The best temporary storage solutions for home renovation projects in the UK

Renovations create a problem most people underestimate: where everything goes while the work happens. Kitchen, bathroom, extension or insurance repair, the house stops working as a house. Furniture needs moving, belongings need protecting from dust, and trades need room to work.

There are four realistic answers in the UK, and they suit different jobs. This guide compares them honestly, including ours, and gives you real figures rather than ranges we have made up.

Why storage matters more during a renovation than people expect

Dust from plastering, sanding and demolition travels well beyond the room it is made in, and it gets into fabric, electronics and wood. Trades work faster in clear rooms, and every time an item is shuffled from room to room it has another chance to get chipped. Renovations also mean open doors, several contractors and sometimes no front door at all for a day, which is worth thinking about before valuables sit in the hallway.

So storage is not only about space. It affects the timescale, the labour cost and how much of your own stuff survives the job.

Option A: self storage

You rent a room in a managed facility and take your belongings there yourself.

What it costs. Prices vary a lot by town, by floor and by how long you stay, so the only honest national benchmark is the industry average. The Self Storage Association UK’s 2026 annual report puts average revenue at £27.40 per square foot per year across 3,143 stores, which works out at roughly £53 a week for a 100 sq ft room. Ask any individual facility for its own rate card rather than trusting an average.

What to add on top. A van or a man and van to get everything there, the same again to bring it back, insurance, and your own time on every visit. Items are handled four or five times rather than once, and handling is when things break.

Where it wins. Small volumes, long stays, or a property with genuinely no outdoor space.

Option B: a shipping container

A steel container delivered by lorry and craned into position.

What it needs. A HIAB lorry, hard standing that takes the weight, and a clear swing for the crane with nothing overhead. That rules out most driveways, every back garden and any street with cables across it. Haulage is charged each way on top of the hire.

Where it wins. Open commercial sites and compounds with lorry access.

Option C: the garage, or a relative’s spare room

Cheapest on day one. The catches are familiar: not much space, no protection from damp, and a slow erosion of goodwill if the job runs to six months. Garages in particular are rarely dry enough for upholstery, mattresses or anything wooden over a winter.

Where it wins. A handful of boxes for a few weeks.

Option D: a delivered on-site unit

Flat-pack steel panels arrive on a van and two people build the unit on your driveway, in your garden or on your parking space. No crane and no HGV, so the question is not whether a lorry can get in but whether two people can carry a panel through.

What it costs with us. These are our actual published prices:

All prices exclude VAT. Hire is billed every four weeks with a four week minimum. Installation and collection are one-off fees, and they halve if you pay six months up front and disappear if you pay twelve. Booking online takes 10% off the hire. Transport is included within 30 road miles of our Luton depot and is £2 plus VAT per extra mile each way beyond that. There is no ULEZ charge; inside the central London Congestion Charge zone the charge is added per visit.

The real advantage. Your belongings move once, from the house into the unit, and then move once more back again. That is the difference that shows up in breakages.

What it needs. A firm, reasonably level spot the size of the unit and a route in with 2,150 mm of height clearance. Grass, gravel and concrete are all fine; we level it on wooden blocks. One thing to plan around: a loaded unit cannot be moved, so it has to be emptied and dismantled if it ever needs to go elsewhere. Pick the spot with the whole job in mind.

A worked comparison

A four month renovation, contents of a three bedroom house, address 20 miles from Luton.

• Self storage. A 160 sq ft room at the national average is roughly £84 a week, so about £1,460 over 17 weeks, plus van hire both ends and insurance, plus a drive across town every time you need something.
• Delivered 2 × 8 m unit (160 sq ft). £100 a week, £240 to install and £240 to collect. Seventeen weeks comes to £2,180 plus VAT, with transport included at that distance and nothing to hire. Pay six months up front instead and the fixed fees drop to £120 each.

On paper the room can look cheaper. Add the van, the fuel, the insurance and four months of driving across town for the box you forgot, and most of our customers find the delivered unit comes out ahead. If it is a few boxes rather than a house, it will not, and we will say so.

Which option suits which job

• Kitchen refit. On-site. You will want the toaster back.
• Full refurbishment. On-site if you have the outdoor space, self storage if you do not.
• Extension. On-site, positioned away from the work area but on the same ground.
• Insurance repair. On-site. Rooms usually have to be cleared quickly and the loss adjuster’s timescale can move.
• A few boxes, a few weeks. The garage, honestly.

Things to check before you decide

• How often you need access. Daily and weekly access makes off-site storage expensive in time.
• Security. Ours is two built-in deadlocks with the keys in your hand. There is no padlock to buy.
• Damp. British winters demand it. Absorpoles at £25 each pull moisture out of the air inside a unit.
• Insurance. Check whether your home policy covers belongings stored on your own property, and ask the insurer directly rather than assuming.
• Planning. A temporary unit that is not fixed down is usually straightforward, but check first if you are in a conservation area or your property is managed by an agent.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest temporary storage during a renovation?

For a few boxes, a garage. For a room or a house, compare the weekly rate plus transport rather than the weekly rate alone.

Can a storage unit go on my driveway?

Usually yes. A 2 × 2 m unit takes roughly a parking space and a 2 × 4 m needs a standard driveway. It is temporary and not fixed down, which is why planning permission is rarely involved. Our guide to planning permission for temporary storage covers the exceptions.

How much storage do I need?

As a rough guide, a one bedroom flat fits in 2 × 4 m, a two bedroom house in 2 × 6 m and a three bedroom house in 2 × 8 m or 4 × 4 m. Our storage calculator is more precise.

How quickly can you deliver?

We ask for 7 days’ notice and can often do it sooner. Off-hire needs 7 working days’ notice.

Get an instant quote with your postcode and see every charge itemised, or call 0800 043 9302.