Prohibited Items in Self Storage UK: What the Law Says

As at 16 October 2026, the legislation we read on prohibited items in self storage is built on the person, not on one list of banned goods. For England, and for the United Kingdom where a source says so, its duties and offences fall on whoever stores, keeps or possesses goods, whoever knows, believes or suspects something, or whoever controls the premises. On 16 October 2026 no provision we read in 33 pieces of legislation named self storage.

“Prohibited” is the operator’s word. The contract between operator and customer is the storage licence agreement, and operators publish their own lists of what they will not let a customer keep, which are a separate matter from the law. This guide covers what the law adds, reports each source with its provision, nations and the date we read it, gives no verdict on any item, and is not a complete list. It is general information, not legal advice.

What can you not store in a self storage unit in the UK?

As at 16 October 2026, the sources we read give no one list: they are separate rules for separate categories, each aimed at a person who does a stated thing, and no provision we read names self storage. For what operators themselves forbid, see operators’ lists below: all four of the lists we read restrict ten of the 20 categories we counted in them.

We researched 19 categories. For 15 we captured a primary source that sets a rule. For two, gas cylinders and LPG, and lithium batteries and e-bikes, we captured only a general duty or guidance. For the other two we found no primary source among those we captured: cash and securities on 16 October 2026 and 17 October 2026, and living or sleeping in a unit on 16 October 2026.

On 16 October 2026 legislation.gov.uk’s text search for “self storage” returned five results, and we found no statute or statutory instrument among them on what a customer may keep in a unit: by their titles they are Finance and Value Added Tax instruments and one European Union delegated regulation. The search matches words, so a statute that uses other words would not appear.

England is the default. Where a source covers the United Kingdom, Great Britain, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, the text and the table say so, and not checked marks a nation we did not read.

The table covers 12 of the 15 categories with a primary source, as read on 16 October 2026. Radioactive material, asbestos and human remains are under what this guide does not cover, with 13 further categories that operators’ lists name and we did not research.

When is a licence needed for explosives, fireworks, petrol or gas?

In Great Britain, as at 16 October 2026, the Explosives Regulations 2014 say that no person may store explosives without a licence unless an exception in regulation 7(2) applies. The Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulations 2014 say that no person is to keep petrol except in compliance with their routes. For gas cylinders, as at 16 October 2026, we found only general duties written for businesses.

Explosives and fireworks

Regulation 7(1) of the Explosives Regulations 2014 says that no person may store explosives unless that person holds a licence for their storage and complies with its conditions, subject to the exceptions in regulation 7(2). Regulation 3 extends the Regulations to England and Wales and Scotland, and to Northern Ireland only for regulation 29, on importing pyrotechnic articles. We follow that text, although legislation.gov.uk’s metadata marks the whole instrument as covering Northern Ireland.

Regulation 7(2) lists exceptions, most limited by quantity or time, such as no more than 10 kilograms of shooters’ powder, or 50 kilograms of hazard type 4 explosives consisting solely of fireworks for no longer than 21 consecutive days, not for sale or for use at work. As read on 16 October 2026, three other exceptions, in paragraphs (c), (f) and (g), state no quantity, so the chart omits them.

Quantities are the net mass of explosive substance (regulation 2(4)), which for fireworks HSE says “will be only a fraction of the total mass of the item”. Regulation 7(3) says that only one exception may be relied on for explosives stored at the same site at the same time, “irrespective of the person who is storing them”, and that the quantities are the maximum present at a site at any one time.

The chart is therefore about a site. It is not a statement that a customer may keep that amount in a unit.

Storage means “their possession for any period after their manufacture” (regulation 2(5)), and a site is “the whole area under the control of the same person” and, for these purposes, “all places adjoining each other under the control of the same person are to be treated as a whole area” (regulation 2(1)). On 16 October 2026 we found no source that says whether a whole self storage facility is one site or each unit its own place.

