DO NOT RENT AT CANADIAN SELF-STORAGE!…read more
I moved from a house to an apartment, and as a result, had a some extra items I needed to store. After looking around, I rented an indoor unit at Canadian Self-Storage. The move-in went OK (though the elevator is very slow and manual), but that's where the positive experience ended.
Problem #1 - No lights
The units have no lights in them, and hallway lighting doesn't really get into them. This wouldn't be a big deal except for Problem #2
Problem #2 - No outlets.
There are NO publicly accessible outlets at all in this storage facility - not just not in the unit, but in the entirely building. That means you can't plug an extension cord and a light in, or a fan (it gets unbearably hot in the summer in the units). Selling something on Kijiji? You can't show the buyer it works. I've never been in another storage facility that did not have power at all. I even asked the staff where the outlets were and they confirmed there are none.
Problem #3 - Entry gate
You need a code to open the entry gate from the outside - except there's a simple button you can press once inside to open it. The fence has a gap big enough that it's quite easy to get through it and press the button, negating the benefit of the cord
Problem #4 - Building door doesn't lock sometimes
The door to enter the building, on more than one occasion, did not lock
Problem #5 - Building door won't open
Yes, the same door that doesn't lock sometimes also won't open. On at least 3 occasions, I couldn't get the door open. When I brought it to the attention of a staff member, the response I got indicated that management knew, but they had chosen not to fix it.
Problem #6 - Unit doors
I had a double-door unit. The doors locked together, but the left door was only locked to the frame with a small latch. This latch was so weak that at one point the (locked) doors to my unit popped open because the latch came out of the door. Based on the numerous screw-holes around the latch, it was clear this was not the first time this happened.
Problem #7 - Time to fix broken unit door
When the door latch broke on the unit (Problem #6) I found out about Noon on Friday, and facility staff found out that morning (in their defense, they actually called me to let me know the door was open). They told me that they could not repair the problem until Monday - approximately 72 hours after the problem was found. This would mean that for three days, there would be absolutely no way to lock the doors of my storage unit - no locks at all would keep someone out of my unit, between Problem #3, #4 and #6, there would literally be no locks keeping my unit secure. After much pushing, the desk person managed to find a way to screw the latch back on, but had that attempt failed, they told me there would be no maintenance person that could fix it for 3 days.
Problem #8 - Washroom
The unit indicates that they have a washroom. What they don't tell you is that it's locked outside of business hours. Trying to come after work? No washroom. Sunday? No washroom.
Problem #9 - Elevator broken
My unit was on the second floor, and when I went to move-out, the elevator was not working. I contacted the office, who indicated that they "had a repair person coming today or tomorrow to look at a few elevators, she wasn't certain if this was one of them" - to me that indicates they have multiple failing ones, and they have been down for at least a day, and could be down for a few more. Luckily, no one else was moving in that unit, so I could use the elevator at the other end, but had a second person been there, I would have been severely hampered.
Problem #10 - Refund
Upon move-in their staff told me that I had to provide a 14 day notice to move out. I provided this notice, and the facility is refusing to refund the pro-rated rent for the remainder of the month. I'm taking this up with my credit card company.
At the end of the day, they provided minimal facilities (no lighting, power, broken elevator) and inadequate security. Go somewhere else - anywhere else.
