National Storage Affiliates Trust is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust organized in the state of Maryland on May 16, 2013. We have elected and we believe that we have qualified to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2015. We serve as the sole general partner of our operating partnership subsidiary, NSA OP, LP (our "operating partnership"), a Delaware limited partnership formed on February 13, 2013 to conduct our business, which is focused on the ownership, operation, and acquisition of self storage properties predominantly located within the top 100 metropolitan statistical areas ("MSAs") throughout the United States. As of December 31, 2017,2021, we held ownership interests in and operated a geographically diversified portfolio of 5151,050 self storage properties, located in 2942 states and Puerto Rico, comprising approximately 32.167.8 million rentable square feet, configured in approximately 255,000

Our executive chairman of the board of trustees and former chief executive officer, Arlen D. Nordhagen, co-founded SecurCare Self Storage, Inc. in 1988 to invest in and manage self storage properties. While growing SecurCare to over 150 self storage properties, Mr. Nordhagen recognized a market opportunity for a differentiated public self storage REIT that would leverage the benefits of national scale by integrating multiple experienced regional self storage operators with local operational focus and expertise. We believe that his vision, which is the foundation of the Company, aligns the interests of our participating regional operators ("PROs"), with those of our public shareholders by allowing our PROs to participate alongside our shareholders in our financial performance and the performance of our PROs' "managed portfolios", which means, with respect to each PRO, the portfolio of properties that such PRO manages on our behalf. A key component of this strategy is to capitalize on the local market expertise and knowledge of regional self storage operators by maintaining the continuity of their roles as property managers.

We believe that our structure creates the right financial incentives to accomplish these objectives. We require our PROs to exchange the self storage properties they contribute to the Company for a combination of OP units and subordinated performance units in our operating partnership or subsidiaries of our operating partnership that issue units intended to be economically equivalent to the OP units and subordinated performance units issued by our operating partnership ("DownREIT partnerships"). OP units, which are economically equivalent to our common shares, create alignment with the performance of the Company as a whole. Subordinated performance units, which are linked to the performance of specific managed portfolios, incentivize our PROs to drive operating performance and support the sustainability of the operating cash flow generated by the self storage properties that they manage on our behalf. Because

We believe that our national platform has significant potential for continued external and internal growth. We seek to further expand our platform by continuing to recruit additional established self storage operators as well as opportunistically partnering with institutional funds and other institutional investors in strategic joint venture arrangements while integrating our operations through the implementation of centralized initiatives, including management information systems, revenue enhancement, and cost optimization programs. We are currently engaged in preliminary discussions with additional self storage operators and believe that we could add one to two additionalthree more PROs annually overin addition to the next two to three years. These additional operatorsPROs we have currently, which will enhance our existing geographic footprint and allow us to enter regional markets in which we currently have limited or no market share.

The Company had ten PROs as of December 31, 2021: Northwest, Optivest Properties LLC and its controlled affiliates ("Optivest"), Move It Self Storage and its controlled affiliates ("Move It"), Guardian Storage Centers LLC and its controlled affiliates ("Guardian"), Move ItSouthern Storage Management Systems, Inc. d/b/a Southern Self Storage ("Southern"), Blue Sky Self Storage LLC, a strategic partnership between Argus Professional Storage Management and GYS Development LLC ("Blue Sky"), affiliates of Investment Real Estate Management, LLC d/b/a Moove In Self Storage ("Moove In"), Hide-Away Storage Services, Inc. and its controlled affiliates ("Move It"Hide-Away"), Arizona Mini Storage Management Company d/b/a Storage Solutions and its controlled affiliates ("Storage Solutions"), Hide-Away Storage Services, Inc. and its controlled affiliates ("Hide-Away") and an affiliate of Shader Brothers Corporation d/b/a Personal Mini Storage ("Personal Mini").

To capitalize on their recognized and established local brands, our PROs continue to function as property managers for their managed portfolios under their existing brands (which include various brands in addition to those discussed below). Over the long-run, we may seek to internalize our PROs and brand or co-brand each location as part of NSA.

We benefit from the local market knowledge and active presence of our PROs, allowing us to build and foster important customer and industry relationships. These local relationships provide attractive off-market acquisition opportunities that we believe will continue to fuel additional external growth.

We believe our structure allows our PROs to optimize their established property management platforms while addressing financial and operational hurdles. Before joining us, our PROs faced challenges in securing low cost capital and had to manage multiple investors and lending relationships, making it difficult to compete with larger competitors, including public REITs, for acquisition and investment opportunities. Our PROs were also limited in their ability to raise growth capital through the sale of assets, a portfolio refinancing, or capital contributions from new equity partners. Serving as our on-the-ground acquisition teams, our PROs now have access to our broader financing sources and lower cost of capital, while our national platform allows them to benefit from our economies of scale to drive operating efficiencies in a rapidly evolving, technology-driven industry.

We seek to own properties that are well located in high quality sub-markets with highly accessible street access and attractive supply and demand characteristics, providing our properties with strong and stable cash flows that are less sensitive to the fluctuations of the general economy. Many of these markets have multiple barriers to entry against increased supply, including zoning restrictions against new construction and new construction costs that we believe are higher than our properties' fair market value. As of December 31, 2017,2021, we owned a geographically diversified portfolio of 444873 self storage properties, located in 2639 states and Puerto Rico, comprising approximately 27.255.1 million rentable square feet, configured in approximately 215,000429,000 storage units. Of these properties, 245298 were acquired by us from our PROs, and 199574 were acquired by us from third-party sellers.sellers and one was acquired by us from the 2016 Joint Venture (as defined in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements in Item 8). A complete listing of, and additional information about, our self storage properties is included in Item 2 of this report. 

During the year ended December 31, 2017,2021, we acquired 65229 consolidated self storage properties, of which 1022 were acquired by us from our PROs and 55207 were acquired by us from third-party sellers. The following is a summary of our 20172021 consolidated acquisition activity (dollars in thousands):

We seek to opportunistically partner with institutional funds and other institutional investors to acquire attractive portfolios utilizing a promoted return structure. We believe there is significant opportunity for continued external growth by partnering with institutional investors seeking to deploy capital in the self storage industry.

We believe our unique PRO structure combined with our property management platform allows us to differentiate ourselves from other self storage operators, and the following competitive strengths enable us to effectively compete against our industry peers:

Our national platform utilizes advanced technology for our data warehouse program, Internet marketing, (including through GoStorageUnits.com, which is owned by the Company), our centralized call centers, financial and property analytic dashboards, revenue optimization analytics and expense management tools to enhance operational performance. These centralized programs, which are run through our Technology and Best Practices Group, are positively impacting our business performance, and we believe that they will continue to be a driver of organic growth going forward. We will continue to utilize our Technology and Best Practices Group to help us benefit from the collective sharing of key operating strategies among our PROs in areas like human resource management, local marketing and operating procedures and building tenant insurance-related arrangements.

