Short answer
A moving checklist for Ontario starts eight weeks out, and a tenant's 60 days' notice starts before that: book the mover and the condo elevator, clear what is not coming, pack room by room and keep a first-night box. Then change your address. By law, ServiceOntario needs it within 6 days for a driver's licence and vehicle permit and within 30 days for a health card. Canada Post, the CRA and Elections Canada are each told separately.
Eight weeks out: the date, the notice, the mover
- Fix the date. If you are buying or selling, it is the closing date. If you rent, it is the last day of the tenancy.
- Renting: your notice should already be in. In Ontario a tenant on a monthly tenancy or a fixed-term lease gives at least 60 days' written notice on Form N9, which is more than eight weeks. If you have not given it, do it today and count the 60 days forward. On a monthly tenancy the last day has to be the last day of a rental month. On a lease it cannot be before the end of the term. The Landlord and Tenant Board brochure on ending a tenancy sets it out.
- Get the quote. Tell the mover what is moving, both addresses, the floors and the date. On a house or condo move we come back with an hourly rate and a crew size before you book.
- Book early for a busy date. The end of a month, a weekend and the summer are the first dates to go.
- Moving a business too. That is a different list: use the office relocation checklist for GTA businesses.
Six weeks out: the buildings, and what is not coming
- Book the condo elevator with both buildings. Ask each property manager for the moving window, the deposit and where the truck can stop, and get it by email. The steps are in how to book a condo elevator for a move in Toronto.
- Decide what is not coming. Walk every room, the garage and the locker. Sell it, donate it or have it taken. Every piece you leave behind is time you do not pay for on the day: the case is made in why downsizing before a move matters.
- Book the haul-away. Sofas, mattresses, appliances and the basement pile can go before the move or on moving day. Our junk removal is done by our own crew, and a photo on WhatsApp is enough for a first answer.
- Closing dates that do not match. If you are out of one home before you are into the next, sort out storage now. We move things in and out, and the storage itself runs through our partner Key Storage. Read storage between closings when your dates do not line up.
Four weeks out: measure, start packing, start the paperwork
- Measure the sofa and the stairs. Sofa depth and height against the door width at the new place. The turn on the stairs. The inside of the elevator. Tell the mover about anything that looks tight.
- Pack the rooms you do not use. Guest room, books, off-season clothes, the storage locker. The order is in what to pack first and what to leave for last. We rent boxes for the move and take them back after.
- Or hand the packing over. Our crew packs on request: see packing and unpacking.
- Order mail forwarding and book the utilities. Hydro, gas, water and internet, at both addresses. The table at the end of this page says who and how.
- Tell your home and auto insurer the moving date and the new address.
Two weeks out: confirm it in writing
- The mover. Date, arrival time, both addresses, crew size and hourly rate, in one email.
- The elevator windows. Both buildings, confirmed by email, forwarded to the mover.
- Where the truck stops. At a house, keep the driveway clear. On a Toronto street, the City's parking regulations say a moving van may park while it is actively loading or unloading, and the driver has to obey the posted signs. The same page says Special Parking Consideration is not available for moving days. So read the signs on both streets and tell the mover what they say.
- Your own car. The City of Toronto's temporary on-street parking permit is not for the truck. The permit terms limit it to residents of permit parking streets and their guests, for passenger vehicles and for a family's own van or pick-up of 5.2 m or less and 3,000 kg or less. It suits the car that loses the driveway to the truck, and it can be bought up to two weeks ahead.
The last week
- Pack the first-night box. Bedding, towels, toilet paper, a kettle and mugs, phone chargers, medication, a box cutter, a screwdriver, pet food. It rides in your car, not in the truck.
- Keep the valuables with you. Passports, closing papers, jewellery, laptops and the keys to both places.
- Label every box by its room at the new place, on the side, not the top.
- Empty the appliances. Defrost the freezer the day before. Drain the washer hoses.
Moving day
- Be boxed before the crew arrives. On an hourly move, packing left for the day is time on the clock.
- Walk the crew lead through the home. What goes, what stays, what is fragile, what is going to storage.
- Keep one person at each end. One with the fob and the concierge's number until the truck leaves. One at the new place to say which room.
- Read the meters and take a photo of each.
- Check every room before the truck doors close. Closets, the balcony, the locker, the dishwasher.
- Walk the new place before the crew leaves.
The first week after
- ServiceOntario, first. The driver's licence and vehicle permit deadline is 6 days, so it lands inside this week.
- Empty the rented boxes so they can go back.
- Watch the mail. Forwarded envelopes tell you who still has the old address.
- Find the water shut-off and the breaker panel before you need them.
