Financial research concept

Self-Storage Move-Out Contract Rent: Departing-Customer In-Place Pricing

Self-storage move-out contract rent measures the contractual rate paid by customers who vacate, helping investors compare mature in-place pricing with new-customer acquisition rates.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 19, 2026
Research context

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Research date
Sep 19, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
6 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Self-Storage Operating Model; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.
  1. Move-out rent is an in-place pricing signal
  2. The move-in versus move-out gap matters
  3. High move-out rent can coexist with healthy occupancy
  4. Contract rent is not net collected revenue
  5. Primary-source examples
  6. Part of the Self-Storage Operating Model
  7. See It in Company Research
  8. Continue Research

Self-storage move-out contract rent measures the contractual rental rate paid by customers who leave during the measurement period.

Public Storage reports average annual contract rent per square foot for customers moving out alongside move-in pricing and churn.

Move-out rent is an in-place pricing signal

Customers often remain in storage long enough to receive one or more existing-tenant rent increases.

Their move-out rate can therefore be materially higher than the rate currently offered to a new customer for comparable space.

That makes move-out contract rent a useful lens on the monetization of the installed tenant base.

The move-in versus move-out gap matters

Public Storage's June 2026 operating update showed a substantial difference between average contract rent for customers moving in and those moving out.

The analytical point is not simply that one rate is higher.

The gap helps investors understand the pricing ladder between:

  • newly acquired tenants;
  • seasoned in-place tenants; and
  • tenants leaving the property.

If the gap becomes very large, future revenue growth may depend on continued existing-tenant repricing while acquisition rates remain competitive.

High move-out rent can coexist with healthy occupancy

A departing customer paying a high rate is not automatically evidence that price caused the move-out.

Customers leave storage for many reasons, including relocation, household changes, completed moves, and no longer needing the space.

That is why the pricing signal should be read with Self-Storage Same-Store Churn and occupancy rather than interpreted as a causal measure.

Contract rent is not net collected revenue

As with move-in rent, Public Storage's contract-rent definition excludes certain fees, promotional effects, and uncollectible amounts.

Move-out contract rent therefore describes the stated customer rate, not an all-in realized revenue measure.

Primary-source examples

Self-storage move-out contract rent is most useful as a departing-customer in-place pricing measure that should be compared with move-in pricing, churn, and occupancy.

Part of the Self-Storage Operating Model

Connect customer move-in pricing, move-out pricing, churn, stabilized occupancy, same-store NOI growth, and tenant reinsurance to understand self-storage property and ancillary economics.

How the model fits together
  • Customer acquisition, retention, and occupancy: Move-in contract rent shows the price offered to new customers, while move-out contract rent shows the rate paid by departing customers after in-place increases. Same-store churn captures customer turnover, and same-store occupancy shows how those flows translate into stabilized space utilization.
  • Property and ancillary economics: Same-store NOI growth captures stabilized property-level revenue and expense performance, while tenant reinsurance adds a separate ancillary revenue and profit stream tied to insured tenants. Neither measure should be treated as a substitute for occupancy or customer pricing.

See It in Company Research

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