Moving in Montreal: every neighbourhood is different
Montreal is one city with very different moves in it. A 3½ on the third floor of a Villeray triplex, a two-bedroom condo on the 22nd floor of a Griffintown tower and a four-bedroom house in Ahuntsic have almost nothing in common on moving day except the truck. The staircase, the elevator, the street and the building’s rules decide how long a Montreal move takes much more than the number of rooms.
We are based in Verdun and our crews work in every borough of the city and in the independent municipalities on the island. Below is what we have learned, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, about moving in Montreal — and how we plan for it.
The Plateau, Mile End, Rosemont, Villeray, La Petite-Patrie and Little Italy
These are Montreal’s plex neighbourhoods: rows of duplexes and triplexes, most with an outdoor staircase to the upper floors, many of them curving on themselves. They are the reason Montreal movers are known for carrying box springs up spiral stairs.
What matters here is the floor, the turn in the staircase and whether the truck can park in front. A third-floor walk-up can double the time of a move compared with the same apartment on the ground floor, and a truck parked half a block away adds carrying time to every trip. We send a third mover when the stairs justify it, measure large items before we attempt the turn, and tell you how much curb space to reserve with your borough permit, so the truck can park at your door. Streets here are often narrow and one-way, with bike lanes and parking restrictions that change by season; we plan the truck position before the day.
Downtown, Griffintown, Old Montreal and Little Burgundy
Here most moves are in condo and apartment towers. The challenge is not the stairs but the building: elevator reservations, time windows, loading docks shared with deliveries, padded cabs and certificates of insurance naming the syndicate or management company. We confirm the reservation and the rules with the building, bring the elevator padding, send the certificate directly to the manager and size the crew to finish inside the booked window.
Old Montreal adds cobblestones, narrow streets, heritage buildings with tight stairwells and pedestrian zones in summer. We check access and loading options in advance, and for some streets we use a smaller truck or a shuttle from a nearby spot.
Verdun, Nuns’ Island, Saint-Henri, Pointe-Saint-Charles, Ville-Émard, LaSalle and Lachine
This is our home territory: our address is on Nuns’ Island, in the borough of Verdun. The southwest mixes classic walk-ups along Wellington and in Pointe-Saint-Charles, converted lofts and new condos along the Lachine Canal in Saint-Henri, towers on Nuns’ Island, and houses and duplexes in LaSalle and Lachine. Because our trucks start here, moves in these neighbourhoods often begin early in the morning — a good option for anyone who wants the day to finish early.
Côte-des-Neiges, NDG, Snowdon, Outremont and Westmount
West of the mountain, the housing mix widens: large apartment buildings near the Université de Montréal and the hospitals in Côte-des-Neiges, duplexes and cottages in NDG and Snowdon, and houses in Outremont and Westmount. Student moves near the universities cluster at the beginning and end of the academic year; family moves in NDG and Outremont are more often houses with basements and more volume. Westmount is a separate city with its own rules for street occupation, so the permit process differs from the neighbouring boroughs.
Town of Mount Royal, Hampstead, Côte-Saint-Luc and Montreal West
These are independent municipalities on the island, mostly single-family homes and low-rise apartment buildings, with driveways that make parking simpler. Moves here are usually house moves — a crew of four, a 34-foot truck and a walkthrough beforehand so the basement and garage are on the estimate.
Ahuntsic, Cartierville, Saint-Laurent, Parc-Extension, Saint-Michel and Montreal North
The north of the island combines quiet streets of houses in Ahuntsic and Cartierville, dense apartment blocks in Parc-Extension and Saint-Michel, and a large mix of condos, houses and business parks in Saint-Laurent. Office and warehouse moves are common in Saint-Laurent, and we plan them after hours with a written quote. For residential moves, the usual Montreal questions apply: floor, stairs, elevator and parking.
Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Mercier, Anjou, Saint-Léonard, Rivière-des-Prairies and Pointe-aux-Trembles
The east of the island is a mix of plexes in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, family houses and duplexes in Mercier, Anjou and Saint-Léonard, and larger properties toward Rivière-des-Prairies, Pointe-aux-Trembles and Montreal East. Moves here often continue to the North Shore across the Rivière des Prairies, or to the South Shore through the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel. We plan the route around roadwork and traffic, and the rate is the same wherever you are going in Greater Montreal.