By capitalizing on our competitive strengths, we seek to increase scale, achieve optimal revenue-producing occupancy and rent levels, and increase long-term shareholder value by achieving sustainable long-term growth. Our business and growth strategies to achieve these objectives are as follows:

Our PROs have management service agreements with all of the properties in our captive pipeline and hold controlling and non-controlling ownership interests in some of these properties. With respect to each property in our captive pipeline in which a PRO holds a controlling ownership interest, such PRO has agreed that it will not transfer (or permit the transfer of, to the extent possible) any interest in such self storage property without first offering or causing to be offered (if permissible) such interest to us. In addition, upon maturity of the outstanding mortgage indebtedness encumbering such property, so long as occupancy is consistent with or exceeds average local market levels, which we determine in our sole discretion, such PRO has agreed to offer or cause to be offered (if permissible) such interest to us. With respect to captive pipeline properties in which our PROs have a non-controlling ownership interest or no ownership interest, each PRO has agreed to use commercially reasonable good faith efforts to facilitate our purchase of such property. We preserve the discretion to accept or reject any of the properties that our PROs are required to, or elect to, offer (or cause to be offered) to us.

We expect to maintain a flexible approach in financing new property acquisitions. In general, we expect to fund our property acquisitions through a combination of borrowings under bank credit facilities (including term loans and revolving facilities), property-level debt, issuances of OP equity and public and private equity and debt issuances.

As of December 31, 2017,2021, our unsecured credit facility provided for total borrowings of $895.0 million, consisting$1.550 billion (the "credit facility"). The credit facility consists of fourthe following components: (i) a revolving line of credit (the "Revolver") which provides for a total borrowing commitment up to $400.0$650.0 million, wherebyunder which we may borrow, repay and re-borrow amounts, under the Revolver, (ii) a $235.0$125.0 million tranche A term loan facility (the "Term Loan A"), (iii) a $155.0$250.0 million tranche B term loan facility (the "Term Loan B"), and (iv) a $105.0$225.0 million tranche C term loan facility (the "Term Loan C"), (v) a $175.0 million tranche D term loan facility (the "Term Loan D") and together with the Revolver, the Term(vi) a $125.0 million tranche E term loan facility (the "Term Loan A and the Term Loan B, the "credit facility"E"). As of December 31, 2017,2021, we had the entire amounts drawn on Term Loan A, Term Loan B, Term Loan C, Term Loan D and Term Loan CE and we had $88.5$490.0 million of outstanding borrowings under the Revolver, and the capacity to borrow an additional $306.8$154.3 million under the Revolver while remaining in compliance with the credit facility's financial covenants. As of December 31, 2021, we

We also have a credit agreement with a syndicated group of lenders for a term loan facility that matures in June 2023 (the "Term"2023 Term Loan Facility") thatand is separate from the credit facility in an aggregate amount of $100.0 million, which$175.0 million. As of December 31, 2021 the entire amount is outstanding. Thewas outstanding under the 2023 Term Loan Facility matures in June 2023 and wewith an effective interest rate of 2.83%. We have an expansion option under the 2023 Term Loan Facility, which, if exercised in full, would provide for total borrowings in an aggregate amount of $400.0 million.

We have a totalcredit agreement with a lender for a term loan facility that matures in December 2028 (the "2028 Term Loan Facility") and is separate from the credit facility and 2023 Term Loan Facility in an aggregate amount of $200.0$75.0 million. As of December 31, 2021 the entire amount was outstanding under the 2028 Term Loan Facility with an effective interest rate of 4.62%. We have an expansion option under the 2028 Term Loan Facility, which, if exercised in full, would provide for total borrowings in an aggregate amount up to $125.0 million.

The credit facility, 2023 Term Loan Facility, 2028 Term Loan Facility, and the2029 Term Loan Facility each contain the same financial covenants and customary affirmative and negative covenants that, among other things, could limit the Company's ability to make distributions or certain investments, incur debt, incur liens and enter into certain transactions.

The Senior Unsecured Notes are subject to customary affirmative and negative covenants that, among other things, limit the Company's ability to make distributions or certain investments, incur debt, incur liens and enter into certain transactions.

We expect to employ leverage in our capital structure in amounts determined from time to time by our board of trustees. Although our board of trustees has not adopted a policy which limits the total amount of indebtedness that we may incur, it will consider a number of factors in evaluating our level of indebtedness from time to time, as well as the amount of such indebtedness that will be either fixed and variable-rate, and in making financial decisions, including, among others, the following:

Our indebtedness may be recourse, non-recourse or cross-collateralized. If the indebtedness is non-recourse, the collateral will be limited to the particular properties to which the indebtedness relates. In addition, we may invest in properties subject to existing loans secured by mortgages or similar liens on our properties, or may refinance properties acquired on a leveraged basis. We may use the proceeds from any borrowings to refinance existing indebtedness, to refinance investments, including the redevelopment of existing properties, for general working capital or for other purposes when we believe it is advisable.

In the future, we may adopt a dividend reinvestment plan that will permit shareholders who elect to participate in the plan to have their cash dividends reinvested in additional common shares.

Generally, self storage properties are subject to various laws, ordinances and regulations, including those relating to lien sale rights and procedures, public accommodations, insurance, and the environment. Changes in any of these laws, ordinances or regulations could increase the potential liability existing or created by tenants or others on our properties. Laws, ordinances, or regulations affecting development, construction, operation, upkeep, safety and taxation requirements may result in significant unanticipated expenditures, loss of self storage sites or other impairments to operations, which would adversely affect our cash flows from operating activities.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("the ADA"(the "ADA"), all places of public accommodation are required to meet certain federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. A number of additional U.S. federal, state and local laws may also require modifications to our properties, or restrict certain further renovations of the properties, with respect to access thereto by disabled persons. The ADA or these other laws may also apply to our website. For additional information on the ADA, see "Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Costs associated with complying with the ADA may result in unanticipated expenses."

Insurance activities are subject to state insurance laws and regulations as determined by the particular insurance commissioner for each state in accordance with the McCarran-Ferguson Act, as well as subject to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the privacy regulations promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission pursuant thereto.

Under various U.S. federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations, owners and operators of real estate may be liable for the costs of investigating and remediating certain hazardous substances or other regulated materials on or in such property. The Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (the "CERCLA"("CERCLA"), and comparable state laws typically impose strict joint and several liabilities without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such substances or materials. The presence of such substances or materials, or the failure to properly remediate such substances, may adversely affect the owner's or operator's ability to lease, sell or rent such property or to borrow using such property as collateral. Persons who arrange for the disposal or treatment of hazardous substances or other regulated materials may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of such substances at a disposal or treatment facility, whether or not such facility is owned or operated by such person. Certain environmental laws impose liability for release of asbestos-

Property management activities are often subject to state real estate brokerage laws and regulations as determined by the particular real estate commission for each state.

We have elected and we believe that we have qualified to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, (the "Code"), commencing with our taxable year ended on December 31, 2015. We generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our net taxable income to the extent that we distribute annually all of our net taxable income to our shareholders and maintain our qualification as a REIT. We believe that we have been organized and have operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code, and we expect that our intended manner of operation will enable us to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT. To qualify, and maintain our qualification, as a REIT, we must meet on a continuing basis, through our organization and actual investment and operating results, various requirements under the Code relating to, among other things, the sources of our gross income, the composition and values of our assets, our distribution levels and the diversity of ownership of our shares. If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year and do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates and may be precluded from qualifying as a REIT for the subsequent four taxable years following the year during which we failed to qualify as a REIT. Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we still may be subject to some U.S. federal, state and

We compete with many other entities engaged in real estate investment activities for customers and acquisitions of self storage properties and other assets, including national, regional, and local owners, operators, and developers of self storage properties. We compete based on a number of factors including location, rental rates, security, suitability of the property's design to prospective tenants' needs, and the manner in which the property is operated and marketed. We believe that the primary competition for potential customers comes from other self storage properties within a three to five mile radius. We have positioned our properties within their respective markets as high-quality operations that emphasize tenant convenience, security, and professionalism.

