Apartment moving checklist

Ask the management three questions as soon as you have a date. Which hours are moves permitted, since many buildings bar evenings and weekends. Does the service lift need booking, and how far ahead. And does the building require a certificate of insurance from the moving company, naming the building as additional insured. That last one is the commonest reason a move is turned away at the door.

Because access is time and time is what a local move is billed on. A long carry from the legal parking spot to the door, a lift shared with residents, stairs with a turn too tight for a sofa, or a loading bay that must be booked in a slot all add trips. Tell the company the access conditions at both ends before the estimate, because an estimate given without them is an estimate for a different job.

Four weeks out for anything the building schedules: the lift, the loading bay, the certificate of insurance. Two weeks out for a parking permit if your city requires one for a moving truck, since permits are issued by a city department on their timeline. And the moving company itself eight weeks out, because a company with the right insurance paperwork is booked before one without it.

The inspection. A tenancy usually ends with a check against the condition report from when you moved in, and the deposit is decided on the gap between them. Photograph every room after it is empty and clean, take final meter readings, and return every key, fob and permit you were issued. Anything left behind, including furniture you meant as a gift, can be charged as removal.

Honesty in the estimate. Stairs are the single largest variable in a local move because every item is carried rather than wheeled, and a crew that arrives expecting a lift will either take longer or leave. Say the floor number and whether there is a lift when you request the quote. A crew told in advance brings more people and finishes sooner, which is usually cheaper than the alternative.