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The Sneaky Rate-Increase Policies Sweeping the Self-Storage Industry

Slate Magazine
Summary
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74% Informative

There are more than 50,000 storage facilities across the U.S. , but more than half of the country’s rentable self-storage space is owned by only 100 companies.

Many companies that make up the $56 billion industry have introduced similar price-hiking strategies in an effort to offset losses and rising costs.

Companies bank on customers overlooking future costs on statements, even when they are notified of rate increases by mail.

These types of ultralow offers and subsequent ECRIs were on full display at an industry conference in Las Vegas this past fall .

Some facility operators have also begun adjusting payment periods to be 28 days instead of one month .

Storage facilities often get to keep all the proceeds of an auction, and some auctioned units can turn a pretty penny.

Some states allow operators to keep any auction proceeds, even beyond past-due amounts of missed payments and other fees.

Many storage companies are pushing back against aggressive ECRIs and spreading the word about the practice on their websites, blogs, and in-store.

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