How to add a short-term rental listing for a storage unit?

Below you will find a list of things to prepare, a step by step guide to adding a listing on Maszbox.pl, and the rules for handing over and taking back the unit.

Before you start: what to prepare

• Check the status of the unit and the building rules. This determines whether you can rent out the unit yourself or need the consent of the housing community or cooperative. You will find a table of the possible situations in the guide can I rent out my basement. The same rules apply to a storage unit.
• Measure the unit: the length, width and height of the interior and the door width. The tenant needs to know whether, for example, a wardrobe or a washing machine will fit.
• Sort out access to the building: whether the tenant needs a key, a card or a code for the entrance and the basement door. Check whether the building rules allow you to give them to someone from outside the building.
• Take care of the lock. With short-term rentals tenants change often, so each one should be sure that the previous one does not have a key. The simplest way is to replace the padlock or the lock cylinder between tenants. We describe more ways to secure the unit in the guide how to secure a storage unit against theft.

Step 1. Sign in or create an account

Sign in to your account, or create a new one if you do not have one yet. Then click the “Add listing” button.

Step 2. Fill in the location

Enter the exact location:

• city,
• street,
• building number,
• district (if it was not filled in automatically).

Step 3. Enter the listing title

Enter a short title with the floor area and the location, for example: Storage unit 3 m² for short-term rent - Poznań, Grunwald.

Step 4. Fill in the listing description

In the description, give everything a tenant would ask about. You can use this template and fill in the fields in brackets:

Storage unit for short-term rent at [street] in [city], [name] district.

• floor area: [X] m², dimensions: [length] × [width] × [height] m, door width: [X] cm
• location: [level -1 / ground floor], [with a lift / without a lift / stairs]
• building entrance: [key / card / code], handed over in person, returned after the rental ends
• access: [24/7 / hours X-Y]
• unit [dry / with lighting / locked with a padlock or a lock]
• for storing things only, no fire-hazardous materials (fuel, gas cylinders, solvents)
• minimum rental period: [X] days

Only describe what is true. If there is no light in the unit or it is sometimes damp, say so.

Step 5. Pick the availability dates

Pick the start date and the end date of the unit's availability.

Step 6. Add photos

Add photos of the storage unit. The maximum size of one photo after compression is 5 MB. Allowed file formats are:

• jpeg,
• png,
• webp.

Take photos with the light on. Show the interior from the entrance, the door with the lock and the way from the corridor. Do not photograph other people's units or your neighbours' belongings. Only add current photos of your own unit.

Step 7. Pick the listing type

Pick the listing type: Rent.

Step 8. Pick the listing category

Pick the category: Storage unit.

Step 9. Pick the rental period

Pick the rental period: Short-term.

Step 10. Set the minimum rental period

Enter the minimum number of rental days, for example 10 days.

Every handover and return of keys and every padlock change takes your time. A shorter minimum period will attract more people, but there will be more meetings. A longer one means fewer bookings and less logistics.

Step 11. Enter the floor area

Give the floor area in square metres (m²). Multiply the length by the width of the interior: for example 2 m × 1.5 m is 3 m². Give the height and the door width in the listing description (step 4).

Step 12. Pick the floor

Set the floor, for example Level -1.

Step 13. Pick the access

Pick the type of access, for example 24/7 access. If the building rules or the way the keys are handed over limit the hours, pick the option that matches reality.

Step 14. Tick the extra options

Tick the security and usage options that are really available in your unit and building.

Step 15. Enter the price

Enter the gross price for one day of rent. Gross means the full amount the tenant will pay per day, with no hidden extra charges. If you take a deposit for the keys, say so in the listing description.

You can check the rates of similar units in your area in the storage units for rent listings.

Step 16. Accept the consents and declarations

Read and accept the required consents and declarations.

Step 17. Add the listing

Once all the details are filled in, click the button to add the listing. Your listing will appear on Maszbox.pl. You will find the general rules for adding listings on the how to add a listing page.

After adding the listing: rental confirmation, keys and the end of the rental

You sign the agreement directly with the tenant. Maszbox.pl is a listings service and is not a party to that agreement. Even for a rental of a few days, confirm the terms in writing. It can be a short agreement or an exchange of emails or messages. Include in it:

• the rental dates and the address of the unit,
• the price per day, the total amount and the payment date,
• the number of keys, cards or codes handed over and how they are returned,
• the deposit for the keys and the cost of replacing them if they are lost,
• a ban on storing fire-hazardous materials, such as fuel, gas cylinders or some solvents. In basement storage units fire regulations also prohibit this.
• the obligation to follow the building rules,
• the deadline for clearing the unit and a reasonable fee for each day of delay.

Give the key to the tenant. In a rental, it is the tenant who puts in and takes out their things. If instead you keep the key yourself and it is you who takes in and hands out the things, such an agreement may be treated as a safekeeping contract. Then you are liable for the tenant's belongings if they are lost or damaged. Also do not promise in the listing that the things are insured or guarded if that is not the case.

If the tenant does not collect their things: do not throw them away or sell them on your own. Contact the tenant in writing and give them a deadline for collection. If they do not respond, ask a lawyer what you can do in your situation. A clearing deadline written into the rental confirmation makes such conversations much easier.

If you rent out as a business: when the tenant is a private person and you sign the agreement online, consumer rights rules also apply to you. They include, among other things, information obligations and the rules for withdrawing from the contract.

We describe which clauses work well in the agreement in the article storage unit rental contract - what it must contain.

Tax on short-term storage unit rental

Renting by the day is still renting, so you pay tax on the rent. For a private rental this is a flat-rate tax of 8.5% of revenue up to PLN 100,000 a year and 12.5% on the excess. If you regularly rent out several units in an organised way, the tax office may treat it as a business activity. In that case, ask an accountant. You can read more about settling rental income in the guide how to earn from spare space.

Prefer to rent out the unit for longer? See the guide how to add a long-term rental listing for a storage unit.