HSE’s page on storing explosives says anyone storing them would normally need a licence even if they do so on behalf of a third party, and that an individual or business that contracts a third party to store on its behalf would not normally require one.

It adds that who holds the duty “depends on who has effective control of the operation, such as who determines in practice what is stored and how it is stored”. That is HSE’s wording, not the Regulations’.

On 16 October 2026 we found “effective control” in none of regulations 1 to 10 and 30 as captured, and no mention of self storage in HSE’s three explosives pages we searched, so HSE’s third-party wording is general.

Northern Ireland has its own Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006. Regulation 10 has similar exceptions, with 3 consecutive days where Great Britain has 5 for the 100 and 250 kilogram quantities, and regulation 13 adds a certificate-of-registration route for quantities up to the amounts it lists.

Petrol

Regulation 4 of the Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulations 2014 says “No person is to keep petrol except in compliance with regulation 5 or regulation 13”. Regulation 5 covers dispensing premises with a valid storage certificate. Regulation 13 covers “domestic or other relevant premises”: domestic premises, or non-domestic premises that are not a workplace (regulation 2). As captured on 16 October 2026 the Regulations’ own text has no extent clause, so England, Wales and Scotland come from legislation.gov.uk’s extent data.

The table gives the routes. Schedule 3 sets a portable container’s nominal capacity at no greater than 10 litres if made of plastic and 20 litres if made of metal (read 17 October 2026): a limit on the container, not on the amount kept. Schedule 2 paragraph 3 adds that petrol is not used in the storage place except in an engine’s fuel tank or, up to 150 millilitres at a time, for cleaning or as a solvent for repair.

Regulation 13 turns on whether the premises are a workplace, which the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 define as “any premises or part of premises used for or in connection with work”.

On 16 October 2026 we found no mention of self storage, a storage unit or a lock-up in the provisions we captured of those two sets of Regulations, in HSE’s pages on petrol storage, on the 2002 Regulations and on flammable liquids in containers, or in the two GOV.UK petroleum licence pages. So, as at 16 October 2026, none of them says whether a customer’s unit is a workplace.

For Northern Ireland, GOV.UK’s petroleum licence page says “Whether you want to run a petrol station open to the public or store petrol for your own use, you must have a petroleum licence”. We did not read the Northern Ireland legislation.

Gas cylinders and LPG

HSE’s page answering questions on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) says the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations apply “wherever a dangerous substance is present, or liable to be present in a workplace”, and its legal-framework page attaches duties to “Any business which operates an LPG installation”.

On 16 October 2026 we found no rule on cylinders kept by a private person in HSE’s LPG pages. HSE’s own cylinder-storage guidance was not read: the address we tried returned a not-found error on 17 October 2026. We did not check Northern Ireland.

Who do the firearms, drugs and stolen-goods provisions bind?

Each of these provisions binds a person who does a stated thing, and as at 16 October 2026 none of the instruments we read names a self storage operator.

On legislation.gov.uk’s extent data, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the Trade Marks Act 1994 and the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 cover the United Kingdom, and the Theft Act 1968 covers England and Wales.

Firearms and ammunition. In England, Wales and Scotland, section 1 of the Firearms Act 1968 makes it an offence for a person to have in possession, or to purchase or acquire, a firearm or ammunition to which it applies without holding a firearm certificate, and section 2 does the same for a shot gun.

Section 5 does the same for the prohibited weapons and ammunition it lists, without written authority from the Secretary of State (England and Wales) or the Scottish Ministers (Scotland). Section 9(1) says a person carrying on the business of an auctioneer, carrier or warehouseman, or a servant of such a person, may have a firearm, ammunition or relevant accessory in possession without a certificate in the ordinary course of that business.

Section 14 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 makes it an offence for an auctioneer, carrier or warehouseman to fail to take reasonable precautions for the safe custody of such a firearm or ammunition, or to report its loss or theft to the police forthwith. Legislation.gov.uk’s extent data gives England, Wales and Scotland.

