Moving into or out of a Toronto condo means working within the building’s rules. Many buildings ask you to book the service elevator in advance for a fixed window and pay a refundable damage deposit, and some ask your mover for proof of insurance before the day. Some also limit moves to certain hours and do not allow them on Sundays or holidays. Get the rules in writing from both buildings early, and plan the move around them.
The steps are not difficult, but they have to be done in the right order, and well before moving day. For the rest of the move, our moving checklist sets it out week by week.
Every building has its own rules
Each condominium corporation sets its own rules through its board, so two buildings on the same street can work very differently. One may give you a four-hour elevator window on a weekday afternoon. Another may allow Saturday mornings only. Ask the property manager or concierge for the moving rules as soon as you have a date in mind, and ask the same of the building you are leaving.
To give a sense of what to expect, here are the rules of one Toronto condominium, TSCC 1536:
- Moves use the service elevator, booked in advance with the property manager, for no more than four hours.
- Moves and deliveries are not allowed on Sundays or statutory holidays.
- A refundable damage deposit is paid when booking, in an amount set by the board.
- The elevator and common areas are inspected before and after the move, and any damage found afterwards that was not noted at the first inspection is treated as the responsibility of the owner and the person who booked.
You can read them in full on the building’s management site (rules in effect since 2009).
The elevator decides the day
The service elevator is the narrowest point of any condo move, in both senses. Its booking window sets how long the crew has, and its size sets what can travel in it.
Book the elevator as soon as your closing or lease date is firm, especially for the last days of the month, when buildings are busiest. If you can, book the same date at both buildings with a sensible gap between them, so the crew is not racing one window to make the next.
Then measure. Ask for the interior dimensions of the service elevator and the height of its door, and check them against your largest pieces: the sofa, the dining table, a tall bookcase, a headboard. A piece that will not fit upright may still travel on its end, but that needs planning and padding, not improvising in the lobby.
The paperwork
Most buildings will ask for some or all of the following before they confirm your booking:
- A signed elevator reservation form. This usually confirms the date, the window and your responsibility for any damage.
- A damage deposit. Often by certified cheque or money order, returned after the elevator and hallways are inspected.
- The mover’s certificate of insurance. A document from the mover’s insurer showing their liability coverage, often with the condominium corporation named on it. Your mover should send this directly to management.
- Your own details. Proof of ownership or a lease, and sometimes proof of your own home insurance.
A good mover handles the certificate and the building’s questions for you. Yugo carries $5 million in commercial general liability insurance. Yugo can provide a certificate of insurance to buildings and property managers on request. Tell us when you book if either building needs one, so it is ready in time.
On the day
The building will usually pad the service elevator, or ask the mover to. The crew should also protect the hallway floor between the elevator and your door, and the corners and door frames of the unit itself. If your building requires specific protection, such as hard floor sheeting, ask your mover whether it is included or quoted separately.
Loading areas need checking too. Many condo loading docks are underground or tucked behind the building, and some cannot take a full-size truck. If the truck has to park on the street, the crew needs to know where, and whether a longer walk or a second, smaller vehicle will be needed.
Be there, or have someone there, at the start and the end. The concierge or superintendent will often inspect the elevator with you before and after. Anything already marked should be noted on the form before the first piece goes in.
Moving out
The building you are leaving deserves the same care. Book its elevator, pay its deposit, and arrange the inspection. Leave keys, fobs and parking passes where management asks. Your deposit depends on the hallway looking the way it did that morning.
When the move does not fit the window
Sometimes a home simply will not move in one elevator window. A large condo, a full storage locker and a piano can be too much for four hours. The answer is to plan for it: book two windows, move over two days, or take some pieces ahead of time. Running over a booking is the quickest way to lose goodwill with a building you are about to live in.
Moving into a new building
A move into a newly completed condo has its own rhythm. In the first months, many residents can be moving in at once, and the service elevator may be booked weeks ahead. The building may still be finishing common areas, and management may have strict rules about protecting new floors and walls.
Book as early as the building allows, ask whether there are set move-in days, and confirm the loading arrangements in writing. New suites also deserve extra care: floors and freshly painted walls mark easily, and nobody wants the first scratch to arrive with the sofa.
Lockers and parking
A condo move is rarely just the suite. Storage lockers, bicycle rooms and parking spaces often hold more than people expect, and they are usually reached through a different route, sometimes a different elevator. Tell your mover about them at the assessment, so they are part of the plan and the elevator booking, not an afterthought at four in the afternoon.
If you rent
In many buildings, the elevator booking and deposit are arranged through the unit owner or the property manager rather than directly by a tenant. If you rent, ask your landlord early how bookings work in your building, who pays the deposit, and who signs the elevator reservation form. It avoids a delay at the front desk on the day.
A short condo checklist
- Ask both buildings for their move rules in writing.
- Book the service elevator at both addresses.
- Measure the elevator and compare it with your largest pieces.
- Send the mover’s certificate of insurance to both buildings.
- Pay the deposits and confirm the inspections.
- Plan the loading dock or street parking for the truck.
- Include lockers and parking spaces in the plan.
If you are moving into or out of a Toronto condo, begin an enquiry. Send us both buildings’ rules and we will plan the day around them.
Sources
TSCC 1536 Rules (Rule 14, Elevators and Moving), Toronto Standard Condominium Corporation No. 1536
