Tips for Moving in an Elevator Building, Certificates of Insurance and Parking Permits
Moving into a high-rise building adds a new level of complexity to the moving process. Managing a move when you have to consider the needs of other residents, building requirements, heavy tenant traffic, parking restrictions, and elevator reservations can be overwhelming. The key to getting the best reservations, permits, and scheduling is starting early and communicating.
For High Rise Moving – Reserve Your Elevator Early!
If you’re moving into a high-rise building requiring use of an elevator, reserve the service elevator in advance – we suggest at least 4-6 weeks – to make sure your moving company and the elevator are available at the same time. It’s best to reserve the elevator for the morning so that yours will be the first move of the day, and a shorter arrival window for the moving crew.
As the day progresses, arrival windows grow longer, making it difficult for any movers to guarantee arrival during your elevator reservation window. If the moves prior to yours take more time than expected, you might miss out on your reserved elevator window.
Plan A Timely Move!
Most modern high-rise buildings have both main elevators and dedicated service elevators specifically for tenant moves and maintenance use, but many do not. In either case, you’ll need to contact your property manager to get approval for the day and time of your move, and to find out what the restrictions there are for elevator use, no matter what kind you’ll be using.
The building manager can also tell you what, if any, insurance requirements they have. Some buildings require what is called a certificate of insurance or COI from any mover that is working in their building. They can usually provide you with an email or list of their requirements, which you can then pass along to your moving company. Your moving company should then be able to provide you with a COI that fulfils the requirements.
If you have to use the main elevator of the building in the lobby, you may be asked to restrict your move-in time to mid-day hours only, so as not to interfere with heavy tenant use during early morning and late evening hours. If you have to use the main elevator for moving, you should have your furniture wrapped to protect both your furniture and the elevator from scratches or damage. Most service elevators provide padded wall coverings to protect both walls and tenants’ property.
If parking permits are required to park at either your pickup or delivery location, notify your mover as soon as you know. Your mover should be able to secure parking permits for you with plenty of advance notice at an extra cost.
With a little preparation, and Elite on your side, your city move will be a snap.