather than margin.
Is storage priced separately from the rest of the job?
Usually it is a line inside a larger quote rather than its own invoice, which is exactly why the exclusions matter. Ask for it itemised so you can compare that line between companies instead of comparing two totals.
For moving
Do you offer storage?
Claim your profile so the services you actually perform are the ones recorded here, alongside your licence, hours and coverage. Neither claiming nor advertising buys a ranked position.