Our primary national competitors in many of our markets for both tenants and acquisition opportunities include local and regional operators, institutional investors, private equity funds, as well as the other public self storage REITs, including Public Storage, Cubesmart,CubeSmart, Extra Space Storage Inc. and Life Storage, Inc. These entities also seek financing through similar channels to the Company. Therefore, we will continue to compete for institutional investors in a market where funds for real estate investment may decrease.

As of December 31, 2017, the Company2021, we had 2111,175 employees, which includes employees of the Company'sour property management platform but does not include persons employed by our PROs. As of December 31, 2017,2021, our PROs, collectively, had approximately 1,000950 full-time and part-time employees involved in management, operations, and reporting with respect to our self storage property portfolio.

We file registration statements, proxy statements, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those statements and reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Investors may obtain copies of these statements and reports by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549, by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330, or by accessing the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Our statements and reports and any amendments to any of those statements and reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission are available free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable on our website at www.nationalstorageaffiliates.com. The information contained on our website is not incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NSA."

Our operating results are dependent upon our ability to achieve optimal occupancy levels and rental rates at our self storage properties. Adverse economic or other conditions in the markets in which we do business, particularly in our markets in California, Oregon, Texas, Florida, North CarolinaOregon, Georgia, and OklahomaArizona, which accounted for approximately 27%17%, 14%16%, 10%, 9%, 6%, and 6%5%, respectively, of our total rental and other property-related revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017,2021, may lower our occupancy levels and limit our ability to maintain or increase rents or require us to offer rental discounts. No single customer represented a significant concentration of our 20172021 revenues. However, our property portfolio, consists solely of self storage properties and is therefore subject to risks inherent in investments in a single industry. The following adverse developments, among others, in the markets in which we do business may adversely affect the operating performance of our properties:

Any of the above events may reduce our growthrental revenues, impair our operating results, and profitability.reduce our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and make cash distributions to our shareholders, and the effect of the foregoing may be greater than it would be were our investments not limited to a single industry.

Our ability to expand through acquisitions is integral to our business strategy and requires us to identify suitable acquisition candidates or investment opportunities that meet our criteria and are compatible with our growth strategy. We may not be successful in identifying suitable properties or other assets that meet our acquisition criteria or in consummating acquisitions on satisfactory terms or at all. Failure to identify or consummate acquisitions will slow our growth, which could in turn adversely affect our share price.

For the potential acquisitions in our captive pipeline, we have not entered into negotiations with the respective owners of these properties and there can be no assurance as to whether we will acquire any of these properties or the actual timing of any such acquisitions. Each captive pipeline property is subject to additional due diligence and the determination by us to pursue the acquisition of the property. In addition, with respect to the captive pipeline properties in which our PROs have a non-controlling ownership interest or no ownership interest, the current owner of each property is not required to offer such property to us and there can be no assurance that we will acquire these properties.

Our ability to acquire properties on favorable terms and successfully integrate and operate them, including integrating them into our financial and operational reporting infrastructure in a timely manner, may be constrained by the following significant risks:

We compete with many other entities engaged in real estate investment activities for tenants, including national, regional and local owners, operators and developers of self storage properties. Our primary national competitors for tenants in many of our markets are the large public and private self storage companies, institutional investors, and private equity funds. Actions by our competitors may decrease or prevent increases in the occupancy and rental rates, while increasing the operating expenses of our properties.

Increases in income or other taxes generally are not passed through to tenants under leases and may reduce or negatively impact our net income, funds from operations ("FFO"), cash flows, financial condition, ability to pay or refinance our debt obligations, ability to make cash distributions to shareholders, and the trading price of our securities. Similarly, changes in laws increasing

In addition, the potential liability for environmental conditions existing on properties or increasing the restrictions on discharges or other conditions may result in significant unanticipated expenditures, which could result in similar adverse effects.

Similarly, in response to facing severe budgetary problems, many states and jurisdictions are considering or implementing changes in laws such as increasing sales taxes, increasing the potential liability for environmental conditions existing on properties, increasing the restrictions on discharges or other conditions, or mandating paid family leave for employees, which may result in significant unanticipated expenditures, which could be adversely affected.

Our storage leases are relatively short-term in nature, typically month-to-month, which exposes us to the risk that we may have to re-lease our units frequently and we may be unable to do so on attractive terms, on a timely basis or at all. Because these leases generally permit the tenant to leave at the end of the month without penalty, our revenues and operating results may be impacted by declines in market rental rates more quickly than if our leases were for longer terms. In addition, any delay in re-leasing units as vacancies arise would reduce our revenues and harm our operating results.

We and our PROs are increasingly dependent upon automated information technology processes and Internet commerce, and somemany of our newand their tenants come from the telephone or over the Internet. Moreover, the nature of our and our PROs' business involves the receipt and retention of certain personal information about such tenants. In many cases, we and our tenants. WePROs also rely extensivelysignificantly on third-party vendors to retain data, process transactions and provide other systems services. These systemsOur networks and our systems are subject to damageoperations could be disrupted, and sensitive data could be compromised, by physical or interruption from power outages, computer and telecommunications failures, computer worms, viruses and other destructive or disruptiveelectronic security breaches, targeted against us, our PROs, our vendors or other organizations, including financial markets or institutions, including by way of or through cyber-attacks or cyber-intrusions over the Internet, malware, computer viruses, attachments to e-mails, phishing, employee theft or misuse, or inadequate security controls. Although we make efforts to protect the security and catastrophic events,integrity of our networks and systems, there can be no assurance that these efforts and measures will be effective or that attempted security breaches or disruptions would not be successful, as such as a natural disaster or a terrorist event or cyber-attack. In addition, experienced computer programmersattacks and breaches may be abledifficult to penetrate our network securitydetect (or not detected at all) and misappropriate ourare becoming more sophisticated. In such event, we may experience business interruptions; data loss, ransom, misappropriation, or corruption; theft or misuse of confidential information, create system disruptions or cause shutdowns.

Under the ADA places of public accommodationand other federal, state and local laws, we are required to meet certain federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. These requirements became effective in 1992. A number of additional U.S. federal, state and local laws may also require modifications to our properties, or restrict certain further renovations of the properties, with respect to access thereto by disabled persons. Noncompliance with the ADA could result in the imposition of fines or an award of damages to private litigants and also could result in an order to correct any non-complying feature, which could result in substantial capital expenditures. If one or more of our properties or websites is not in compliance with the ADA or other legislation,similar laws, then we would be required to incur additional costs to bring the property or websites into compliance. If we incur substantialsuch costs to comply with the ADA or other legislation,and they are substantial, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, per share trading price of our common shares and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and to make cash distributions to our shareholders could be adversely affected.

