Apartment removalists in Adelaide work to someone else’s timetable. The building decides when the lift is free, where the truck can stand and how long it may stay, and the strata rules decide what has to be protected on the way out. This page explains how Moveall plans apartment and unit moves around all of that, in the city, at the beach and in the suburbs.
House Removalists Adelaide is a service of Moveall Australia Pty Ltd, a South Australian owned and operated removalist. Apartment moves booked here are carried out by Moveall.
Apartment removals in Adelaide start with the building
A house move starts with the house. An apartment move starts with the building manager or the strata manager, because most of what decides the day is theirs: lift bookings, loading dock times, the rules for protecting common areas and the hours when moves are allowed. Before we quote, we ask about both buildings, and before moving day you need a few answers from each.
- Is there a goods lift, and does it need booking? Many buildings ask residents to book the lift for a move and to have its walls padded.
- Is there a loading dock or a loading zone? Note its height if the building lists one, how long a truck may stay and whether it must be booked.
- What hours are moves allowed? Some buildings limit moves to certain days or times so other residents are not held up.
- What must be protected? Lift padding, floor covering in the foyer, corner guards: whatever the by-laws ask for.
- Who has the keys and fobs? Car park gates, lift fobs and loading dock access often need someone from the building, or a fob handed over early.
Send us what the building tells you and we will plan around it. If the building has no rules written down, that is worth knowing too: the plan then depends on where the truck can stop and how far it is to the lift.
Adelaide CBD removalists: moving in and out of the city
City moves need the most planning, because the streets are busier and the rules are stricter. In the city, we check parking and loading rules with the building and the council before moving day. If your building’s address is on or beside Rundle Mall, know the mall’s vehicle hours. According to the City of Adelaide, vehicle access is not permitted in Rundle Mall at these times:
| Days | No vehicle access in Rundle Mall |
|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday | 9 am to 6 pm |
| Friday | 9 am to 9.15 pm |
| Saturday and Sunday | 9 am to 5 pm |
Permit holders may enter only outside those hours, and the council’s permits are for loading and unloading goods to Rundle Mall businesses with no other access point, for 30 minutes at most. For most apartment moves the answer is the building’s own loading dock or a side street, planned before the day. That is why we ask for the building’s address and its loading arrangements when you call.
Clearing out before the move? A skip bin or a shipping container placed on a council road or footpath in the city needs a City Works permit from the City of Adelaide, and the council asks that neighbours are told at least 24 hours before works that take up the street in front of another property.
Beachside towers and suburban unit blocks
Not every apartment is in the city. Glenelg and the beachside suburbs have apartment towers with busy streets in front of them on a warm weekend, Mawson Lakes and Port Adelaide have newer apartment buildings, and every region has older two-storey unit blocks with a shared driveway and an outside staircase. Each of these needs a different plan.
- Towers with a lift and a dock. The move runs on the lift booking. Tell us the booking window and we plan the load to fit it.
- Walk-up unit blocks. Stairs and landings decide the pace. Measure the stairwell turn for the largest piece, often a lounge or a fridge.
- Shared driveways. Neighbours need to get in and out. A word with them the day before saves a blocked car on the morning.
- Townhouse complexes. Visitor parks and internal roads can be narrow. Tell us where a truck can stand and how far it is to your door.
Plan your apartment move
Tell us about both buildings, the floors and the lifts. Our customer care team replies by phone or email with your quote.
Unit removalists: sizing the truck and the crew
An apartment usually holds less than a house, but it rarely takes proportionally less time. Every piece goes through a lift or down stairs, and the carry from the lift to the truck can be long. Moveall runs 3, 5 and 8 tonne Pantech trucks, so a one or two bedroom apartment does not have to be moved in a truck sized for a family home, and a smaller truck fits under more car park ceilings and into more loading zones. Tell us the height limit of the car park or dock if the building gives one.
The quote is built on your inventory, like any Moveall move: the rooms, the access at both buildings and anything heavy or bulky. Moveall’s terms explain that a fixed-price quote relies on that inventory list, so items added on the day are charged by the hour. A balcony setting, a storeroom cage in the basement or a bike in the car park are easy to forget; put them on the list.
Packing an apartment for the lift
Lift moves reward boxes that stack and close properly. Pack heavy things such as books into small boxes, keep fragile items in clearly marked boxes, and do not leave loose bags: they slow every trip. Moveall’s terms ask that loose items are packed in cartons and furniture emptied of loose items before the move.
If time is short, Moveall’s Wrap & Pack service packs all approved household items and supplies the boxes and packing materials, including purpose-made boxes and wrapping for clothes, books, heavy items, fragile items, TVs and artwork. For an apartment that often means the whole place packed the day before, so the lift booking is spent moving rather than packing. Read more on packing and moving services in Adelaide.
Moving day in an apartment building
- Check in with the building. The lift is keyed or padded as the building asks, and the truck goes to the dock or the agreed spot.
- Walk-through. The crew sees what is going and agrees the order with you: the largest pieces first, while the lift is clear.
- Wrapping and loading. Furniture is wrapped in moving blankets before it enters the lift, and the truck is loaded room by room.
- At the new building. The same steps in reverse: the lift booking, the dock, then boxes to the rooms on their labels.
- Hand-back. Lift padding comes down, fobs go back to the building, and you walk the empty apartment before handing the keys over.
From an apartment to a house, or the other way
Plenty of apartment moves are half of something else: a couple leaving a city apartment for a family home, or parents leaving the family home for a unit. The first is covered on house removalists in Adelaide, and the second on downsizing moves, where the furniture has to be chosen to fit the smaller rooms before moving day.
Wherever the apartment is, the Adelaide City entry on our suburbs we move page and the regional pages list the suburbs Moveall works in, from Prospect to Mount Barker.
Moving out of an apartment or unit? Call Moveall and we will plan the move around your building.
Questions people ask
Do I need to book the lift in my apartment building?
Usually, yes. Ask your building or strata manager how lifts are booked for a move, whether the lift needs padding and what times moves are allowed. Book it as soon as you have your moving date, and send us the window.
How do you move apartments with lifts and loading docks?
We plan the move around the building’s lift booking and its dock or loading zone. The largest pieces go first while the lift is clear, furniture is wrapped before it goes into the lift, and the truck is sized to fit the dock and the car park.
Can a removal truck stop in Rundle Mall?
Not during the City of Adelaide’s restricted hours: vehicles are not allowed in from 9 am to 6 pm Monday to Thursday, 9 am to 9.15 pm on Friday and 9 am to 5 pm on weekends. Permits are only for loading goods to mall businesses with no other access. Most city apartment moves use the building’s dock or a side street.
What if my building has stairs and no lift?
Then the stairs set the pace. Tell us the floor, whether the stairwell is inside or outside, and the largest pieces, and we will plan the crew and the time for it.
Do I need to tell the strata manager I am moving?
It is a good idea, and many buildings require it. The strata manager or building manager can tell you the move-in and move-out rules, the lift booking process and what common areas must be protected.
Call
Talk your move through, room by room.