Northern Ireland has the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004, whose Schedule 1 paragraph 2 repeats the exemption for an auctioneer, carrier or warehouseman.

On 16 October 2026 we found no definition of “warehouseman” in section 57 of the 1968 Act or in the Home Office’s Guide on Firearms Licensing Law, and no mention of self storage in the guide, so these sources do not say whether a self storage operator is one.

The guide says it is “not a definitive statement of the law”. Just after its paragraphs on the section 5 authority for prohibited weapons and ammunition, it says that a person exercising “direction and control” over such items “might also be said to be in possession of them”.

Controlled drugs. Section 5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 makes it an offence for a person to have a controlled drug in possession, subject to the defences in sections 28 and 5(4).

Section 8 reaches “the occupier or concerned in the management of any premises” who “knowingly permits or suffers” any of four activities. These are producing a controlled drug (or attempting to), supplying one (or attempting or offering to), preparing opium for smoking, and smoking cannabis, cannabis resin or prepared opium.

On 16 October 2026 we found no word for storing, keeping, holding, possessing or harbouring in section 8, and no source that says whether a self storage operator is the occupier of a unit in use by a customer, or concerned in the management of the facility. Section 8 carries the word “knowingly” itself and is not among the offences covered by the lack-of-knowledge defence in section 28.

Stolen goods. In England and Wales, section 22(1) of the Theft Act 1968 says a person handles stolen goods if, “knowing or believing them to be stolen goods”, the person dishonestly receives them, or dishonestly undertakes or assists in their retention, removal, disposal or realisation by or for the benefit of another, or arranges to do so.

Section 21 of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 has the same words. On 16 October 2026 we found the word possess nowhere in the captured text of section 22, and we did not check Scotland.

Counterfeit goods. Section 92(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 concerns goods bearing a sign identical to, or likely to be mistaken for, a registered trade mark. Paragraph (c) reaches a person who, with a view to gain or intent to cause loss and without the proprietor’s consent, “has in his possession, custody or control in the course of a business” such goods with a view to an offence under paragraph (b), which includes selling them.

Section 107(1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 concerns an article that a person knows or has reason to believe is an infringing copy. Paragraph (c) reaches a person who, without the copyright owner’s permission, “possesses in the course of a business with a view to committing any act infringing the copyright” such an article.

On 16 October 2026 we found no mention of self storage in the sections of that Act, the Trade Marks Act, the two Theft Acts and the Customs and Excise Management Act cited in this guide, so none says in terms whether a business holding a customer’s goods on its premises is within its possession or keeping wording.

Who do the terrorism and money laundering provisions bind?

Most of these provisions turn on what a person knows, believes or suspects, and as at 16 October 2026 none of the instruments we read names a self storage operator. On legislation.gov.uk’s extent data, the Terrorism Act 2000, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 cover the United Kingdom.

Terrorist property. Section 14 of the Terrorism Act 2000 defines terrorist property to include money or other property likely to be used for the purposes of terrorism and the proceeds of acts of terrorism.

Section 18 makes it an offence to enter into or become concerned in an arrangement which facilitates the retention or control of terrorist property by or on behalf of another person, with a defence for a person who proves they “did not know and had no reasonable cause to suspect that the arrangement related to terrorist property”.

Sections 19, 21A and 38B are offences of failing to disclose. Section 19 applies where a person believes or suspects that another has committed an offence under sections 15 to 18, on information that comes to their attention “in the course of a trade, profession or business” or of their employment, and not where it came in the course of a business in the regulated sector, which section 21A covers.

Section 38B applies to information that a person knows or believes might be of material assistance in preventing another person committing an act of terrorism, or in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of another person in the United Kingdom for an offence involving the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism. As read on 16 October 2026, the section names no business sector.

