Charging extra for basement "storage"?

[Jonathan Taylor Smith]

I notice on the BP Rental Property Calculator there is a field for "Other Monthly Income" and the question mark icon gives "extra storage" as a possible example of such other income...

I have a 3BR / 2.5BA Townhouse for rent @ approximately 1600SF with an 800SF partially finished basement. Sites like Zillow and RentOMeter say that my ask of $1400 for rent is near the top of the market for the area, but still reasonable for a unit of this size - and that is even without the basement.

So does the basement effectively get thrown in for free? Or is this a scenario where I might legitimately charge some small extra amount for the basement (such as for storage) - or otherwise just keep it locked off separately from the rest of the house? This may be a stupid question, as I'm not seeking to do anything unethical... Its just my first unit with a basement and its so big. And HOA / Zoning does not allow the basement to be finished into a separate multi-family unit - or I'd certainly do that!

[Al Williamson]

Thanks @Wesley Williams for the intro

@Jonathan Taylor Smith there's a lot you can do with just a little marketing.

You could call the basement an "office" or a "den" and that's something you could market for higher rent.

Also, I've written in detail about an "Inn Keeper" profit center where the landlord joint ventures with the tenant to host Airbnb/VRBO guests. 

The ideas are endless - pause a little longer before going with the storage route. 

That being said, you should check out Roost.com for storage concepts.

Best to you ... you're question was entrepreneurial - a long ways from being stupid.