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Home > Guides > Shipping to a storage unit
Shipping to a storage unit is unreliable unless the facility agrees: most facilities cannot receive parcels, couriers cannot pass locked gates without a code, and a parcel left outside a unit can be refused, returned, or stolen. Check facility policy first, and use a staffed pickup point or your home address if the facility will not accept deliveries.
Some facilities accept parcels at the office during staffed hours, but many do not accept deliveries at all, and some accept them only for the renter named on the unit agreement. The facility's insurance and liability rules usually exclude parcels: if a parcel goes missing from an office shelf, the facility may not cover it. Ask the office directly, in writing if you can, before you give out the address: a yes from a staff member on the phone is worth confirming, since staff change.
The name on the parcel matters. Address it to the renter's full name exactly as it appears on the rental agreement, plus the facility's street address and the unit number. A parcel addressed to a different name, a nickname, or just the facility name can be refused, because staff cannot match it to a unit. Do not address a parcel to the facility itself as if it were the recipient.
| Delivery option | Works for a storage unit? | Key condition |
|---|---|---|
| Facility office, staffed hours | Sometimes | Facility agrees, name matches the rental agreement |
| Courier to the unit door | Rarely | Courier needs gate access and a person to sign |
| Left outside the unit | No | Theft risk, and most facilities forbid it |
| Post office pickup | Yes | Recipient collects with ID and tracking |
| Home address | Yes | Simplest, if you can receive it there |
A storage site is built to keep people out: locked gates, keypad codes, and rows of units with no one present. A courier with a timed route cannot wait for a gate code, and cannot leave a parcel at a unit door that no one will attend for days. Some couriers will attempt delivery once and then return the parcel or hold it at a depot. A signature requirement makes this worse, not better, because there is no one to sign.
Gate codes raise a second problem: sharing your gate code with a courier gives a stranger access to the whole site, and many facilities forbid sharing codes for that reason. Never put a gate code in delivery instructions. If the facility has a staffed office that accepts parcels, that office is the delivery point, not the unit.
The safest options are your home address, a staffed pickup point, or a post office pickup service where you collect the parcel with ID. If the parcel must go to the storage area, time it for a day you will be there, and tell the facility office you are expecting it. Tracking is essential for any storage-unit delivery: check it daily, and collect the parcel the same day it arrives rather than leaving it over a weekend.
For valuable items, do not ship to a storage unit at all. A unit is not a staffed receiving address, and a parcel that sits there is exposed in ways a home delivery is not. If the parcel stays within Canada and under 5 kg, you can get a Canada Post Xpresspost label by asking your AI assistant: you approve the exact quoted price, pay once through Stripe, and get a label PDF to print and attach.
Use the facility's street address as the delivery address, the renter's full name as the recipient, and the unit number in the apartment or suite field, in the format the facility itself uses. Keep the label flat and fully visible, and include your own return address. If the facility uses a different mailing address from its street address, use the mailing address they give you, and confirm it before shipping.
Ready to ship it? Get a shipping label with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and get your label.
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