Moving Into an Apartment Building? Start With the Paperwork

Moving into an apartment building usually means paperwork before the movers can come

through the door, starting with a certificate of insurance. Most people in Greater Boston have

moved in and out of triple-deckers, where you park as close as you can, prop the front door

open and carry everything up the stairs, and nobody asks you for anything in writing. A

managed building with a front desk and a service elevator is often an easier move on the day itself, but the building wants a few things settled weeks ahead, and most renters don’t hear about them until they ask.

The certificate of insurance comes first

The certificate of insurance holds up a lot of moves, and most renters have never heard of it. It’s a document from the moving company’s insurance agency showing that the mover carries general liability, workers’ comp and auto coverage, so the building is protected if a crew member gets hurt or a dolly takes a chunk out of the lobby wall. Most buildings also want to be named on it, along with the management company and sometimes the owner. Every building words its requirements a little differently, from the coverage limits to which companies have to be named, and management won’t accept a certificate that doesn’t match. A reputable mover keeps one on file. Husky Moving posts its general liability certificate on its insurance page and provides certificates on request. But a certificate that names your building has to be issued by the mover’s insurance agency, so it takes a few days and won’t turn around overnight because you have a truck booked for Saturday. So get the building’s requirements in writing, send them to your mover, and let the mover have the certificate issued and approved by management before moving day. If you’re still choosing a mover, add it to your questions to ask when hiring movers, right next to whether they’re licensed and insured.

Book the elevator and loading dock early

If the building has a service elevator, you’ll need to reserve it. Some professionally managed buildings require move-ins to happen within a certain time frame if you’re using the elevator. They normally hang heavy blankets to pad the walls so nothing gets damaged, and if you don’t book it and move in anyway, they normally charge a fee. The building may also assign you an entrance and set rules about propping doors. Some buildings have a loading dock with its own booking and its own hours, and some ask for a deposit to hold the elevator. Husky’s moving tips cover those condo and building rules, plus getting a street permit so the truck has a place to park. The slots are shared, so when a lot of leases turn over in the same week, the weekend windows and the first of the month go first. So book the elevator before anything else, then book the movers around that window.

The rest of the building’s list

Beyond the certificate and the elevator, buildings usually want some mix of a move-in fee or refundable deposit, notice of your move date anywhere from a few days to two weeks ahead, and moves kept to set hours, which often leaves out evenings and sometimes Sundays. Some will also want proof that the mover is licensed. Husky lists its MA moving license, #31953, at the bottom of every page, so that one’s easy. There may be rules about which entrance you use and whether furniture can go through the main lobby at all. None of it is hard, but it’s easier to sort out three weeks ahead. If you’d rather have boxes packed and ready to roll when your elevator window opens, Husky also does packing and unpacking.

Ask before you sign the lease

The best time to get the building’s move-in rules is before you sign the lease, because now and then they change how you feel about a place. Ask the leasing office what the building requires from a moving company and how move-in reservations work. A good building will send you a document. If the leasing office can’t give you a clear answer, I’d take that as a bad sign.

When you’re comparing apartments, a building with a service elevator and a loading dock is an

easier move than a walk-up once the paperwork’s done. If you’re still looking, you can browse Boston apartments on Spot Easy, where agents are verified before they can post, and ask about the move-in process in any place you’re serious about.

Why September 1 makes it harder

In Greater Boston, most leases end on August 31 and start on September 1, so the building, the management office and the movers are all busy in the same week. The building is handling move-ins and move-outs on the same days, so the office has a pile of certificate requests, and the movers who know managed buildings are booked so if you’re moving on September 1, have the certificate request and the elevator reservation in motion by early August. Earlier doesn’t cost anything.

On moving day

If the paperwork’s done, moving day is usually the easy part. The certificate is on file, the

elevator is padded and held, the crew knows which entrance to use, and nobody’s in the lobby making phone calls. Bring a copy of the approved certificate, the name of the person at the building who signed off on it, and your reservation window in writing, because the person at the desk on moving day may not be the one who approved it. If there’s a gap between handing back one set of keys and getting into the new place, you’ll need a plan for it. Storage is a separate booking from the move, and it’s much easier to arrange

ahead of time than with a loaded truck. Husky’s tips for moving out of an apartment cover the gap between leases in more detail. And anything that isn’t coming with you should go before moving day, since what you leave behind tends to come back as a charge. Husky can haul it away for you, except paint and chemicals. If you’re moving into an apartment building around Arlington and want a crew that’s done it before, you can reach out to Husky Moving.

Greg L. from Spot Easy