July 1 Moving Day in Montreal: The Complete Guide

In Quebec, most residential leases run from July 1 to June 30. When a large share of the province’s tenants change homes on the same weekend, everything that a move depends on becomes scarce at once: trucks, crews, elevators, curb space, even cardboard boxes. This guide is written by the people who spend that weekend in the trucks. It covers what to settle months ahead, what July 1 really costs and how to get through the day itself.

Why everyone moves on July 1

The custom is older than the date. Leases in Quebec used to end on May 1; in the 1970s the date was moved to July 1 so that families would not change schools in the middle of the year. Nothing in the law requires a lease to end on June 30, but the cycle has held for half a century, so most leases that end every year still end that day.

For a mover this means the whole year’s demand is concentrated into a few days. For you it means one simple rule: everything you can decide early, decide early.

Your calendar starts in January, with the lease

If you are leaving, the first deadline is not the move but the notice. For a lease of twelve months or more, a tenant who does not want to renew must tell the landlord in writing three to six months before the lease ends. For a lease ending on June 30, that is roughly the first three months of the year. Without that notice the lease renews on its own. Send it in a way that leaves proof — registered mail or a reply in writing — and keep that proof.

Two more things are worth settling while you are at it:

• Ask whether July 1 is the only option. If your new landlord can hand over the keys a few days earlier, or your current one lets you leave a few days later, you avoid the busiest day entirely.
• Get the other tenant’s contact. Most handovers happen on the same day: the outgoing tenant leaves in the morning, the new one arrives later. Knowing who is on the other side of your two leases is the easiest way to avoid waiting on the sidewalk.

Book your movers in January or February

For July 1 we recommend booking in January or February. The calendar does not run out all at once: the early morning starts go first, then whole days, then the days around July 1. By late spring most crews in Montreal are already committed.

On June 30 and July 1 we work around the clock, 24 hours a day, so we can offer start times that a company working regular hours cannot — very early in the morning, late in the evening or overnight. If a date is already full, we say so on the phone — we never book more moves than we have crews for.

When you book, give us the full picture: the size of both homes, the floors and the elevators at both addresses, and anything heavy or fragile. A July 1 schedule is built to the hour, and surprises on the day cost everyone time.

What a move on July 1 costs

On July 1 our hourly rates are twice our regular rates. The regular price list is on the pricing page, and the moving cost calculator gives you the number of hours for your home.

What does not change is the minimum. Some companies raise the minimum number of hours for the peak; ours stays the same as any other day: a minimum of 2 hours of work, with 1 hour of travel time on top. The price includes everything that goes with the crew and the truck — there are no extra fees added on the day.

If your dates are flexible at all, ask us about the days before and after July 1 when you call. The difference can be large.

What is on every truck

A busy day is not the day to discover a missing dolly. Every Simplex truck leaves with the same equipment:

• 100 moving blankets;
• 8 dollies;
• a full case of packing tape;
• straps — to secure the load and to carry heavy pieces;
• wardrobe boxes, so clothes go from closet to closet on their hangers.

With advance notice we also bring a commercial fridge dolly, a piano skid, a hoisting set or a crane for items that cannot go down a staircase. Our trucks come in every size we need for the job, up to 53 ft, so a large home does not have to be split into several trips.

Two leases, one day: the handover

On paper, a lease that ends on June 30 ends that day, and the outgoing tenant has no extra “day of grace” to leave. In practice, almost everyone agrees to hand over on July 1. The Tribunal administratif du logement suggests that an outgoing tenant who is still moving free up one room, or several, so the new tenant can start bringing things in.

What makes the day work:

• Agree on times with the other tenant a few days before: when they will be out, when you will arrive.
• Plan for a gap. If your new home is free only in the afternoon or the next day, the safest plan is storage between dates, from $90 per month: we load in the morning, keep everything in our secure facility and deliver when the keys are yours.
• Leave the old home clean. The law expects you to return it in the condition you received it, apart from normal wear.