Under various U.S. federal, state and local environmental laws, ordinances and regulations, owners and operators of real estate may be liable for the costs of investigating and remediating certain hazardous substances or other regulated materials on or in such property. CERCLA and comparable state laws typically impose strict joint and several liabilities without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such substances or materials. The presence of such substances or materials, or the failure to properly remediate such substances, may adversely affect the owner's or operator's ability to lease, sell or rent such property or to borrow using such property as collateral. Persons who arrange for the disposal or treatment of hazardous substances or other regulated materials may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of such substances at a disposal or treatment facility, whether or not such facility is owned or operated by such person. Certain environmental laws impose liability for release of asbestos-containing materials into the air and third-parties may seek recovery from owners or operators of real properties for personal injury associated with asbestos-containing materials.

We and certain of our PROs have tenant insurance- and/or tenant protection plan-related arrangements with regulated insurance companies and our tenants. Some of our PROs earn access fees and commissions in connection with these arrangements. We receive a portion of the fees and commissions from these PROs. The tenant insurance and tenant protection plan businesses, including the payments associated with these arrangements, are in some cases subject to state-specific governmental regulation. State regulatory authorities generally have broad discretion to grant, renew and revoke licenses and approvals, to promulgate, interpret and implement regulations, and to evaluate compliance with regulations through periodic examinations, audits and investigations of the affairs of insurance industry participants. Although these arrangements are managed by our property management platform and/or certain of our PROs who have developed marketing programs and management procedures to navigate the regulatory environment, as a result of regulatory or private action in any jurisdiction in which we operate, we may be temporarily or permanently suspended from continuing some or all of our tenant insurance- and/or tenant protection plan-related activities, or otherwise fined or penalized or suffer an adverse judgment, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Personal privacy has become a significant issue in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Many jurisdictions in which we operate have imposed or in the future may impose restrictions and requirements on the use of personal information by those collecting such information. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which became effective as of January 1, 2020, together with the California Privacy Rights Act, provides consumers with expansive rights and control over personal information obtained by or shared with certain covered businesses. Changes to law or regulations or the passage of new laws affecting privacy, if applicable to our business, could impose additional costs and liability on us and could limit our use and disclosure of such information.

We maintain comprehensive liability, fire, flood, earthquake, wind (as deemed necessary or as required by our lenders), extended coverage and rental loss insurance with respect to our properties. Certain types of losses, however, may be either uninsurable or not economically insurable either in total or in part (due to location or otherwise), such as losses due to earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, riots, acts of war or terrorism. Should an uninsured loss occur, we could lose both our investment in and anticipated profits and cash flow from a property.property or otherwise be subject to significant liabilities. In addition, if any such loss is insured, we may be required to pay significant amounts on any claim for recovery of such a loss prior to our insurer being obligated to reimburse us for the loss, or the amount of the loss may exceed our coverage for the loss. We currently self-insure a portion of our commercial insurance deductible risk through our captive insurance company. To the extent that our captive insurance company is unable to bear that risk, we may be required to fund additional capital to our captive insurance company or we may be required to bear that loss. As a result, our operating results may be adversely affected.

Because real estate investments are relatively illiquid and we have agreed and may in the future agree to certain transfer restrictions with respect to our properties, our ability to promptly sell one or more properties in our portfolio in response to changing economic, financial and investment conditions is limited. The real estate market is affected by many factors, such as general economic conditions, availability of financing, interest rates and other factors, including supply and demand, that are beyond our control. We cannot predict whether we will be able to sell any property for the price or on the terms set by us or whether any price or other terms offered by a prospective purchaser would be acceptable to us. We also cannot predict the length of time needed to find a willing purchaser and to close the sale of a property. In addition, we may be required to expend funds to correct defects or to make improvements before a property can be sold. We cannot assure you that we will have funds available to correct those defects or to make those improvements.

Our success depends, to a significant extent, on the continued services of Arlen D. Nordhagen, and Tamara D. Fischer, David G. Cramer and Brandon S. Togashi and the other members of our senior management team. At the time of our initial public offering, Mr. Nordhagen and Ms. FischerWe have entered into new employment agreements with us. TheseMr. Nordhagen, Ms. Fischer, Mr. Cramer and Mr. Togashi and these employment agreements provide for an initial three-yearone-year term of employment for these executives and automatic one-year extensions thereafter unless either party provides at least 90 days' notice of non-renewal. Notwithstanding these agreements, there can be no assurance that any of them will remain employed by us. The loss of services of one or more

Some of our investments are, and in the future may be, structured as strategic joint ventures. Part of our strategy is to opportunistically partner with institutional funds and other institutional investors to acquire attractive portfolios through a promoted return structure. These arrangements are driven by the magnitude of capital required to complete the acquisitions and maintain the acquired portfolios. Such arrangements involve risks not present where a third party is not involved, including the possibility that partners or co-venturers might become bankrupt or otherwise fail to fund their share of required capital contributions. Additionally, partners or co-venturers might at any time have economic or other business interests or goals different from us and or in competition with us.

Joint ventures generally provide for a reduced level of control over an acquired project because governance rights are shared with others. Accordingly, certain major decisions relating to joint ventures, including decisions relating to, among other things, the approval of annual budgets, sales and acquisitions of properties, financings, and certain actions relating to bankruptcy, are often made by a majority vote of the investors or by separate agreements that are reached with respect to individual decisions. In addition, such decisions may be subject to the risk that the partners or co-venturers may make business, financial or management decisions with which we do not agree or take risks or otherwise act in a manner that does not serve our best interests. Because we may not have the ability to exercise control over such operations, we may not be able to realize some or all of the benefits that we believe will be created from our involvement. At times, we and our partners or co-venturers may also each have the right to trigger a buy-sell arrangement, which could cause us to sell our interest, or acquire our partners' or co-venturers' interest, at a time when we otherwise would not have initiated such a transaction. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer as a result.

Some of our PROs have limited experience operating under our capital structure. As a means of incentivizing our PROs to drive operating performance and support the sustainability of the operating cash flow from the properties they manage on our behalf, we issued each PRO subordinated performance units aimed at aligning the interests of our PROs with our interests and those of our shareholders. The subordinated performance units are entitled to distributions exclusively tied to the performance of each PRO's managed portfolios but only after minimum performance thresholds are satisfied. Our issuance of such units, however, may have been and could be based on inaccurate valuations and thus misallocated, which would limit or eliminate the effectiveness of our intended incentive-based program. Moreover, difficulties in aligning incentives and implementing our structure could allow a PRO to underperform without triggering our right to terminate the applicable facilities portfolio and asset management agreements and transfer management rights of the PRO to us (or a designee) or cause our management to be distracted from other aspects of our business, which could adversely affect our operating results and business.

