4 Cheap Small Warehouse Storage Space For Rent You Need To Know

If you are thinking of renting a temporary warehouse storage space in Singapore but do not have a clue on how to get started, well don’t worry, you’re not alone. Finding a short term warehouse space is not easy when the conventional warehouse industry practice is a commitment term at least 1-3 year lease.

Image: Spaceship Warehouse Storage Space

In this post, I've written about why it is hard to find a temporary cheap warehouse for rent, what your options for temporary storage are, and recommended a few providers to help speed up your search journey.

I've also previously written about a short price comparison of warehouses for rent in Singapore (Note: more for businesses than for personal storage).

List Of Some Short Term Small Warehouse Storage Options In Singapore

Now the right type of warehouse storage depends on your use case of the warehouse facility and the type of items you need to store. To keep things simple, I've categorised this based on (1) Personal Storage and (2) Business / E-commerce storage.

(1) Warehouse Storage Space For Personal Storage

If you are an individual who is renovating your place or relocating, or if you are a company preparing to shift offices and need a place for office items, a Self Storage Facility or a Door-to-door storage provider would work best for you. Here are some companies that we like:

• Spaceship (self-storage facility)

• Work+Store (self-storage facility)

• Lock+Store (self-storage facility)

• Spaceship (door-to-door storage service)

  
  

Need A Warehouse Storage Quote?

If you are a startup selling products or a business dealing with seasonal events, an Office with Storage facility or a Coworking Space with Shared Warehouse would be most suitable. Here are some companies we like

• Spaceship (Office with storage)

• Spacelabs (Co Warehouse with Coworking & logistics)

Co-warehousing is a new model that leverages the sharing economy for industrial warehouse space and shared logistics.

Similar to co-working and co-living, you'll not only get a physical space, but it comes complete with a whole bunch of value-added services tailored for operations and fulfilment. I've covered this in a separate post.

Alternatively, you can learn more about co-warehousing by clicking here:

How to find a warehouse storage space to rent in Singapore?

The usual way to find a warehouse space is to go to Commercialguru. Under the category of rent, search by district, filter by floor area, and lease term and browse through the results and shortlist a few possible warehouses.

After which, contact the real estate property agent who posted the listing, and then arrange a viewing session.

But wait.

Get on a phone call with the agent, and the agent is likely to tell you that 1-3 year lease term is required, and that there are no short term options. Then, you are back to the drawing board.

You might even be overwhelmed by the types of warehouses out there to know where to start looking from.

Why is it so hard to find a temporary warehouse space to rent?

The main issues with finding a temporary warehouse storage space are:

• Property owners/operators typically look for long term tenants and offer a min. 1-year lease term with the expectation of renewing the tenant after the end of the term. There are internal KPIs to achieve certain renewal rates.

• Property agents who help these property owners find tenants are commission-based, and typically get a commission for each year of rental term signed. Short term leases do not fit their commission structure.

• Most of the warehouses are bare units and a certain percentage may not even have lights. Even if there are lights, you'll need to go through the hassle of setting up an account with SP Services (or other power service providers) 

• Warehouse spaces listed typically are large in size (from 2,500 sqft to >100,000 sqft). For individuals or small companies, finding a small size space becomes even harder to find

Not all warehouse storage spaces are suitable

Now, after hours of researching and speaking to property agents, you manage to find a couple of warehouse storage space that are willing to offer short-term lease terms, you arrange for visits, only to realise that the warehouse space doesn't fit your requirements.

Here are some questions to think of prior to signing a lease to rent a warehouse storage space:

• Size of the space: Did you overestimate the size you need? Will you end up paying for space you do not need?

• Operating requirements: Does the unit come with lights and powerpoints? Do you need to sign up for a separate account with a power/utility service provider? Do you need Internet at the warehouse space?

• Logistics access limitations: Can the items that you have to store be easily moved in and out of the facility? Are there cargo lifts? Can a pallet fit into the door?

• Renewal terms: What happens if you need to extend usage for a month? Is the property owner able to accommodate your extension without you incurring excessive costs? 

So what are my options for renting cheap warehouse storage space?

Fortunately, there are some storage companies who do provide temporary warehouse space, some from as small as 50 sqft.

Let me list 4 categories of facilities that might be suitable for you:

• Self Storage Facilities:

  Self-storage companies provide small-sized storage space (e.g. rooms, lockers, containers) to tenants usually on a shorter-term basis (starting from as low a 1 month).

  Individuals store their personal and household items. And, companies keep documents or office items. Small business use these self storage facilities to store merchandise, products or event equipment.

• Door-to-Door Storage:

  These companies make storage simple. They provide pick up service, item inventory & storage. When you want an item(s) returned or delivered, you can log online, select, and get the item(s) returned or delivered, all from the comfort of your home or office. You can get such storage from as low as $30/month.

• Office With Storage Facilities:

  These are companies who provide small size warehouse units in industrial areas that come equipped with lights, power, utilities. Tenants can use the space for storage, and to run operations. 

  I've written about 4 cheap office with storage facilities in Singapore that small businesses should know to save cost and time
  

• Co Warehouse: 

  Co-warehouse combines co-working space with warehouse space and is designed to suit startups and small businesses who sell and ship merchandise. 

Here's a quick and easy way to get a warehouse storage quote

Which type of warehouse storage space is suitable for me?

Now, not all warehouse storage spaces are suitable for everyone. Here are some types of people/businesses who need temporary storage space:

• Homeowners renting homes or individuals in between homes,

• Companies shifting offices, downsizing office space

• Companies needing a space to keep seasonal products and who need a space to pack items (e.g. Mooncake festival)

• International companies (without an office presence in Singapore) who have an upcoming event

• Companies expecting seasonal peaks and have a higher inbound shipment of merchandise

• Startups who are just getting started and need a place to keep inventory, and a workplace to fulfil orders.

Clearly, the requirements and expectations of the warehouse space will differ based on the type of items to be stored, and the use case of the space.

I've prepared a table to categorise the type of facility that best suits different use cases:

How much would warehouse storage rental cost?

• Case A: 100 sqft of space at Self-Storage Facility: $380/mth

• Case C: 2 person team with 100 sqft at a Co-Warehouse Facility: $1,500/mth

It is important to know that this isn't an apple to apple comparison. Some of the spaces provide extra services which are bundled into the monthly fee including utilities, internet, communal pantry, meeting rooms, and other services. If you're interested to know more about the costs, we've done a comparison of storage prices in Singapore so you won't have to spend half a day trying to get quotations from every provider.

Here are some companies who provide temporary and long term warehouse storage space for rent:

Spaceship

• Type: Door to door, Self Storage, E-commerce storage and fulfilment

• Website: www.spaceship.com.sg

• Sales Hotline: +65 6220 0126

• Email: sales@spaceship.com.sg 

Work+Store

• Type: Self Storage, Office And Storage

• Website: www.workstore.com.sg/

• Sales Hotline: +65 8435 9966

• Email: space@workstore.com.sg

SpaceLabs

• Type: Co-warehouse

• Website: www.spaceship.com.sg/spacelabs

• Sales Hotline: +65 9111 5287

• Email: community@spaceship.com.sg 

Lock and Store

• Type: Self Storage

• Website: www.lockandstore.com/

• Sales Hotline: +65 9111 5287

• Email: community@spaceship.com.sg