Container hire in detail
Before you hire.
Container hire, also called container leasing or rental, gives you lockable steel space for as long as a project, a season or a move needs it, without buying. Storage container hire covers stock overflow, equipment and renovations; site container hire covers stores on building sites and at events. Below: when hiring makes sense, how it works from delivery to collection, the sizes, what affects the cost and what your site needs.
When hiring a container makes sense
Hire suits a need with an end date: a build, a refurbishment, a busy season or a move. There's nothing to sell on afterwards, and the container is collected when you're done.
If you'll need the space for years, or want to modify the container, buying may work out better over time. The container sales page covers the sizes and grades to look for.
How container hire works
Hire runs in four stages. Your quote sets out the terms for each, including the minimum period and the notice needed.
- Enquiry and quoteSize, location, start date and how long you expect to need it. The quote confirms availability, terms, delivery and collection.
- DeliveryThe container is set down on the ground you've prepared, with its doors facing the way you need.
- The hire periodHire usually runs for a minimum term, then continues until you give notice.
- CollectionOnce it's empty, the container is collected and checked against its condition at delivery.
Container sizes for hire
Sizes are standard on the outside. Floor areas are typical inside figures, and whether a size is available is confirmed in your quote.
- 10 ft
- About 3 × 2.44 m outside. Room for tools, equipment or household contents where space is tight.
- 20 ft
- About 13.8 m² of floor inside. A common choice for site stores and stock.
- 40 ft
- About 28 m² of floor inside, where there's room to deliver it.
- 40 ft high cube
- About 2.69 m of headroom inside, some 30 cm more than standard, for racking and tall items.
What affects the cost of container hire
Hire is usually quoted as a rate for each period plus one-off charges. These are the parts that change it.
- Size and condition
- The container you hire and its grade.
- Hire length
- How long you need it, and the minimum term.
- Delivery and collection
- Distance to your site and the vehicle your access needs, both ways.
- Extras
- Items such as locks, shelving or lighting, where they're available.
- Damage and cover
- Who covers the container during the hire, and the condition expected when it's collected.
Preparing your site
In England, a container needed only for the duration of building works can be permitted development, and has to go when the works finish. Other uses and longer stays may need permission, and the rules differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so check with your local planning authority.
- Access
- A clear route for a crane lorry or side-lifter, room for its stabiliser legs, and no low cables or branches over the spot.
- Ground
- Firm and level, with supports under the corners if it's soft or uneven.
- Door clearance
- Space to open both doors fully and to load comfortably.
- Security
- Locking bars take a padlock, and a lock box, a steel shroud around it, makes the lock harder to cut. Ask whether one is fitted.
- Contents
- Your goods inside are usually yours to insure, so check your cover before you fill it.
What to include in your hire enquiry
Five details are enough for a first quote. If the end date isn't fixed yet, a rough estimate is fine.
- Size
- The size you need, or what you want to store.
- Location and access
- The postcode, the route in and the ground it will sit on.
- Use
- Site storage, stock, equipment, a move or an event.
- Start date
- When you need it on site.
- Duration
- How long you expect to need it, in weeks or months.
Questions about container hire
Usually. Hire agreements normally set a minimum term, then run on until you give notice. Your quote confirms the minimum period and how much notice is needed.
The words often mean the same thing. Hire usually describes a shorter, flexible term for space on your site; leasing can mean a longer fixed term, or equipment used for shipping. Tell us which you need and for how long.
Not always. In England, a container needed only for the duration of building works can be permitted development. Longer stays or other uses may need permission, and the rules differ across the UK, so check with your local planning authority.
By a crane lorry, often called a HIAB, or a side-lifter, which sets it down and lifts it away again. On collection day it needs to be empty, unlocked and reachable by the same route.
Check your hire terms. Hirers are usually responsible for their own goods and for damage beyond normal wear, and your quote sets out what's covered.
Use a strong padlock on the locking bars, ideally inside a lock box so it's harder to reach and cut, and keep the doors facing somewhere visible. Insure what you store, and ask whether the container comes with a lock box fitted.
Usually, by agreement before the end date. If your end date is uncertain, say so in your enquiry so that the terms reflect it.
For most shipments the carrier provides the container as part of an FCL booking, so there's nothing to hire. If your plan needs a container you control, mention it in your enquiry.