Apartment Moving Checklist: Lifts, Loading Docks & Body Corporate Rules

A house move is mostly about you. An apartment move is about you and a building manager, a body corporate, a shared lift, and sometimes a strata by-law you didn't know existed. Here's the checklist that keeps a tower move from stalling in the lobby.

2–3 weeks before

• Check your building's move-in/move-out policy. Many Gold Coast and Brisbane towers require advance notice — sometimes 5–10 business days — to book a lift and loading dock.
• Confirm certificate of currency requirements. Most buildings want proof the removalist carries public liability insurance before they'll approve access.
• Ask about permitted moving hours. Weekday business hours only, or weekends allowed? This can decide your whole moving day plan.
• Check lift dimensions against your largest pieces of furniture — sofas, mattresses and dining tables are the usual problem items.

1 week before

• Confirm your booked lift/dock window in writing with the building manager.
• Arrange visitor parking or a loading zone permit for the truck if the building doesn't have its own bay.
• Ask whether lift protection (padding) is required — most buildings expect it, and we bring it as standard.

On the day

• Have your booking confirmation and the removalist's insurance certificate on hand in case building security asks.
• Check in with the concierge or building manager on arrival so the lift booking is actually released to you.
• Protect hallway walls and corners near the lift — some buildings deduct from a bond for scuffs, even if they weren't from your move.

What furniture won't fit — and what to do about it

If a piece genuinely won't fit in the lift, the options are: disassemble it (most sofas and beds come apart further than people expect), use the fire stairs for a single item with extra crew, or in rare cases a crane/hoist through a balcony (uncommon, and needs its own approval). We check lift dimensions against your bigger items when quoting so this is planned, not discovered on the day.

We do this every week

Coordinating with building managers, arranging certificates of currency, and bringing lift protection as standard is routine for us across Gold Coast towers and Brisbane apartment blocks — see our Gold Coast moving page or removalist service for more. Give us your building manager's details when you book your fixed quote and we'll handle the paperwork.