4K
Menu
Look up a company

Public Storage

Real Estate

61

out of 100. Number 112 of 512, counting from the worst.

  • Arbitration 17 of 20, bad
  • Renewals 4 of 20, good
  • Data sharing 14 of 20, bad
  • Price & terms 12 of 15, bad
  • Data retention 6 of 15
  • Other findings 8 of 10, bad

Where Public Storage does well

  • Renewals 4 of 20. Few problems found.
  • The arbitration clause is genuinely optional: Rental Agreement paragraph 6.8 ('THIS ARBITRATION PROVISION IS OPTIONAL. You may decline this agreement to arbitrate by sending written and signed notice... within 30 days of signing') and Terms paragraph 18.7 (opt-out within 30 days by mail or email to optout@publicstorage.com).
  • No long-term lock-in: the lease is month-to-month and the customer can terminate with just 2 days' written notice (para 11.1); Public Storage itself needs 7 days' notice to terminate without cause (para 11.3). Online reservations lock in web-only pricing with 'no obligation.'
  • Lien sales are not surprise auctions: the agreement requires a lien notice before sale, advertising in a local newspaper and/or online, and notices to both the customer and the alternate contact by email (paras 5.1–5.3), and enforcement is tied to state lien statutes (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §21712).
  • They take no custody of your goods (no bailment — para 3.2) and staff do not hold your key or code: with electronic locks the property manager has no access and every lock/unlock is logged (para 3.2), which is better than many operators.
  • The insurance self-dealing is at least disclosed in the agreement itself rather than hidden.

Every dispute — even ones that started before you signed and even advertising claims — must go to private JAMS arbitration, not court.

The fine print

6 clauses and findings from the draft archive, dated 1 October 2026. The plain English comes first; the small print is the company's own words. None of these has been checked yet.

  1. Every dispute — even ones that started before you signed and even advertising claims — must go to private JAMS arbitration, not court. You give up jury trial and cannot join or start a class action. Under-$25,000 claims are decided on paperwork alone unless both sides agree otherwise.

    6.2 BINDING ARBITRATION. Both you and Public Storage agree to arbitrate any and all disputes or claims arising out of, in connection with, or in any way relating to the relationship between you and us, including claims that arose before the signing of this or any prior lease or rental agreement ... including, but not limited to, claims relating to advertising. ... 6.5 CLASS ACTION WAIVER. Both parties agree to give up the right to a jury trial. Each may bring claims against the other only in its individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action lawsuit or representative proceeding or consolidated action.

    Public Storage Rental Agreement (signed CA copy, form CA02012021, via Scribd mirror)

  2. Public Storage can raise your rent, add or change fees, and rewrite ANY term of the agreement with just 30 days' notice — possibly only by email — and simply keeping your stuff in the unit counts as agreeing to the new terms.

    2.2 Your Rental Terms May Change with 30 Days' Notice. We may change your Monthly Rent, fees and charges, and any other terms of this Rental Agreement with 30 days' notice to you. We may send notice to your email address. By continuing to use Your Space, you agree to the Rental Agreement as changed and that all of its other terms remain in effect.

    Public Storage Rental Agreement (signed CA copy, form CA02012021, via Scribd mirror)

  3. Two weeks after a missed payment, Public Storage can lock you out of your own unit and eventually auction everything inside to cover rent and fees — plus stack lien fees ($55.50 after 31 days, $7.50 after 40 days, $130 lien-sale fee in this copy) onto what you owe.

    5. OUR LIEN AND RIGHTS TO PROPERTY IN YOUR SPACE. We have a lien upon all property you store at the Facility for Monthly Rent, labor, fees or other charges that accrue under the Rental Agreement... If any part of your Monthly Rent, fees and/or other charges remain unpaid for 14 days after the due date, we may deny your right to use or access Your Space, your property will be subject to a claim of lien and may even be sold to satisfy the lien... 5.1 We may enforce our lien and may sell all property stored in Your Space, to satisfy payment of your unpaid Monthly Rent, late fees, and/or other fees and charges, and we will charge you lien and lien sale fees.