The partnership unit designations related to our subordinated performance units provide that, until March 31, 2023, our operating partnership may not sell, dispose or otherwise transfer any property that is a part of the applicable self storage property portfolio relating to a series of subordinated performance units without the consent of the partners (including us) holding at least 50% of the then outstanding OP units and the consent of partners holding at least 50% of the then outstanding series of subordinated performance units that relate to the applicable property, except for sales, dispositions or other transfers of a property to wholly owned subsidiaries of our operating partnership. This restriction may require us to keep certain properties that we would otherwise sell, which could have an adverse effect on our

We may elect to terminate our facilities portfolio management agreementsFPMAs and asset management agreementsAMAs with a PRO and transfer property management responsibilities over the properties managed by such PRO to us (or our designee), (i) upon certain defaults by a PRO as set forth in these agreements, or (ii) if the PRO's properties, on a portfolio basis, fail to meet certain pre-determinedpredetermined performance thresholds for more than two consecutive calendar years or if the operating cash flow generated by the properties of the PRO for any calendar year falls below a level that will enable us to fund minimum levels of distributions, debt service payments attributable to the properties, and fund the properties' allocable operating expenses. Consequently, to the extent a PRO complies with these covenants, standards, and minimum requirements, we may not be able to terminate the applicable facilities portfolio management agreementsFPMAs and asset management agreementsAMAs and transfer property management responsibilities over such properties to us (or our designee) even if our board of trustees believes that such PRO is not properly executing our business plan and/or is failing to operate its properties to their full potential. Moreover, transferring the management responsibilities over the properties managed by a PRO may be costly or difficult to implement or

Our PROs are entities that have contributed or will contribute through contribution agreements, self storage properties, or legal entities owning self storage properties to our operating partnership or DownREIT partnershipsus in exchange for ownership interests in our operating partnership or DownREIT partnerships.us. As part of each transaction, our PROs make and have made limited representations and warranties to our operating partnershipus regarding the entities, properties and other assets to be acquired by our operating partnership or DownREIT partnershipsus in the contribution and generally agree to indemnify our operating partnershipus for 12 months after the closing of the contribution for breaches of such representations. Such indemnification is limited, however, and our operating partnership iswe are not entitled to any other indemnification in connection with the contributions. In addition, following each contribution from a PRO, the day-to-day operations of each of the managed properties will be managed by the PRO who was the principal of the applicable self storage property portfolios prior to the contribution. In addition, certain key persons of our PROs are members of our board of trustees, members ofor our PRO advisory committee, or are executive officers of the Company.committee. Consequently, we may choose not to enforce, or to enforce less vigorously, our rights under these agreements and any other agreements with our PROs due to our desire to maintain our ongoing relationship with our PROs, which could adversely affect our operating results and business.

Pursuant to the facilities portfolio management agreements with our PROs,FPMAs, each PRO has agreed that, without our consent, the PRO will not, and it will cause its affiliates (other than Blue Sky's sub-manager) not to, enter into any new agreements or arrangements for the management of additional self storage properties other than the properties we are not acquiring and the properties each PRO contributes to our operating partnership.within any PRO's assigned territory. However, we have not and will not acquire all of the self storage properties of our PROs. We will therefore own self storage properties in some of the same geographic regions as our PROs, and, as a result, we and our PROs may compete for tenants with our PROs.tenants. This competition may affect our ability to attract and retain tenants and may reduce the rental rates we are able to charge, which could adversely affect our operating results and business.

Our PROs and their employees and personnel are in the business of managing self storage properties. We have agreed that our PROs may continue to manage properties not included in our portfolio, and our PROs are not obligated to dedicate any specific employees or personnel exclusively to the management of our properties. As a result, their time and efforts may be diverted from the management of our properties, which could adversely affect the execution of our business plan and our operating results.

Under the facilities portfolio management agreements,our FPMAs, after a two yeartwo-year period following the later of completion of our initial public offering or the initial contribution of their properties to us, a PRO may elect, or be required, to "retire" from the self storage business. Upon a retirement event, management of the properties will be transferred to us (or our designee) in exchange for OP units with a value equal to four times the average of the normalized annual EBITDA from the management contracts related to such PRO's managed portfolio over the immediately preceding 24-month period. As a result of this transfer, we may become exposed to new and additional costs and risks. Accordingly, the retirement of a PRO may adversely affect our financial condition and operating results. For example, in connection with our internalization of a retiring PRO, there can be no assurance that we will be able to retain such retiring PRO's employees, successfully hire new employees, or effectively integrate such employees and the retiring PRO's property management platform into our or another PRO's property management platform.

We did not conduct arm's-length negotiations with certain of the parties involved regarding the terms of the formation transactions and subsequentour contribution transactions, including the contribution agreements, facilities portfolio management agreements,FPMAs, sales commission agreements, asset management agreementsAMAs and registration rights agreements. In the course of structuring the formation transactions and subsequent contributionsuch transactions, certain members of our senior management team and other contributors had the ability to influence the type and level of benefits that they received from us. Accordingly, the terms of the formation transactions and subsequent contributionsuch transactions may not solely reflect the best interests of us or our shareholders and may be overly favorable to the other party to such transactions and agreements.

Conflicts of interest could arise with respect to the interests of holders of OP units (includingand subordinated performance units),units, on the one hand, which include members of our senior management team, PROs, and trustees (including Arlen D. Nordhagen, our chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board of trustees) and us and our shareholders, on the other. In particular, the consummation of certainCertain business combinations, the sale, disposition or transfer of certain of our assets or the repayment of certain indebtedness that may be desirable to us and our shareholders could have adverse tax consequences to such unit holders. In addition, under Maryland law, our trustees and officers have duties to the Company under applicable Maryland law in connection with their management of the Company. At the same time,Company, however, under Delaware law, as a general partner, we have fiduciary duties as a general partner, to our operating partnership and to the limited partners under Delaware law in connection with the management of our operating partnership. Our duties as a general partner to our operating partnership and its partners may come into conflict with the duties of our trustees and officers to the Company and our shareholders. The partnership agreement of our operating partnership doesshareholders and we are not require usrequired to resolve such conflicts in favor of either the Company or the limited partners in our operating partnership. Further, there can be no assurance that any procedural protections we implement to address these or other conflicts of interest will result in optimal outcomes for us and our shareholders.

The partnership agreement of our operating partnership provides that subordinated performance unit holders holding more than 50% of the voting power of the subordinated performance units must approve certain change of control transactions involving us unless, as a result of such transactions, the holders of subordinated performance units are offered a choice (1) to allow their subordinated performance units to remain outstanding without the terms thereof being materially and adversely changed or the subordinated performance units are converted into or exchanged for equity securities of the surviving entity having terms and conditions that are substantially similar to those of the subordinated performance units (it being understood that we may not be the surviving entity and that the parent of the surviving entity or the surviving entity may not be publicly traded) or (2) to receive for each subordinated performance unit an amount of cash, securities or other property payable to a holder of OP units had such holder exercised its right to exchange its subordinated performance units for OP units without taking into consideration a specified conversion penalty associated with such an exchange. In addition, in the case of any such change of control transactions in which we have not received the consent of OP unit holders holding more than 50% of the OP units (other than those held by the Companyus or itsour subsidiaries) and of subordinated performance unit holders holding more than 50% of the voting power of the subordinated performance units (other than those held by the Companyus or itsour subsidiaries), such transaction is required to be approved by a companywidecompany-wide vote of limited partners holding more than 50% of our outstanding OP

