Settlement gap storage is short-term storage that holds your household goods between the day you hand over your old home and the day you can move into the new one. In Perth, the most flexible way to do it is a mobile storage container: it’s delivered to your driveway, you load it once, it’s stored securely while you wait, and it’s redelivered to your new address when settlement clears.
With Perth’s market still running hot — REIWA has forecast double-digit median house price growth for 2026 — more sellers are accepting strong offers before they’ve secured their next home. That means more families living through a gap between settlements. Here’s how to make that gap painless.
What is a settlement gap (and why is it so common in Perth right now)?
A settlement gap happens when the settlement date on the home you’ve sold falls before the settlement date on the home you’re buying — or before you’ve found the next place at all. In a fast market, sellers are often advised to sell first so they know exactly what they can spend. The trade-off is a period of days, weeks or months where your belongings need somewhere to live even if you don’t.
Your three options during a settlement gap
1. Double-handle with a removalist and a storage unit
Hire a truck to move everything into a traditional storage facility, then hire it again to move everything out. You pay for two full moves plus the unit — and everything gets handled four times (house to truck, truck to unit, unit to truck, truck to house). More handling means more cost and more risk of damage.
2. Lean on family, friends and garages
Free, but rarely as free as it looks. Belongings spread across three garages are hard to track, hard to insure, and hard on the relationships involved — especially if the gap stretches from two weeks to two months.
3. Use a mobile storage container (load once, unload once)
A container is delivered to your driveway before settlement. You pack it at your own pace, lock it with your own padlock, and we collect it and store it at our Yangebup yard. When your new home settles, we deliver it to the new address. Your things are handled once by you at each end — no double-handling, no truck hire, no deadline-day panic. This makes Mobistorage’s moving house service a practical option when your moving and settlement dates do not align.
How the timeline works
- 2–3 weeks before settlement: book your container and delivery date. Use the storage space calculator to size it — a Medium 16ft suits most 2–3 bedroom homes.
- Final week: load progressively, room by room. Keep a small essentials kit (documents, chargers, kettle, school uniforms) out of the container.
- Settlement day (old home): we collect the loaded container and store it securely.
- During the gap: your monthly rate simply runs until you’re ready — no need to guess the exact length upfront.
- Settlement day (new home): we deliver the container to your new driveway. Unpack at your own pace.
What does settlement gap storage cost in Perth?
Mobistorage monthly storage starts from $299 for a Small 10ft container, $399 for a Medium 16ft and $499 for a Large 19ft, with delivery and collection quoted separately by suburb and access. For a typical one-month gap with a 16ft container, you’re looking at the monthly rate plus transport — one clear quote upfront, before you book. Compare that with a removalist truck twice over plus a storage unit, and the maths usually favours the container well before you count the saved weekend.
Tips from moves we’ve seen go smoothly
- Negotiate the gap if you can — even a licence to occupy or a rent-back period changes what you need. Your settlement agent is the right person to ask.
- Load heaviest items first and along the container walls; strap furniture to the internal tie rails.
- Photograph the loaded container before locking it — handy for insurance and for remembering where things are.
- Ask about our storage protection add-on, when you book.
FAQs
How long can I store between settlements?
As long as you need. Storage runs month to month, so a two-week gap that becomes a six-week gap doesn’t require rebooking — the container simply stays in the yard until you call for redelivery. You can learn more about how Mobistorage can store your container securely until you are ready for redelivery.
Can the container be delivered straight to my new home instead?
Yes. Most settlement gap customers have the container collected from the old address, stored at our Yangebup yard, then delivered to the new address — but if your dates line up, we can move it directly.
What if my new home has a tight driveway?
Tell us when you book. Delivery is quoted based on suburb and site access, and our local drivers will talk through placement options before the day.
Settlement gap storage cheaper than hiring a removalist twice?
For most Perth moves with a gap of a week or more, yes — because you avoid a second truck hire and the double-handling that goes with it. The exact comparison depends on your volume and suburbs, so get both quotes and compare like for like.
Bridging a settlement gap? Get a quote in minutes or call 1300 914 706 — we’re WA owned and operated, and we’ve helped thousands of Perth families move at their own pace.
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