Storage unit broken into? Who is responsible
Important
This is general information, not legal advice. Responsibility depends on the rental agreement, the insurance or tenant protection policy, and state law. This page lists what to read and which records to gather.
For a storage unit broken into who is responsible, read three sources in your own file: the rental agreement, the insurance or tenant protection policy, and state law.
What decides the answer
- The lease or rental agreement clause
- Your insurance policy or tenant protection plan
- State law where the unit sits
The rental agreement clause
Open the rental agreement you signed. Find any clause about the goods in the unit, any clause about insurance or a tenant protection plan, and any clause about the facility's duties. Copy those clauses into your file, with the page or section number.
The words in your agreement are one of the three sources. A summary, a brochure, or a sign at the gate is a different piece of paper. Keep those too, and keep them separate from the signed agreement.
Renter's insurance and a tenant protection plan
These are different documents from each other, and both are different from the rental agreement with the facility. Read the one you have. If you have both, read both.
Renter's insurance
A renter's policy, or a homeowners policy that mentions stored property, is a contract with an insurer. Read the pages on theft, property kept away from home, exclusions, limits, the deductible, and notice. The insurer named on the declarations page is the company those pages belong to.
Tenant protection plan
A tenant protection plan is its own document. Some facilities offer one or ask for one at move-in. Read that plan for what it says about theft, records to send, exclusions, and notice. The plan's wording is separate from the rental agreement, even when the same office handed you both.
The facility
The facility is the company named on the rental agreement. It is a different party from the insurer and from the company that issued a tenant protection plan. What the facility agreed to do is in the rental agreement clause. Read that clause.
State law
State law is the third source. The text that applies is the law of the state where the unit is. This page does not restate those laws.
USAGov's state and local governments page lists contacts for state government. Use it to find your state's site, then read the storage law published there.
Records that describe facility conditions
Gather records that show the condition of the property. They describe gates, cameras, lights, locks, earlier incidents, and maintenance requests. They do not decide the question. Responsibility still depends on the agreement, the policy, and state law.
- Photos of gates, fences, cameras, and lights, with the date, including any damage you see on a gate or camera
- Photos of the lock, hasp, and door, with the unit number in the frame
- Written notes of what staff told you, with the date and the person's name
- Any incident report the facility gives you
- Your written request for camera footage and gate access logs, and any reply
- Notes or emails about earlier incidents at the property, if you have them, with dates
- Maintenance requests you sent about a gate, a camera, a light, or a lock, and any reply
What to put in the file
- The rental agreement, with the clauses marked
- The insurance policy or tenant protection plan, including exclusions and any notice section
- The police report or the report number
- Photos and the inventory of missing or damaged items
- The written notice you sent the facility, and the condition records above
The Storage Claim Evidence Kit ($29, one-time) is a ZIP of seven PDFs for organizing that file: an index, a forced-entry photo checklist, a discovery timeline, an ownership and value inventory, letter templates for camera footage, gate logs, and an incident report, slots for a denial letter and policy excerpts, and a submission checklist. You paste in your own agreement, policy, and records. The kit does not decide who is responsible.