Condo Storage: Bought, Licensed or Included?
Summary: That cellar storage room in the listing might be yours to own, yours to use under a license, or not included at all. We read NYC condo offering plans to see how storage is really sold and what it costs.
Option One: A Deeded Storage Unit
A listing that says "storage available" can mean four different things: a separate piece of real estate, a license to use space the condo owns, storage that comes with your apartment, or nothing at all because the bins sold out years ago. We read the 2,177 NYC condo offering plans we have in full text, plus their price lists, to see which.
Some buildings make each storage room its own condo unit. You get a deed, it's recorded in ACRIS (the city's property records), and it pays its own small share of common charges and taxes. It's real property, so lenders and the board treat it like one.
“an Owner of both a Residential Unit and Storage Unit must subject both Units to the mortgage in order to prevent any severance of such combined ownership”
130 West 30th Street Condominium, plan CD030023, PDF page 170
Your closing will have two deeds and two sets of transfer tax forms, and if you finance, your lender may need the storage unit in the mortgage too.
The catch: ask whether you can sell the storage unit separately later. Some plans only let you sell it to another owner in the building.
Option Two: A License You Buy
In many buildings, the storage rooms stay part of the common elements (the parts of the building all owners share), and the sponsor sells you a license to use one. You pay once, sometimes plus a small fee, but you don't own the space.
250 of the condo plans we read (11%) describe a storage license. 724 condo plans list storage spaces on their Attorney General filing record.
“each room shall be sold by Sponsor pursuant to revocable license agreements (“Storage Room License Agreement”), on a first come first served basis.”
1 Park Row Condominium, plan CD240038, PDF page 23
Read the word "revocable" carefully. Some plans call the license irrevocable, but only in one direction:
“The license will only be irrevocable by the Sponsor. There will not be a limit on the number of storages a Unit owner can license.”
110 Eckford Street Condominium, plan CD240116, PDF page 11
A license may be limited to owners of apartments in the building:
“Storage Bins may only be owned by Unit Owners. A Unit Owner who owns a Storage Bin License will only be permitted to sell it to another Unit Owner or the Purchaser of a Unit.”
Hillrose 28 Condominium, plan CD190173, PDF page 41
The catch: a license is a contract, not real estate. Check who can end it, what the monthly fee is and who sets it, and whether it transfers automatically when you sell your apartment.
Option Three: Storage That Comes With Your Apartment
In some buildings, storage is a limited common element: a piece of the shared building that only your apartment gets to use, like a private terrace. It's tied to your unit and goes with it when you sell.
“Unit 1 shall have the exclusive use of storage, areaway and rear yard as a limited common element.”
4115 39 Place Condominium, plan CD230286, PDF page 22
Other buildings simply include a bin in the price of every apartment:
“included in the Purchase Price of each Residential Unit is the right to the exclusive use of one Storage Bin granted by license.”
The 422 West 20th Street Condominium, plan CD110155, PDF page 46
The catch: "included" is the best deal, but confirm which bin is yours. It should be named in your contract or the plan, not promised verbally.
What Storage Costs
Where a sponsor prices storage, it's a small cage or room, typically offered for about $20,000. Across 2,021 storage spaces priced in the Schedule A (the sponsor's price list) of 124 buildings, the middle half cost between $15,000 and $30,000. The typical space is about 24 square feet, roughly a large closet. Where the price list gives a common charge or license fee for the space (1,059 spaces), it's typically about $130 a year.
Storage is priced like a closet, not like an apartment. In 50 of the 124 buildings with priced storage, the typical space cost $15,000 or less. In 16, it was $50,000 or more. These are the sponsor's offering prices, not what buyers paid, and they can change by amendment.
| $15,000 or less | 50 |
|---|---|
| $15,000 to $50,000 | 58 |
| $50,000 or more | 16 |
Median sponsor price per building, 124 buildings with priced storage in Schedule A.
To see the prices in a specific building, open its page on The Condo Book Project and look at the Schedule A. Storage is often listed in a separate table after the apartments, sometimes called Schedule A-1.
One Rule Everywhere: You Can't Live in It
“The Storage rooms, Balconies and Terrace may not be used for any type of use that is classified as habitable space as defined by the New York City Building Code”
The 2873 West 17th Street Condominium, plan CD200136, PDF page 11
Storage rooms are for things, not people. No home office, no guest bed. Plans also ban flammable and hazardous items.
What to Ask Before You Sign
- Is storage a deeded unit, a license, a limited common element, or included? The offering plan's description of the property will say.
- Is any storage still available? Spaces can be sold first come, first served, and some plans let the sponsor keep the unsold ones.
- What's the price, and is it in the Schedule A or a separate schedule? Check the latest amendment, since prices change.
- Is there a monthly fee, and who can raise it? A license can carry a fee set by the board.
- Who can revoke a license? Look for "revocable" and who holds that right.
- Can you sell it with your apartment, separately, or not at all? Some plans limit buyers to owners in the building.
- How big is it, and where? Ask for the square footage and the floor plan, and visit the space. A cage in a damp cellar isn't a dry room.
- Does your lender need to know? A deeded storage unit may need to be in your mortgage.
- Is your bin named in the contract? Ask your attorney to make sure the specific space is written in.
FAQ
Do NYC condos come with storage?
Some do. In some new buildings, storage is sold separately, either as its own deeded unit or as a license. In others, a bin or room is included with each apartment or assigned to certain apartments. The offering plan says which.
How much does a condo storage unit cost in NYC?
In the sponsor price lists we read, the typical storage space was offered for about $20,000, with most between $15,000 and $30,000. In 16 buildings, the typical space was priced at $50,000 or more.
What's the difference between a deeded storage unit and a storage license?
A deeded storage unit is real property you own, with its own deed and tax lot. A license is a contract that lets you use a space the condo owns. Licenses can sometimes be revoked and can carry a fee.
Can I sell my storage unit separately from my apartment?
Often only to another owner in the building. Some plans require storage to stay with an apartment, and some require the storage unit and the apartment to be mortgaged together.
Can I use a condo storage room as an office or bedroom?
No. Plans treat storage rooms as non-habitable space, and using one as a living space can bring a building violation.
Where do the storage prices come from?
From the Schedule A price lists of NYC condo offering plans filed with the New York State Attorney General, counting rows labeled as storage. These are sponsor offering prices, not what buyers paid. Updated as of Oct 19, 2026.
Which rows are left out?
Rows that are clearly mislabeled apartments, parking, cabanas or summary lines: anything priced over $150,000, larger than 300 square feet, or with bedrooms.
How are the middle half and the yearly fee counted?
The middle half leaves out the cheapest quarter and the priciest quarter of space prices. The yearly fee is twelve times the median listed monthly common charge or license fee, where one is given.
How are storage licenses counted?
License counts are condo plans whose text mentions a storage license. Quotes are verbatim from the plans, with OCR spacing fixed.
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