Self storage is an industry in which storage space is rented

Renting

Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership from landowners...

 to tenants, usually on a monthly basis. A self storage business provides rooms, lockers, containers, and/or outdoor space in which tenants can store and access their goods. Self storage tenants include businesses and individuals. The self storage industry is primarily a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

-based industry: of the 58,000 storage facilities worldwide in 2009, 46,000 were located in the United States.
The term "self storage" is short for "self-service storage" and is also known as "mini storage." Self storage facilities rent or sometimes lease space to individuals, usually storing household goods, or to small businesses, usually storing excess inventory or archived records.