Parking: the truck needs the curb

On a street with free parking, you can often make room with your neighbours. As soon as you want to reserve the space with no-parking signs, or your street has parking meters, or the truck would block a sidewalk or a bike path, you need a temporary permit from your borough. Only official signs rented from a specialised company are accepted, and the delay to obtain the permit depends on the borough — from 24 hours to several business days. The City of Montreal explains the rules borough by borough on its page about parking a moving truck.

You request the permit yourself. Send us both addresses and we will say how long a stretch of curb the truck will take. Keep in mind that some streets become pedestrian streets for the summer.

Elevators and building rules

In condo and apartment buildings, the moving elevator is booked by time slot, and on July 1 every slot is taken. Book the elevator at both buildings as soon as you have your date, and ask about the rules: which entrance movers may use, whether the elevator must be padded, which hours are allowed. Many buildings ask for proof of insurance before they let a moving crew in. We send a certificate of insurance to the building management on request.

Heat, children and pets

July 1 is often one of the hottest days of the summer, and a walk-up on the third floor is warm by noon. Keep water within reach at both homes. Children and pets are safest away from the move, with family or a sitter, or at least in one closed room with what they need. The moving day itself is a bad time to look for a cat that slipped out through an open door.

Bed bugs: the hidden risk of July 1

When thousands of mattresses and sofas are carried out on the same day, bed bugs travel too. The City of Montreal’s advice is simple: do not pick up furniture or mattresses left on the street, whatever their condition. Put clothes, bedding and curtains in sealed plastic bags, close every box completely with tape, and before you unpack, inspect the beds and baseboards of your new home.

Change your address once, not ten times

Quebec’s Service québécois de changement d’adresse lets you notify several provincial bodies at once, including the RAMQ, the SAAQ, Revenu Québec and Élections Québec. It is free and online at quebec.ca. It does not cover everything: tell the Canada Revenue Agency separately, set up mail forwarding with Canada Post if you need it, and transfer your electricity with Hydro-Québec ahead of the move. Then the private list: bank, insurer, internet, employer, school, daycare.

Things you are not taking

The move is the right moment to get rid of what you do not use, but not on July 1 itself, when the sidewalks are already full. Many Montreal boroughs schedule extra collections for the moving period; check the collection calendar for your address on montreal.ca. Sell, donate or book disposal in May and June, and anything that stays behind is one less thing on the clock.

If your mover lets you down

Every year some people find out in June — or on the morning of July 1 — that their mover will not show up. Call us. We regularly take over moves that another company dropped, and because we work around the clock on June 30 and July 1, we can often still find a time. A written estimate, a real address and a phone that someone answers are the simplest signs that a mover will be there on the day.

A month-by-month checklist

1. January: decide whether you are staying. If you are leaving, send your notice in writing and keep the proof.
2. January–February: book your movers for July 1, or for the days around it.
3. March: last weeks to send a notice for a lease ending June 30.
4. April–May: sort, sell and donate. Box up the rooms you rarely use first. Book the elevators in both buildings.
5. Early June: request the parking permit from your borough within its delay. Change your address with the Service québécois de changement d’adresse and Hydro-Québec.
6. The last week of June: confirm times with the other tenant and with us. Pack everything except an essentials box. Empty and defrost the freezer.
7. July 1: be at the door before the truck, keep one person in charge of decisions, and walk through both homes with the crew chief at the end.

Questions about July 1

Can I still book a July 1 move in May or June? Sometimes. Call us and we will tell you honestly what is left; with our around-the-clock schedule on June 30 and July 1 there is often an early or late start available.

Is a July 1 move more expensive? With us, the hourly rate on July 1 is twice the regular rate, and the minimum stays the same as on any other day.

Do you handle the parking permit and the elevator? No, both are booked by you, because they are tied to your address and your building. We tell you how long a stretch of curb the truck will take, and send a certificate of insurance to the building on request.

My new home is not free until July 2. What can I do? Put your belongings in storage between dates: we load on July 1 and deliver when the keys are yours.

I am moving to Toronto. Does July 1 matter? It matters on the Montreal side, where crews and elevators are busy all week. Moving a week earlier usually makes both ends easier — see our Montreal to Toronto page.

Ready to book? Ask for a quote on our local moving page or contact us — and the sooner after New Year, the better.