The MGCL, our bylaws and our declaration of trust contain provisions that may discourage, delay or make more difficult a premium over the then prevailing market price of such shares. The "business combination" provisions of the MGCL,change in our control. We are subject to limitations, prohibit certain business combinations betweenthe Maryland Business Combination Act. Our board has adopted a REIT and an "interested shareholder" (defined generally asresolution exempting from the Maryland Business Combination Act any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of our then outstanding voting shares or an affiliate or associate of ours who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of 10% or more of our then outstanding voting shares) or an affiliate thereof for five years after the most recent date on which the shareholder becomes an interested shareholder and, thereafter, imposes special appraisal rights and special shareholder voting requirements on these combinations. These provisions of the MGCL do not apply, however, to business combinations that are approved or exempted by the board of trustees of a REIT prior to the time that the interested shareholder becomes an interested shareholder. Pursuant to the statute, our board of trustees has by resolution exempted business combinations between us and (1) any other person, provided that the business combination is first approved by our board of trustees (including a majority of trustees who are not affiliates or associates of such person)disinterested trustees), (2) Arlen D. Nordhagen and any of his affiliates and associates and (3) any person acting in concert with the foregoing, from these provisions of the MGCL.foregoing. As a result, such persons may be able to enter into business combinations with us that may not be in the best interests of our shareholders without compliance by us with the moratorium supermajority vote requirements and other provisions of the statute. This resolution, however, may be altered or repealed in whole or in part at any time. If this resolution is repealed or our board of trustees does not otherwise approve a business combination, this statutethe Maryland Business Combination Act may discourage othersthird parties from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating anysuch an offer.

The "control share" provisions of the MGCL provideMaryland Control Share Acquisition Act provides that holders of "control shares" of a Maryland real estate investment trust (defined as voting shares which, when aggregated with all other shares controlled by the shareholder, entitle the shareholder to exercise one of three increasing ranges of voting power in the election of trustees) acquired in a "control share acquisition" (defined as the direct or indirect acquisition of ownership or control of issued and outstanding "control shares," subject to certain exceptions) have no voting rights with respect to such shares except to the extent approved by our shareholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be

We have also adopted other measures that this provision will not be amended or eliminated at any time in the future.

In order for us to qualify as a REIT for each taxable year, no more than 50% in value of our outstanding shares may be owned, directly or constructively, by five or fewer individuals during the last half of any calendar year, and at least 100 persons must beneficially own our shares during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months, or during a proportionate portion of a shorter taxable year. "Individuals" for this purpose include natural persons, private foundations, some employee benefit plans and trusts, and some charitable trusts. To assist us in preserving our REIT qualification, among other purposes, our declaration of trust generally prohibits, among other limitations, any person from beneficially or constructively owning more than 9.8% in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of our aggregate outstanding shares of all classes and series, the outstanding shares of any class or series of our preferred shares or our outstanding common shares. These ownership limits and the other restrictions on ownership and transfer of our shares contained in our declaration of trust could have the effect of discouraging a takeover or other transaction in which holders of our common shares might receive a premium for their shares over the then prevailing market price or which holders might believe to be otherwise in their best interests. Our board of trustees has established exemptions from these ownership limits which permits certain of our institutional investors to hold up to 20% of our common shares and up to 25% of our preferred shares.

Our level of debt and the limitations imposed on us by our debt agreements could have significant adverse consequences, including the following:

Uncertainty in the credit markets may negatively impact our ability to access additional debt financing or to refinance existing debt maturities on favorable terms (or at all), which may negatively affect our ability to make acquisitions.acquisitions or make distributions required to maintain our qualification as a REIT. A downturn in the credit markets may cause us to seek alternative sources of potentially less attractive financing, and may require us to adjust our business plans accordingly. In addition, these factors may make it more difficult for us to sell properties or may adversely affect the price we receive for properties that we do sell, as prospective buyers may experience increased costs of debt financing or difficulties in obtaining debt financing.

We depend on external sources of capital to acquire properties, to satisfy our debt obligations and to make distributions to our shareholders required to maintain our qualification as a REIT, and these sources of capital may not be available on favorable terms, or at all. Our access to external sources of capital depends on a number of factors, including the market's perception of our growth potential and our current and potential future earnings and our ability to continue to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If we are unable to obtain external sources of capital, we may not be able to acquire properties when strategic opportunities exist, satisfy our debt obligations or make cash distributions to our shareholders that would permit us to qualify as a REIT or avoid paying tax on all of our net taxable income.

As of December 31, 2017,2021, we had approximately $958.1 million$2.9 billion of debt outstanding, of which approximately $88.5$615.0 million, or 9.2%20.9%, is subject to variable interest rates (excluding variable-rate debt subject to interest rate swaps). Although the credit markets have recently experienced historic lows in interest rates, if interest rates continue to rise, the interest rates on our variable-rate debt that we may incur in the future could be higher than current levels, which could increase our financing costs and decrease our cash flow and our ability to pay cash distributions to our shareholders. For example, if market rates of interest on this variable-rate debt increased by 100 basis points (excluding variable-rate debt with interest rate swaps), the increase in interest expense would decrease future earnings and cash flows by approximately $0.9 million annually.

Although we have historically sought, and may in the future seek, to manage our exposure to interest rate volatility by using interest rate hedging arrangements, these arrangements may not be effective. Developing an effective interest rate risk strategy is complex and no strategy can completely insulate us from risks associated with interest rate

Our credit facility, term loan facilities and Term Loan Facilitysenior unsecured notes contain (and any new or amended facility we may enter into from time to time will likely contain) customary affirmative and negative covenants, including financial covenants that, among other things, cap our total leverage at 60% ofand our gross asset value (as defined in our credit facility and Term Loan Facility), require us to have a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of 1.5 to 1, and require us to have a minimum net worth (as defined in our credit facility) of at least $682.6 million plus 75% of the net proceeds of equity issuances.unsecured debt. In the event that we fail to satisfy our covenants, we would be in default under our creditdebt agreements and may be required to repay such debt with capital from other sources. Under such circumstances, other sources of debt or equity capital may not be available to us, or may be available only on unattractive terms. Moreover, the presence of such covenants could cause us to operate our business with a view toward compliance with such covenants, which might not produce optimal returns for shareholders.

We have elected and we believe that we have qualified to be taxed as a REIT commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2015. We have not requested, and do not intend to request a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"), that we qualify as a REIT. Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Code provisions and Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder for which there are limited judicial and administrative interpretations. The complexity of these provisions and of applicable Treasury Regulations is greater in the case of a REIT that, like us, holds its assets through partnerships, and judicial and administrative interpretations of the U.S. federal income tax laws governing REIT qualification are limited. To qualify as a REIT, we must meet, on an ongoing basis through actual operating results, various tests regarding the nature and diversification of our assets and our income, the ownership of our outstanding shares and the amount of our distributions. Our compliance with the REIT income and quarterly asset requirements also depends upon our ability to manage successfully the composition of our income and assets on an ongoing basis. Our ability to satisfy these asset tests depends upon our analysis of the characterization and fair market values of our assets, some of which are not susceptible to a precise determination, and for which we will not obtain independent appraisals. Moreover, new legislation, court decisions or administrative guidance may, in each case possibly with retroactive effect, make it more difficult or impossible for us to qualify as a REIT. Thus, while we believe that we have been organized and operated and we intend to operate so that we will continue to qualify as a REIT, given the highly complex nature of the rules governing REITs, the ongoing importance of factual determinations and the possibility of future changes in our circumstances, no assurance can be given that we have qualified or will so qualify for any particular year. These considerations also might restrict the types of assets that we can acquire or services that we can provide in the future.

