@C-E-D Having read through the responses from @Rainman12 and @Anonymous and generally agreeing , I would still want to know (a) is this empty unit , purposely empty ? i.e. is it not available for rent and is being used for business as office + storage etc. Or is this a case where you use any un-rented unit as office/storage. (b) is this empty unit one of many at the same site?; (c) is your depreciation based on the whole property or based on each unit as a separate rental ?
To me if you just happen to have an empty unit and you are using it as storage / office till the unit is rented i.e. it is available for rent all the time ( even when the unit is being prepared for the next renter ), then it is simpler to ignore the fact that it is being used as storage for tools etc. If on the other hand this unit is not for rent and is used all the time as storage , and if the depreciation is on unit basis , then business usage and associated depreciation may be worth it. But it may present an issue when you dispose of the property --- do you sell unit by unit or the whole property and how do you allocate the gains/losses to the units. The issue is similar to a multi-unit property with a club-house --- how do you allocate the proceeds from sale of units individually to the common usage unit. Suggest , if you have a multi-unit property, that you talk to a accounting person and plan all this out ( because eventually you will dispose of the property and what you do now will impact that ) -- that is my two cents.
