It seems a bevy of homeless people have found temporary shelter in some areas of Tampa. They’re shacking up in self-storage units. According to an article on Tampa Bay Online, “working” homeless, or people who actually have some sort of income, just not enough for traditional housing, are renting storage units and living in them.

Barbara Brown, manager of Hillsborough Avenue Self Storage, said the shacking up started about a year ago. Brown reports she checks the gate log every morning for signs that a renter is doing more than just storing goods. Brown has come across one tenant relieving himself in a unit. Another claimed he paid for the space so he can use it however he wants. 

Of course, renters using storage units as living space goes against numerous city ordinances and heath violations. Here’s where an ironclad rental contract comes into play. If you don’t have some kind of verbiage prohibiting tenants from “living” on the property, you may want to consider it.

For more on what else you should disclose to tenants, check out Jeffrey Greenberger’s column in the October issue of ISS. While you don’t need to point out every detail of your lease agreement, Jeffrey points out the six provisions you should. Security is one of them!