short term storage perth
Nobody plans for this part. Settlement slips by ten days, the builder finds a leak in the roof, or the landlord wants the keys back on the 14th and your new place isn’t free until the 28th. Suddenly you have a houseful of belongings and no house. Short term storage Perth side is the usual answer, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. The rest is dates, a place to sleep and an order of operations that stops you living out of a laundry basket.
Get the real dates in writing
1. Pin down every date
Write down the lease end, the settlement date, the handover day and the day you collect keys. Then check each one with the person who controls it: the agent, the landlord, your conveyancer or the builder. Verbal dates have a habit of shifting.
2. Ask about early access or a late exit
Before you pay for anything, ask whether you can stay a few extra days or get into the new place early. Some landlords agree, some sellers do, and plenty say no. It costs one phone call.
Early possession and holding over
Moving into a property before settlement, or staying on after your lease ends, has legal and insurance risks. Ask your conveyancer or the agent what applies to you, and get any agreement in writing. Don’t rely on a text message.
3. Plan for the gap to run long
Gaps stretch. A week becomes three, and three becomes six. Budget for the longer version, because it’s far cheaper to cancel a booking early than to scramble for a new one at the last minute.
Sort your belongings into three groups
1. What you need during the gap
A suitcase or two per person, work gear, chargers, medication, school things, a few kitchen basics. Think of it as packing for a long holiday where you also have to go to work.
2. What you need on day one
Bedding, towels, a kettle, a few plates, cleaning gear, basic tools and the box with the shower curtain in it. Pack it separately, mark it clearly and plan to load it last.
3. What goes into storage
Everything else. Furniture, off-season clothes, books, décor, spare appliances and anything you won’t touch for weeks.
What to sell or bin now
Each item you store costs rent, and each one you move costs effort twice. Use the gap as a deadline. Sell the flat-pack shelf, donate the spare chairs, and tip anything you’ve been meaning to throw out for years.
Work out where you’ll live
1. Family and friends
Cheapest by far, and it gets tense after the second week. Agree on a rough end date before you arrive, offer to cover groceries, and keep your stuff contained to one room.
2. Short-stay rentals
More expensive, with more privacy. Check what’s included, how long the minimum stay is, and whether there’s parking for a loaded car. Furnished rentals suit a gap of a few weeks, since you don’t need your own furniture.
3. Pets, kids and work
These change the plan more than the furniture does. A lot of holiday rentals say no to pets, and kennel bookings in school holidays fill up quickly.
School runs and working from home
A stay across town can add an hour to every school run. And if you work from home, you need a quiet corner and decent internet, not just a bed. Sort these before you sign anything.
Choose the storage
1. Match the space to the load
Measure your biggest pieces, then ask the facility for the internal size, the door width and the ceiling height. A short term storage unit has to fit the sofa through the door, not just on the floor plan. Labels like “small” and “medium” mean different things at different sites.
For a few boxes and some bags, a smaller locker may be cheaper. For a full house, you’ll want a proper unit. Short term storage Perth facilities offer is usually month-to-month, so you can change as your timeline firms up.
2. Read the billing terms
This is where the price lives. Ask about the minimum term, the notice period, the admin fee, the cost of a lock and any deposit. A short term storage unit with a low rate and a four-week notice period isn’t short term at all.
Pro-rata billing and notice
Ask whether the last month is billed in full or pro-rata. If your gap ends after three weeks, paying for the full month is a real cost. Get the total over your exact dates in writing, and compare like with like across two or three sites.
3. Pick the site on your route
Choose a site close to the new home if you can. You’ll be making the delivery run when you’re tired, and you’ll want the boxes nearby afterwards. Check the access hours, too. A site that only opens on weekdays is awkward if your move happens on a Saturday.
Pack and load for a quick exit
1. Build the day-one box
A kettle, mugs, tea or coffee, a few plates, cutlery, toilet paper, bin bags, a box cutter, phone chargers, bedding and a small tool kit. Mark every side of the box. It comes out of the truck first, so it goes in last.
2. Load back to front
Heavy, rarely used items go to the back, lighter and more useful things near the door. Leave a narrow aisle down the middle so you can reach things without unloading everything. Put pallets or planks under furniture, keep a few centimetres from the walls and put nothing heavy on a timber or glass top.
Label every box by room, and photograph the loaded space. Tape a list inside the door. In three weeks you won’t remember where the lamp went.
3. Protect it from heat and damp
A steel unit with no insulation gets hotter than the air outside, and Perth summers are hard on leather, veneer, electronics and candles. For a gap of a few weeks with plain household items, a basic unit is fine. For leather, solid timber and delicate gear in summer, ask about an internal or climate-controlled space.
Fridges and washing machines
Empty and defrost the fridge a day or two ahead, dry the inside and prop the doors open a few centimetres. Drain the washing machine hoses and the filter, wipe the drum and leave the door ajar. A fridge shut up damp for three weeks is how you end up with a mould problem.
Handle the admin
1. Mail and addresses
Redirect your mail through Australia Post once the final date is firm, not before. Redirecting too early means collecting letters from a place you no longer have. Tell your bank, health fund and employer about the temporary address, and the new one when it’s ready.
2. Utilities
Connect the new place early, since internet in particular can take weeks. Keep the old one on until the last stage, because cleaning in the dark is miserable. Ask each provider how much notice they need.
3. Insurance
Check your home contents policy to see whether it covers goods in storage and in transit, since some policies cap the amount or exclude it. Many facilities won’t insure what’s inside your space unless you buy their cover, so ask what theirs includes and what it leaves out.
Plan the move out of storage
1. Book removalists with flexibility
Book early, but ask whether you can shift the date if the handover moves. Some companies offer a standby arrangement. For the second leg, think about what needs a crew and what a ute can handle. My view: leave the fridge, washing machine and couch to the professionals, and do boxes yourself.
2. Give notice early
Tell the facility as soon as the new date is firm. A late notice can mean an extra month on the bill, so check the exact terms before you sign.
3. Do a final check
Walk through every room of the old place with a torch, check cupboards, the roof space and the shed, and photograph each room for the bond inspection. Then collect the day-one boxes first, and go.
Whether you should hire removalists for both legs or do the first trip yourself, I haven’t got a clean answer. A few boxes and a ute make the first leg easy. A full house is a lot of lifting, twice.
Conclusion
A gap between homes is stressful, but it’s manageable if you plan it in layers. Get every date in writing, sort your things into three groups, and work out where you’ll live. Choose short term storage Perth sites offer based on the real total, the billing terms and the access hours, not the headline rate. Pack the day-one box, load the space with a path through the middle and keep an eye on the heat. Then tell the facility early when you’re ready to leave. Do that, and the gap becomes a pause, not a crisis.
FAQs
1. How long can I use short term storage Perth facilities for?
Most are month-to-month, so you can stay a few weeks or several months. Check the minimum term, the notice period and whether the final month is billed in full.
2. What size short term storage unit do I need for a house move?
It depends on your load. List your biggest items, measure them and ask for the internal size, door width and ceiling height. Don’t rely on labels like “small” or “medium”.
3. Will I be charged for a full month if I leave early?
Some facilities charge pro-rata and some bill the full month. Ask before you sign and get the answer in writing.
4. What should I keep out of storage?
Anything you need daily, important documents, medication and valuables. Most sites also refuse flammables, gas bottles and perishable food, but terms vary, so check yours.
5. Do I need insurance for storage during a gap between homes?
Check your home contents policy first, since some cover goods in storage and some don’t. Then ask the facility what its own cover includes and excludes.