Change of address in Ontario: who to tell
Nobody passes your new address along for you. The Government of Canada says a new address is not shared automatically between its departments, and each one has to be told. The same holds in Ontario: 407 ETR says the Ministry of Transportation does not update it. Two deadlines are law, both at ServiceOntario: 6 days for the driver's licence and vehicle permit, 30 days for the health card. Every other row is a lead time that organization asks for, or as soon as you can.
| Who to tell | How | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| ServiceOntario: driver's licence and vehicle permit | Online from Ontario's change my address page, or in person at a ServiceOntario centre. It is free. The new licence is mailed in 4 to 6 weeks. The new vehicle permit is picked up at a centre. | By law, within 6 days of the address changing |
| ServiceOntario: health card | The same online process updates the health card, licence, vehicle permit, Ontario Photo Card and accessible parking permit in one place. You need your Ontario health card to use it. A health card with an address printed on it is changed in person. | Within 30 days of the address changing |
| Canada Post | Mail Forwarding, bought online or at a post office, for 4 or 12 months. It does not cover parcels: give those senders the new address yourself. | None. Buy it before the move: it can start as early as 5 days after an online order, or 3 days after one made at a post office |
| Canada Revenue Agency | The CRA change of address page lists four ways: online in your CRA account (the fastest), by phone, by mail with Form RC325, or on your next tax return, which the CRA says not to wait for. | "As soon as possible" |
| Other federal programs: Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, immigration files | Each one separately. The Government of Canada change of address page links to all of them. | None stated |
| Elections Canada and Elections Ontario | Federal: the Online Voter Registration Service. Provincial: the Voter Registration tool on Elections Ontario's voters list page, with one piece of ID that shows your name and home address. | None stated |
| Your municipality: property tax and water | Toronto owners change the mailing address in the Property Tax Lookup tool. A change of ownership goes in by lawyer's letter, and a seller finalizes the utility account with a final meter read: see the City's buying, selling or moving page. In Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon the water bill is a Peel Region water billing account. | Peel Region: at least 15 days before your move-in date. Toronto: none stated |
| Hydro and gas | Your local hydro company. In Toronto, Toronto Hydro's start, stop, move page covers a new account, a closed one and a move within the city. If your gas account is with Enbridge Gas, its Ontario FAQ says a move can be scheduled up to a year ahead and an account closed up to 30 days ahead. | Before moving day |
| 407 ETR, if you have an account or a transponder | My Account, the mobile app, or contact 407 ETR. Changing your licence does not change this. | None stated. Do it with the licence |
| Bank, credit cards, insurer, employer | Online banking or a branch. Your home and auto insurer by phone. Payroll or HR at work. | No legal deadline. Before the next statement |
| Doctor, dentist, pharmacy, school | By phone or at the next visit. Ask the pharmacy to transfer your prescriptions if you are changing stores. | No legal deadline |
One more from ServiceOntario's page: a change made there does not reach the Provincial Offences Court. If you have an open ticket or fine, tell the court yourself.
Who does the lifting
The list is yours. The furniture can be ours. Every crew goes out from the Brampton yard, as movers in Toronto, movers in Brampton and across the GTA. You get an hourly rate and a crew size before you book, and you pay for the hours it took. Same-day moves happen when a crew is free.
Questions people ask
What should I include on my checklist when moving?
Five things, in this order: the date and the notice you owe a landlord, the mover and the elevator bookings, what you are getting rid of, the packing, and the change of address list. Add a first-night box and the truck's parking spot. If it has a deadline or someone else's calendar attached, it goes on the list first.
What is the hardest room to pack when moving?
The kitchen. It holds the most breakable things per shelf, almost nothing in it is the same shape, and you need it until the last morning. Pack it in two passes: the things you can live without two weeks out, the daily dishes the night before. Or leave that room to a crew: we offer packing and unpacking on request.
How long do I have to change my address on an Ontario driver's licence?
Six days. Ontario's change of address page says that by law you must update your driver's licence and vehicle permit within 6 days of your address changing. It is free, and it can be done online or at a ServiceOntario centre. The new licence comes by mail in 4 to 6 weeks, and the new vehicle permit is picked up at a centre.
Do I have to change the address on my Ontario health card?
Yes, within 30 days of the address changing, so the Ministry of Health has the new one on file. The online ServiceOntario process does it together with the driver's licence and vehicle permit. A card with an address printed on it has to be changed in person. No new health card is sent after the change.
Does Canada Post mail forwarding change my address with the government?
No. Mail Forwarding redirects your mail for 4 or 12 months. It does not update anyone's records. The Government of Canada says a new address is not shared automatically between departments, so the CRA, Service Canada and Elections Canada are each told separately, and ServiceOntario is told for the licence, vehicle permit and health card.
Can a moving truck park on the street in Toronto?
Yes, while it is working. The City of Toronto's parking regulations say moving vans are permitted to park on the street while actively loading or unloading, and drivers must follow the traffic rules and posted signs. The temporary on-street parking permit is for residents' and guests' cars, not for a moving truck. Read the signs on both streets before the day.
