2025 Storage Legal Update | Self Storage Virtual Workshop

Gabfocus Episode 77 | 2025 Storage Legal Update

The self storage legal landscape is always shifting. What has changed so far in 2025? And what should we expect looking forward to 2026? We’ve asked some of the top legal minds in the industry to sit down with Tommy and Melissa for an hour to talk about what storage operators need to know most.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the changing legal advice for self storage. We'll be digging into the most recent legal changes that could be affecting your business and help you prepare for the coming year!

Featured Speakers: Joe Doherty
Moderators: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

Category: Legal
Focus: Owners & Operators
Aired: October 23, 2025
Duration: 1:13:36

Overview

If you don't have time to watch the whole session, here are some of our favorite parts:

00:00 - Introduction
5:00 - What self storage legal changes do you see trending nationally?
7:30 - Which legal updates do you think owners should be concerned about?
13:40 - Are there any new rent control laws targeting self storage?
16:00 - Should self storage owners and operators be concerned about website privacy suits?
19:10 - What is the risk of ADA lawsuits in self storage?
21:50 - Which legal questions do self storage owners and operators ask the most?
23:30 - What are common legal mistakes that self storage owners and operators make?
26:20 - What legal challenges do self storage owners and operators worry too much about?
30:10 - What self storage legal changes should we expect in 2026?
33:20 - Are there any legal challenges we should worry about in 2026?
36:10 - If a self storage tenant continually breaks the rules, what should you do?
39:00 - Can someone access a self storage unit if they aren’t on the lease but have property in it?
42:00 - What documentation does next of kin need to access a deceased relative’s storage unit?
45:30 - Should you start the lien process over if you accept a partial payment?
48:50 - Do you have to give a reason for self storage evictions?
51:50 - Can you follow through on a unit abandonment through text message?
54:05 - When charging tax for vehicle storage, is it only applicable if the vehicle is driven vs towed?
56:20 - What recourse do you have if a tenant damages your gate?
58:20 - If someone vacated a unit and left junk, but you can’t confirm they vacated, can you use the lien process?
1:01:40 - What legal changes should state associations try to lobby for?
1:05:20 - What are your top 3 pieces of legal advice for EVERY storage business?

Gabfocus Takeaway

Your lease is one of your facility's greatest legal defenses. Having one that's crafted by a self storage legal expert (or sourced from your state storage association) can help protect your business from so many potential issues down the road. With the legal landscape constantly shifting, be sure to keep up with all the latest changes with the help of your state or national storage associations. Many new laws and challenges are created from "bad actors" in our industry, so make sure that in all your business decisions you try to act as fairly as possible while documenting your steps and communication.

What are Gabfocus Sessions?

Gabfocus Sessions are virtual workshops for self storage owners, managers, and operators. Brought to you by the team behind Gabfest: StoragePug and Lighthouse Storage Solutions.

Each session features hand-picked industry pros who will dive deep into relevant topics surrounding our industry, share best practices, and explore trends in the market. It's our hope that these sessions help you navigate your self storage business better during these uncertain times.

Want to learn more about self storage? Join us on select Thursdays for Gabfocus.

Questions Answered in this Session

What is the legal climate currently like for self storage?
What changes do you see trending across different states?
Are there any changes trending in other industries that you think could affect ours?
Do you foresee any new policy updates by the end of this year?
Which legal challenges have owners and operators asked you about the most in 2025?
What are some common legal mistakes you see owners make?
What are some smart legal precautions you see owners and operators making?
Are there any legal challenges that you think owners worry too much about?
What changes do you see coming in 2026?
Is there anything specific owners and operators should do to prepare?
How is the overall legal outlook for 2026 looking for the industry?
What are your top 3 pieces of legal advice for EVERY storage business?

Resources from this session

Awesome Quotes

“Once your operation is in place, you can become more dynamic with your pricing, but that requires data. You need some method of being able to record the data that you need to know whether your price is in the right place - whether you need to move it up or start giving some concessions.” - Warren Lieberman

“I never want to downplay to what someone else is doing. I'm better than they are, then I'm going to be worth a higher price. That's what value is. If you go out to a restaurant and get really good service, would you go back? Yes! What if it was pricier? You'd still go back because you got better service and a better product.” - Jim Mooney

"It's good to be informed on your competition. I don't want to ignore them, but I don't want to respond too strongly to them either." - Warren Lieberman

"We did a survey of 10,000 facilities on their pricing. We found out that two-thirds of those operators didn't change the price of a single unit of the course of a month." - Warren Lieberman

“Rate increases and value pricing are the number one ways to grow your revenue.” - Jim Mooney

"Tenants in more convenient units tend to be less price sensitive." - Warren Lieberman

"The size of the unit is only one aspect of what people are willing to pay for." - Warren Lieberman

Highlights

Foundational marketing strategies to have in place - whether leasing up or stabilized:

Website
Set up listings (Yelp, Google My Business, Apple Maps)
Social Media
Establish Local Partnerships

Lease up marketing strategies:

Lead Generating Strategies (like digital ads)
Aggregators (Sparefoot, Storagefront, etc.)
Awareness Campaigns (like billboards, flyers, and sponsorships)

Your average customer value
Find the average stay length of all tenants. Next take your economic occupancy and divide by how many units you have. That will tell you what the average customer pays.

Multiply the average length of stay by what the average customer pays, and that's the average value of a customer.

For example, if a customer stays for 12 months and pays $100 per month, then their value is $1,200.

Your average lead value

Figure out your closing rate (or conversion rate) i.e. how many leads do you turn into tenants? Multiply that by your average customer lifetime value to figure out what your leads are worth.

Pro Tip: see which lead sources are converting the best. It may be that certain sources have a higher conversion rate, so those leads are worth more to you than a source that barely converts.

Typical Lease-up timeline

According to our panelists, it's typical to see a 3-4% increase each month, putting your facility at 36% after the first year, and 72% after the second.

Alternately, you can look at your lease up goals through the lens of your units, aiming for 20 units rented per month.

For Nick and StorageMax, they pro forma their economic occupancy at 85% with their sweet spot at 92%.