Criminal property. Under section 340(3) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, property is criminal property if it constitutes or represents a person’s benefit from criminal conduct and “the alleged offender knows or suspects that it constitutes or represents such a benefit”. Section 327 covers concealing, disguising, converting, transferring or removing it, section 328 an arrangement that a person “knows or suspects” facilitates its acquisition, retention, use or control, and section 329 acquiring, using or having possession of it.

Section 330 is the regulated-sector offence of failing to disclose. On 16 October 2026 we found no storage word in regulation 8 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, which lists the persons the Regulations apply to, and no mention of self storage, a storage unit or a storage company on HMRC’s page on who needs to register for money laundering supervision, which lists nine sectors.

On 16 October 2026 the only entry we found in the Proceeds of Crime Act’s regulated-sector list (Schedule 9, Part 1) that concerns storing goods was the operator of a freeport where the works of art stored for a person, or a series of linked persons, have a value of £10,000 or more.

Regulation 14 of the 2017 Regulations has the same freeport provision, defining a freeport as “a warehouse or storage facility within an area designated by the Treasury as a special area for customs purposes”. On 16 October 2026 we found no mention of self storage in either.

Each of the offence sections above also carries defences or no-offence cases, not all of which are set out here. This guide gives no view on whether any of these sections applies to a particular operator or customer, and cannot say what to do about a particular customer. For a specific concern, ask a solicitor and the police.

Does any government guidance on the rules name a self-storage unit?

As at 16 October 2026, yes, in one place we read: HMRC’s internal manual page on holding excise goods, which is guidance to HMRC officers, not legislation, names “a self-storage unit or lock-up facility”.

Regulation 10 of the Excise Goods (Holding, Movement and Duty Point) Regulations 2010, which legislation.gov.uk’s extent data gives for the United Kingdom, is the law behind it. Where excise goods are held outside a duty suspension arrangement and the duty has not been paid, relieved, remitted or deferred, the person liable to pay is “the person holding the excise goods at that time”, and any other person involved in the holding is jointly and severally liable.

As at 16 October 2026 regulation 10 says nothing about knowledge. The manual page, which says it applies in Great Britain and Northern Ireland and was updated 3 March 2026, says liability under regulations 10(1) and 10(2) is “strict”, so officers “only need to demonstrate that someone is ‘holding’ the goods, or is ‘involved in the holding’”, with “no requirement to provide evidence of knowledge”.

For goods found in “a self-storage unit or lock-up facility” the manual says the evidence will often place the liability on the people using the facility, but “there may be times when there is sufficient evidence to place the liability on the property owner instead”. Where officers cannot contact the person using the facility, it says “this does not automatically mean that the property owner is liable instead”.

For joint liability under regulation 10(2) it says “legal ownership alone will not normally meet the involvement threshold”, and that officers will need additional evidence of the property owner’s level of involvement, “such as an element of negligence or a wider interest in the goods”. It lists what officers look at, including “What due diligence was carried out by the property owner” and “Who can access the premises”.

The manual speaks of the property owner; whether that is a particular operator is a question for HMRC or a solicitor.

Section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 is different in kind. It reaches a person who is “in any way knowingly concerned in carrying, removing, depositing, harbouring, keeping or concealing” goods of the kinds it lists, which include goods chargeable with a duty that has not been paid, and who acts “with intent to defraud Her Majesty of any duty payable on the goods” or to evade a prohibition or restriction.

On 16 October 2026 we found no mention of self storage in HMRC’s guidance on receiving, storing and moving excise goods or in Excise Notice 196, on the registration and approval of excise goods held in duty suspension.

On 16 October 2026 the Intellectual Property Office’s press release on a counterfeit seizure and its survey of Trading Standards departments also mention self storage facilities. They report an operation and survey answers; neither sets a rule for what a customer may keep.

What do operators’ lists of prohibited items in self storage and the Tick Box code add?

Operators’ lists are the operators’ own rules for their customers, not law. As at 16 October 2026 ten of the 20 categories we counted were named as not allowed, or given a numeric limit, by all four of the lists we read.