If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, and we do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, we would be required to pay U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income at regular corporate rates, and distributions to our shareholders would not be deductible by us in determining our taxable income. In such a case, we might need to borrow money, sell assets, or reduce or even cease making distributions in order to pay our taxes. Our payment of income tax would reduce significantly the amount of operating cash flow to our shareholders. Furthermore, if we fail to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we no longer would be required to make distributions to our shareholders. In addition, unless we were eligible for certain statutory relief provisions, we could not re-elect to be taxed as a REIT until the fifth calendar year following the year in which we failed to qualify.

Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to certain U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income and assets, including taxes on any undistributed income, state or local income and property and transfer taxes, including real property transfer taxes. In addition, we could, in certain circumstances, be required to pay an excise or penalty tax (which could be significant in amount) in order to utilize one or more relief provisions under the Code to maintain our qualification as a REIT. Any of these taxes would decrease operating cash flow to our shareholders.

In addition, we will be subject to a 100% tax on any income from sales or other dispositions of property (other than property treated as foreclosure property under the Code) that is held as inventory or primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business by a REIT, either directly or indirectly through certain pass-through subsidiaries (a "prohibited transaction"). In order to meet the REIT qualification requirements, or to avertavoid the imposition of a 100%the penalty tax that applies to certain gains derived by a REIT from dealer property or inventory,on prohibited transactions, we may hold some of our assets or provide certain services to our tenants through one or more TRSs, or other subsidiary corporations that will be subject to corporate-

To qualify as a REIT, we must ensure that at least 75% of our gross income for each taxable year, excluding certain amounts, is derived from certain real property-related sources, and at least 95% of our gross income for each taxable year, excluding certain amounts, is derived from certain real property-related sources and passive income such as dividends and interest. In addition, we must ensure that, at the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our total assets consists of cash, cash items, U.S. government securities and qualified real estate assets. The remainder of our investment in securities generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities, securities of corporations that are treated as TRSs and qualified real estate assets) or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer (other than government securities, securities of corporations that are treated as TRSs and qualified real estate assets). In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our assets can consist of the securities of any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities, securities of corporations that are treated as TRSs and qualified real estate assets), no more than 20% (25% for taxable years beginning prior to January 1, 2018) of the value of our total assets can be represented by securities of one or more TRSs and no more than 25% of the value of our assets can consist of debt instruments issued by publicly offered REITs that are not otherwise secured by real property. If we fail to comply with these asset requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT qualification and suffering adverse tax consequences.

We believe our operating partnership qualifies as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our operating partnershipand accordingly generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its income. Instead, each of its partners, including us, will be required to pay tax on its allocable share of our operating partnership's income. No assurance can be provided, however, that the IRS will not challenge our operating partnership's status as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or that a court would not sustain such a challenge. If the IRS were successful in treating our operating partnership as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we would fail to meet the gross income tests and certain of the asset tests applicable to REITs. As a result,REITs, we would cease to qualify as a REIT, and both we and our operating partnership would become subject to U.S. federal, state and local income tax. The payment by our operating partnership of income tax would reduce significantly the amount of cash available to our operating partnership to satisfy obligations to make principal and interest payments on its debt and to make distribution to its partners, including us.

Our declaration of trust provides that the board of trustees may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our shareholders, if the board determines that it is no longer in our best interest to attempt to, or continue to, qualify as a REIT. If we cease to qualify as a REIT, we would become subject to U.S. federal income tax on our net taxable income and we generally would no longer be required to distribute any of our net taxable income to our shareholders, which may have adverse consequences on our total return to our shareholders.

At any time, the U.S. federal income tax laws or regulations governing REITs or the administrative interpretations of those laws or regulations may be changed, possibly with retroactive effect. Furthermore, the Biden administration has indicated an intention to enact tax legislation that could impact the taxation of an investment in our common stock. We cannot predict if or when any new U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, or any amendment to any existing U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, will be adopted, promulgated or become effective or whether any such law, regulation or interpretation may take effect retroactively. We and our shareholders could be adversely affected by any such change in, or any new, U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation.

Subject to applicable law and the rules of any stock exchange on which our shares may be listed or traded, our board, of trustees, without common shareholder approval, may authorize us to issue additional authorized and unissued common shares and preferred shares on the terms and for the consideration it deems appropriate and may amend our declaration of trust to increase the total number of shares, or the number of shares of any class or series, that we are authorized to issue. In addition, our operating partnership may issue OP units, which are redeemable for cash or, at our option exchangeable on a one-for-one basis into common shares after an agreed period of time and certain other conditions, preferred units of limited partnership interest, which are redeemable for cash or, at our option exchangeable on a one-for-one basis into our 6.000% Series A cumulative redeemable preferred shares of beneficial interest ("Series A Preferred Shares") and subordinated performance units, which are only convertible into OP units beginning two years following the initial issuance of the applicable series and then (i) at the holder's election only upon the achievement of certain performance thresholds relating to the properties to which such subordinated performance units relate or (ii) at our election upon a retirement event of a PRO that holds such subordinated performance units or upon certain qualifying terminations.

Notwithstanding the two-year lock out period on conversions of subordinated performance units into OP units, if all such subordinated performance units were convertible into OP units as of December 31, 2017,2021, each subordinated performance unit would on average hypothetically convert into 1.461.61 OP units, or into an aggregate of approximately 23.322.7 million OP units. These amounts are based on historical financial information for the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2017.2021. The hypothetical conversion is calculated by dividing the average cash available for distribution, or CAD, per subordinated performance unit by 110% of the CAD per OP unit over the same period. We anticipate that as our CAD grows over time, the conversion ratio will also grow, including to levels that may exceed this amount. The actual number of OP units into which such subordinated performance units will become convertible may vary significantly and will depend upon the applicable conversion penalty and the actual CAD to the OP units and the actual CAD to the converted subordinated performance units in the one-year period ending prior to conversion. We have also granted registration rights to those persons who will be eligible to receive common shares issuable upon exchange of OP units issued in our formation transactions and certain contribution transactions.

We cannot predict the effect, if any, of future sales of our common or preferred shares or the availability of shares for future sales, on the market price of our common or preferred shares. The market price of our common shares may decline significantly when the restrictions on resale by certain of our shareholders lapse. Sales of substantial amounts of common or preferred shares or the perception that such sales could occur may adversely affect the prevailing market price for our common shares.

Historically, we have paid quarterly common share dividends to our shareholders and quarterly distributions to our operating partnership unitholders, and we intend to continue to pay quarterlysuch dividends to our shareholders and to make quarterly distributions to our operating partnership unitholders in amounts such that all or substantially all of our net taxable income in each year is distributed, which, along with other factors, should enable us to continue to qualify for the tax benefits accorded to a REIT under the Code. We have not established a minimum dividends payment level, and all future distributions will be made at the discretion of our board of trustees.board. Our ability to pay dividends will depend upon, among other factors:

Certain of these matters are beyond our control and any significant difference between our expectations and actual results could have a material adverse effect on our cash flow and our ability to make distributions to shareholders.