What moving in Montreal costs
In Montreal, the stairs decide the crew more than the number of rooms. A 3½ on a ground floor is a two-mover job with the 22-foot truck, at $120 an hour; the same 3½ up a third-floor outdoor staircase usually needs a third mover, at $160. Houses in Ahuntsic, NDG or Saint-Léonard, with a basement and a garage, take three or four movers and the 34-foot truck, at $180 or $220 an hour. Travel time is 1 hour at the same rate, the minimum is 2 hours of work, and nothing is added for stairs, weekends or fuel — stairs cost time, not a fee. The rates are the same in every borough and every city on the island. See the pricing page for typical totals by home size, or estimate your own move with the calculator.
Parking permits and moving day in Montreal
The most common delay on a Montreal moving day is not the stairs — it is the truck parked too far away. On most streets, reserving curb space requires a temporary permit from your borough, obtained in advance. Each borough has its own process, and the independent cities on the island have their own rules. The permit is requested by you; when you book, we tell you how much curb space the truck needs, so you can request it early enough.
Other things that change a Montreal moving day:
- Street cleaning and snow removal. Signs for street cleaning in summer and snow removal in winter can make a permit or a planned parking spot unusable for a few hours. We check the signs the day before.
- Bike lanes and one-way streets. In central neighbourhoods, the truck’s position is planned to keep bike lanes clear and the loading safe.
- Elevator windows. In condo buildings, the booked window is the real deadline. We plan the crew size to finish inside it.
July 1st in Montreal
Quebec leases have traditionally ended on June 30, which makes July 1 the busiest moving day of the year in Montreal. In the week around it, the city is full of trucks, permits are in high demand and crews are booked weeks ahead. If your lease ends on July 1, book in the spring. If you can move a few days before or after, or put your belongings into short-term storage for a few days, you will get a better choice of times and a calmer move.
Moving to or from Montreal
Moving between Montreal and Laval, the West Island, either shore or Vaudreuil-Soulanges is a local move at the same hourly rate — see our pages for Laval, the West Island, the South Shore, the North Shore and Vaudreuil-Soulanges. Moves to Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto and beyond are priced as one fixed amount; see long-distance moving.
A Montreal walk-up, in numbers
The floor matters more than the size of the apartment. This is how the same 4½ with packed boxes typically plays out with a three-person crew, depending on the stairs at both addresses:
| From → to | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Ground floor → ground floor | 4–5 hours |
| Second floor → second floor | 5–6 hours |
| Third-floor outdoor staircase → second floor | 6–7 hours |
| Third floor → third floor, both outdoor staircases | 7–8 hours |
The rate does not change with the stairs — there is no stair fee — but the hours do, which is why your estimate is a range. A reserved parking spot at both addresses usually saves more time than any other preparation.
Montreal moving checklist
- Four to six weeks before: book the move; check whether your street needs a borough permit; reserve elevators in condo buildings.
- Two weeks before: file the parking permit if needed; order boxes; plan what to give away.
- One week before: transfer Hydro-Québec and internet; set up Canada Post mail forwarding; update your address with the SAAQ and the RAMQ.
- The day before: check the street signs for cleaning or snow removal; keep a clear path to the door; set aside essentials.
- Moving day: walk through both homes with the crew chief; check the inventory before the truck leaves.
Offices, clinics and shops in Montreal
Beyond homes, we move offices downtown and in the Mile End, clinics in Côte-des-Neiges and NDG, shops on the Plateau and in Old Montreal, and business parks in Saint-Laurent and Anjou. Commercial moves are planned after hours, with a written quote after a site visit; see office moving.
What Montreal customers book most
Most Montreal moves are local moves between apartments, often with packing for the kitchen and a few days of storage around July 1. Condo owners downtown and on Nuns’ Island often add elevator coordination and furniture assembly; families in NDG, Ahuntsic and Outremont more often book a full house move with packing. Pianos come up on the Plateau and in Outremont more than anywhere else.