We counted how many of four UK operators’ public lists name each of 20 categories as not allowed or give a numeric limit for it: Safestore’s blog page (dated 20 March 2026), Shurgard’s storage terms (15 July 2026 on the PDF) and web page (no date shown), and the Yeates and Locko Storage pages (no date shown). Shurgard counts once, by either document. We print counts, not the operators’ wording.

All four lists were read on 16 October 2026; Big Yellow, Surestore and Lok’nStore were each tried once and not captured. Ten categories are named by all four: explosives, firearms, petrol, gas cylinders, paints, solvents and chemicals, asbestos, radioactive materials, food, live animals, and cash and securities.

What the law says about a category is a separate question, taken category by category above. We researched no source for paints, solvents and chemicals, and for cash and securities we found no primary source among those we captured on 16 October 2026 and 17 October 2026. SSA UK’s standard Self Storage Licence Agreement and Manual of Advice and Procedures sit in a members-only area, so on 16 October 2026 we could not read whether they list prohibited goods.

The Tick Box scheme is a self-storage code of practice that businesses are invited to join.

It has three one-page codes, for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Under “The company’s commitment”, each lists seven undertakings by the participating company. The first is “To prohibit the storage of counterfeit and illicit goods”, which the code says includes unsafe consumer goods and alcohol and tobacco on which duty has not been paid. Others cover identification checks, help for Trading Standards investigations and reporting suspected storage of such goods to Trading Standards.

On 16 October 2026 we found no sentence on the six Tick Box web pages or the three code PDFs that says the code is, or is not, law. SSA UK’s page on the scheme, read on 16 October 2026 and showing no date, lists 121 members as participating (our count of the names).

The Intellectual Property Office’s survey of Trading Standards departments, published 8 September 2026, says the scheme “helps Trading Standards Officers work closely with self storage businesses to counter IP criminality in their facilities”.

Can you live or sleep in a storage unit?

On 16 October 2026 we found no mention of sleeping in a unit, and no statement on whether living in one is a material change of use, in the planning and fire-safety sources named below, which give definitions, not an answer. Two of the four operators’ lists we read name people living or sleeping in the unit.

Planning law defines development to include “the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land”. That is section 55(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for England and Wales, section 26(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 for Scotland and section 23(1) of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.

In England, the planning practice guidance says “There is no statutory definition of ‘material change of use’” and that whether one has taken place “is a matter of fact and degree”.

It lists Class B8 (storage and distribution) and Class C3 (dwellinghouses) among the use classes, and on 16 October 2026 we found no sentence in it on residential use of a storage building. For use classes, see Class R permitted development and Use Class B8.

In England and Wales the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to “any premises”, subject to exclusions that include domestic premises, defined as “premises occupied as a private dwelling” (articles 2 and 6). The responsible person is the employer for a workplace that is to any extent under their control. For other premises it is the person who controls them in connection with a trade, business or other undertaking or, where that person does not, the owner (article 3).

In Scotland, section 78 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 likewise leaves domestic premises out of its relevant premises. We did not capture Northern Ireland fire law. Fire duties for a storage building are in the licences guide, the conversion guide and, for Scotland, the Scottish guide.

For a particular unit, ask the council and the fire and rescue service.

What do the waste, food and animal rules say about goods left in a unit?

On 16 October 2026 we found no source among those cited below that says whether goods a customer keeps in a unit are waste, or whether an operator is responsible for an animal kept there, and no sentence about a storage operator whose customer keeps food.

Waste. In England and Wales, section 34(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 puts a duty on “any person who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste” to take reasonable measures to prevent others breaching section 33. Scotland’s text says “keeps or manages”, and Northern Ireland’s Order, article 5, adds “collects”. Waste is defined by reference to the Waste Framework Directive, which we did not read.