If we decide to issue debt securities in the future, which would rank senior to our common shares, it is likely that they will be governed by an indenture or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. Additionally, any equity securities or convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common shares and may result in dilution to owners of our commonsuch shares. We and, indirectly, our shareholders will bear the cost of issuing and servicing such securities. Because our decision to issue debt or equity securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, holders of our common shares will bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of our common shares and diluting the value of their common share holdings in us.

None.

As of December 31, 2017,2021, we held ownership interests in and operated a geographically diversified portfolio of 5151,050 self storage properties, located in 2942 states and Puerto Rico, comprising approximately 32.167.8 million rentable square feet, configured in approximately 255,000533,000 storage units. Of these properties, we consolidated 444873 self storage properties that contain approximately 27.255.1 million rentable square feet and we held a 25% ownership interest in 71177 unconsolidated Joint Venturereal estate venture properties that contain approximately 4.912.7 million rentable square feet.

The following table sets forth summary information regarding our consolidated properties by state as of December 31, 2017.2021.

Our portfolio consists of self storage properties that are designed to offer customers convenient, affordable, and secure storage units. Generally, our properties are in highly visible locations clustered in states or markets with strong population and job growth and are specifically designed to accommodate residential and commercial tenants with features such as security systems, electronic gate entry, easy access, climate control, and pest control. Our units typically range from 25 square feet to 300 square feet, and some of our properties also offer outside storage for vehicles, boats, and equipment. We provide 24-hour access to many storage units through computer controlled access systems, as well as alarm and sprinkler systems on many of our individual storage units. Almost all of the storage units in our portfolio are leased on a month-to-month basis providing us the flexibility to increase rental rates over time as market conditions permit. Additional information on our consolidated self storage properties is contained in "Schedule III - Real Estate and Accumulated Depreciation" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We are not currently subject to any legal proceedings that we consider to be material.

Not applicable.

Our common shares have been listed and traded on the NYSE under the symbol "NSA" since April 22, 2015. Prior to that time there was no public market for our common shares. The following table sets forth the quarterly high and low sales prices of our common shares, as reported on the NYSE, and the dividends declared in the quarterly periods indicated:

On February 26, 2018, the closing price of our common shares as reported by the NYSE was $24.91. As of February 26, 2018,24, 2022, the Company had 2587 record holders of its common shares. The 2587 holders of record do not include the beneficial owners of common shares whose shares are held by a broker or bank. Such information was obtained from our transfer agent and registrar.

Since our initial quarter as a publicly-traded REIT, we have made regular quarterly distributions to our shareholders. Holders of common shares are entitled to receive distributions when declared by our board of trustees out of any assets legally available for that purpose. In order to maintain our status as a REIT, we are required to distribute at least 90% of our "REIT taxable income," which is generally equivalent to our net taxable ordinary income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gains to our shareholders annually in order to maintain our REIT qualification for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Common share dividends are characterized for U.S. federal income tax purposes as ordinary income, capital gains, return of capital or a combination thereof. Each year we communicate to shareholders the tax characterization of the common share dividends paid during the preceding year. Our tax return for the year ended December 31, 20172021 has not yet been filed and consequently, the taxability information presented for our dividends paid in 20172021 is based upon management's estimate. The following table summarizes the taxability of our dividends per common share for the year ended December 31, 2017:2021:

Information about our equity compensation plans is incorporated by reference to Item 12 of Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

During the three months ended December 31, 2017,2021, the Company, in its capacity as general partner of its operating partnership, caused the operating partnership to issue 219,91447,806 common shares to satisfy redemption requests from certain limited partners.

On October 3, 2017,December 21, 2021, the operating partnership issued 26,0498,662 OP units to Nordhagen LLLP, an entity for which Arlen D. Nordhagen, the Company's chairman and chief executive officer, holds voting and/or investment power, 115,918 OP units each to JM Trust and Lamb Family Trust, each an affiliate of Guardian,Moove In, one of the Company's existing PROs, and 2,605 OP units to an unrelated third party as partial consideration for the acquisition of a self storage property.

On October 16, 2017,December 28, 2021, the operating partnership issued 22,214 subordinated performance16,972 OP units to SecurCare Self Storage Inc., an affiliate of SecurCare, one of the Company's existing PROsunrelated third parties and an affiliate of Arlen D. Nordhagen, the Company's chairman and chief executive officer and 23,121 subordinated performance units to Move It B Units, LLC, an affiliate of Move It, one of the Company's existing PROs, in exchange for cash in connection with the acquisition of one self storage property from an unrelated third party.

On January 10, 2018,December 29, 2021, the operating partnership issued 11,490 subordinated performance6,632 OP units to Personal Mini Storage NSA, LLC, an affiliate of Moove In, one of the Company's existing PROs, as partial consideration for the acquisition of onea self storage property from an unrelated third party.property.

On January 22, 2018 and December 31, 2017,2021, the Operating Partnershipoperating partnership issued 47,54696,256 OP units, of which 48,128 units were issued to an affiliate of Northwest and 48,128 units were issued to a company controlled by J. Timothy Warren, but owned by Mr. Warren's adult children, as partial consideration for the acquisition of an interest in the aggregate, in exchange for $1.3 millionSBOA TI Reinsurance Ltd.

Effective as of January 1, 2022, in connection with the acquisitionretirement of 16 self storage properties fromNorthwest, as described above in this Form 10-K, the PROs during the year ended December 31, 2014, which includes 1,505Company issued 46,540 OP units issued to HFLP,Northwest and its shareholders. In addition, effective as of the same day, 2,078,357 Series NW subordinated performance units converted into 3,911,260 OP units as a non-voluntary conversion in connection with Northwest's retirement. Of these, (i) a company owned and controlled by J. Timothy Warren received 13,213 OP units upon conversion of 7,021 Series NW subordinated performance units and (ii) a company controlled by J. Timothy Warren, but owned by Mr. Warren's adult children, received 295,739 OP units upon the conversion of 157,149 Series NW subordinated performance units.

Also effective as of January 1, 2022, 82,611 subordinated performance units were converted in a voluntary conversion into 235,241 OP units. Of this amount, a company owned and controlled by Mark Van Mourick received 52,954 OP units upon the conversion of 20,000 Series OV subordinated performance units. In addition, effective as of January 1, 2022, 625,000 Class A OP units were converted into 234,751 Series MI subordinated performance units through an affiliate of Kevin Howard,Move It in a trusteevoluntary conversion.

As of February 14, 2022, the operating partnership issued 6,217 subordinated performance units to an affiliate of Personal Mini, one of the Company.

Following a specified lock up period after the respective datesdate of issuance set forth above, the OP units and Series A-1 Preferred Units issued by the operating partnership may be redeemed from time to time by holders for a cash amount per OP unit or Series A-1 Preferred Unit, respectively, equal to the market value of an equivalent number of common shares of the Company or Series A Preferred Shares, respectively.shares. The Company has the right, but not the obligation, to assume and satisfy the redemption obligation of the operating partnership described above by issuing one common share in exchange for each OP unit tendered for redemption and one Series A Preferred Share in exchange for each Series A-1 Preferred Unit tendered for redemption, subject to adjustments. redemption.