    Public Storage Rental Agreement (signed CA copy, form CA02012021, via Scribd mirror)

  4. You hand them a standing permission to share your personal info with third parties 'for marketing and similar purposes,' and they can rewrite the privacy policy whenever they want — the new version takes effect the moment it's posted, with no notice required, and continuing to rent counts as consent.

    10. OUR PRIVACY POLICY. You have received and reviewed our Privacy Policy and agree with its terms. You authorize us to release any information required by law or requested by governmental authorities, or to others for marketing and similar purposes consistent with our Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Privacy Policy on [their website] and your continued rental of Your Space indicates your consent to use your information consistent with our Privacy Policy posted on [their website].

    Public Storage Rental Agreement (signed CA copy, form CA02012021, via Scribd mirror)

  5. Just by using the site you consent to automated marketing calls and texts that keep coming even after you cancel — including if your number is on the Do Not Call list — and you pre-consent to having every call recorded with no further notice, waiving two-party-consent protections.

    You agree to receive Messages from or on behalf of Public Storage, even if you terminate your relationship with us, except if you opt-out. ... You acknowledge that automated calls or text messages may be made to your telephone number(s) even if your telephone number(s) is registered on any state or federal Do Not Call list. ... Call Recording and Monitoring. You consent to the monitoring and recording of any telephone or electronic communications between you and us (or our agents, affiliates, and/or service providers) ... (a) any such communications may be recorded or monitored without further notice, and (b) this consent satisfies any requirement under applicable federal or state law, including but not limited to two-party consent statutes.

    Public Storage Terms & Conditions — https://www.publicstorage.com/terms-and-conditions/terms-and-conditions.html (Section 8, Telephonic Communications)

  6. They disclaim liability for their own negligence (not just accidents — their own carelessness too), cap any payout at $5,000 total, and make you carry insurance — while quietly disclosing that the insurance they sell you is reinsured by their own subsidiary, so they profit when you buy it.

    4.1 We are not responsible for and you release us from any liability, loss or damage, including without limitation injury to persons, from any cause ('Loss'), including without limitation, our active or passive acts, omissions, or negligence, unless the Loss is directly caused by our intentional or reckless conduct. To the extent permitted by California law, our liability for Loss from any cause will not exceed a total of $5,000. ... 18.2 You understand that the storage insurance program offered at Public Storage is reinsured by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Public Storage, and we may benefit financially if you purchase that insurance.

    Public Storage Rental Agreement (signed CA copy, form CA02012021, via Scribd mirror)

How these were found

SOURCES AND DATES: (1) 'Terms & Conditions' read in full on Oct 1, 2026 at https://www.publicstorage.com/terms-and-conditions/terms-and-conditions.html (no Last-Updated date shown on page). (2) Full Rental Agreement text from a Scribd mirror of an actual signed California agreement, form version 'CA02012021' (dated Dec 4, 2021, 6 pages) at https://www.scribd.com/document/545630117/Prob-rental — read in full Oct 1, 2026; current online rental-agreement form may differ in some particulars, though the core clauses mirror the current Terms of Use. (3) Washington Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy, 'Last Updated: March 28, 2024,' at https://www.publicstorage.com/washington-privacy.html. ACCESS LIMITATIONS: The main general Privacy Policy is linked from both the Terms and the Washington policy, but the text-fetch tool could not resolve its link (outlink indices mapped to unrelated pages), so no data-sharing finding rests on the main Privacy Policy's full text — data findings rest on Rental Agreement paragraph 10 and the March 2024 Washington MHMDA policy. The fee figures cited ($24 admin fee, $27.60 late charge, $55.50/$7.50 lien fees, $130 lien sale fee) are from the 2021 signed copy and may have changed; lien-sale timing itself is governed by state law. No clauses, quotes, or numbers were invented; every finding traces to the documents above.

These notes come from the original draft and are not independent verification.