Food. GOV.UK’s food business registration page, for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, says “If you sell, cook, store, handle, prepare or distribute food, you may be considered a food business and will need to register with your local authority”. Food Standards Scotland’s page lists businesses that “store or handle food”. On 16 October 2026 we found no sentence about a storage operator whose customer keeps food on either page.

Animals. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 covers England and Wales. Section 3 says references to a person responsible for an animal are to a person responsible “whether on a permanent or temporary basis”, and a person who owns an animal is always regarded as responsible for it. Section 9 makes it an offence not to take reasonable steps to meet the needs of an animal for which a person is responsible. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own Acts.

What does this guide not cover?

This is not a complete list, and it describes what we read on 16 October 2026.

• Radioactive material. In England the Environment Agency says a person who will “keep or use radioactive material” may need a permit. GOV.UK says a person in Scotland needs an authorisation from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to keep or use radioactive substances, and in Northern Ireland a certificate of registration to “keep or store radioactive material at your premises”. We did not check Wales.
• Asbestos. Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 makes whoever is obliged under a contract to maintain or repair non-domestic premises, or failing that whoever controls that part, the dutyholder; we left its extent open. HSE’s duty-to-manage page agrees. On 16 October 2026 we found no mention of self storage in either, so neither says whether goods an occupier keeps in a unit are within the duty.
• Human remains. Under section 16(1) of the Human Tissue Act 2004 (England, Wales, Northern Ireland), no person shall do an activity to which it applies otherwise than under the authority of a licence. The activities include storing an anatomical specimen and, for a “scheduled purpose” whose definition we did not read, a deceased person’s body or relevant material. Scotland has its own Act; we read only its contents headings.
• Lithium batteries and e-bikes. The Department for Transport’s guidance (England, Scotland, Wales) says it “is not a legal compliance document”. On 16 October 2026 none of five government and fire-service e-bike and e-scooter pages mentioned self storage. On 17 October 2026 a web search found one HSE page, on grid-scale battery energy storage systems, with no mention of self storage; HSE’s other battery pages were not searched.
• 13 further categories that operators’ lists name: paints, solvents and chemicals; business use or retail from the unit; tyres; aerosols and pressurised cans; fertilisers; plants, seeds and compost; jewellery, precious metals, art and collectables; important documents; irreplaceable items; vehicle wrecks; matches, lighters and firelighters; fire extinguishers; and medicines. We researched no source for them.
• Not checked. Northern Ireland for lithium batteries and e-bikes, vehicles in a unit, anti-social behaviour and noise, building regulations, transport of dangerous goods, major accident hazard sites, offensive weapons other than firearms, fertilisers and ammonium nitrate, plant health, cash seizure and forfeiture, and Scotland’s offence corresponding to handling stolen goods.
• Case law and unread sources. We did not search any court judgment, so nothing here says how a court has read any provision. We did not read the industry code that HSE cites for storing cylinders indoors.
• Other guides. Goods an operator does not want or cannot return are the subject of the abandoned units guide. The operator’s own licences and duties are in the licences guide. The agreement checklist is in how to start a self storage business, and Scotland’s separate building class for storage that holds hazardous goods is in the Scottish guide.

Questions to put to your adviser

• HSE or a solicitor: is a whole self storage facility one “site” under regulation 2(1) of the Explosives Regulations 2014, and who is storing explosives that a customer keeps in a unit?
• HSE, the petroleum enforcement authority or a solicitor: is a customer’s unit a “workplace”, which decides which petrol route applies?
• A solicitor: who is the occupier of a unit, or concerned in the management of a facility, for section 8 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971?
• A solicitor or the Home Office: does “warehouseman” in section 9(1) of the Firearms Act 1968 cover a self storage operator?
• HMRC or a solicitor: when the manual speaks of the property owner, is that a particular operator?
• The local authority, Defra, the Food Standards Agency or a solicitor: does an operator “keep” waste, carry out a food business activity or count as “responsible for” an animal in respect of what a customer keeps?
• HSE: does the asbestos duty reach asbestos-containing goods an occupier keeps in a unit?
• The council and the fire and rescue service: how do the planning and fire rules apply to a particular unit that is slept in?
• The Intellectual Property Office or SSA UK: what is the legal status of the Tick Box code?
• A solicitor and the police: what to do about a specific concern over a particular customer, which this guide cannot say.

Sources

All read on 16 October 2026, except the Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulations 2014 Schedule 3, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 Schedule 5, the Dangerous Substances (Notification and Marking of Sites) Regulations 1990 and HSE’s page on grid-scale battery energy storage systems, which were read on 17 October 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

• Explosives: the Explosives Regulations 2014, regulation 2, regulation 3 and regulation 7; the Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, regulation 10 and regulation 13; HSE’s Storing explosives, fireworks and questions and answers pages.
• Petrol: the Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulations 2014, regulation 4, regulation 13, Schedule 2 and Schedule 3; the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002, regulation 2; GOV.UK’s petroleum licence pages for England, Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland.
• HSE on petrol and the 2002 Regulations: petrol storage, the Regulations in detail and flammable liquids in containers. On gas: LPG issues, about LPG and the legal framework.
• Firearms: the Firearms Act 1968, section 1, section 2, section 5, section 9 and section 57; the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, section 14; the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004, article 3 and Schedule 1; the Home Office’s Guide on Firearms Licensing Law, last updated 18 September 2026.
• Drugs, stolen goods and counterfeit goods: the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, section 5, section 8 and section 28; the Theft Act 1968, section 22; the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, section 21; the Trade Marks Act 1994, section 92; the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 107.
• Terrorism and money laundering: the Terrorism Act 2000, section 14, section 18, section 19, section 21A and section 38B; the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, section 327, section 328, section 329, section 330, section 340 and Schedule 9, Part 1; the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 8 and regulation 14; HMRC’s money laundering supervision page.
• Excise goods: the Excise Goods (Holding, Movement and Duty Point) Regulations 2010, regulation 10; the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, section 170; HMRC’s Holding and Movements Assurance Guidance, updated 3 March 2026, receiving, storing and moving excise goods and registration and approval of premises.
• Operators’ lists: the Safestore blog page, the Shurgard terms and web page, and the Yeates and Locko Storage pages.
• Tick Box and trade bodies: the Tick Box codes for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and its home, the issue, be alert, code of practice, about the campaign and FAQ pages; SSA UK’s Tick Box campaign and legal resources pages.
• Intellectual Property Office: the survey of Trading Standards departments, published 8 September 2026, and a press release on a counterfeit seizure.
• Planning and fire: the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 55; the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, section 26; the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, section 23; GOV.UK’s When is permission required?; the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 2, article 3 and article 6; the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, section 78.
• Waste, food and animals: the Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34; the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, article 5; GOV.UK’s food business registration page; Food Standards Scotland’s registering a food business page; the Animal Welfare Act 2006, section 3 and section 9.
• Other categories: the Environment Agency’s radioactive substances page; GOV.UK’s Scotland and Northern Ireland pages; the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, regulation 4, and HSE’s duty to manage page; the Human Tissue Act 2004, section 16, and the contents page of the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006; the Department for Transport’s e-cycle battery guidance; HSE’s battery energy storage page.
• E-bikes and e-scooters, further pages read: the Office for Product Safety and Standards’ safety message, London Fire Brigade’s responsible persons page and guidance note 103, and the National Fire Chiefs Council’s e-bike page.
• Also among the 33 pieces of legislation, read but not discussed here: the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Schedule 5; the Dangerous Substances (Notification and Marking of Sites) Regulations 1990, regulation 4, as made; the Control of Asbestos Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012, regulation 4; and retained Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, article 3.
• Also among the 33, mentioned above only as the Scottish and Northern Ireland counterparts: the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, section 18 and section 24; and the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, section 3 and section 9.
• Searches: legislation.gov.uk’s text search for “self storage”.