Telling the building manager about your move

Why a move gets announced at all

A move in a block of flats is not only your business. The lift, the corridors and the entrance are shared, and your neighbours are using them while you move. A short notice to the building manager prevents most of what would otherwise go wrong.

Three practical reasons:

• The lift. A move occupies it for an hour or two. In buildings with a goods lift, the slot is often formally reserved.
• Protecting the common areas. The manager is entitled to require that the corridor and lift are protected from damage — our crews bring floor and corner protection as a matter of course.
• House rules on noise. Most buildings have set hours, typically 8am to 6pm on weekdays and weekend mornings.

If you have recently arrived in Serbia, this is one of the local conventions that is easy to miss: the upravnik (building manager) or the chair of the residents' assembly is a real role with real authority over the shared parts of the building.

Who to tell, and when

In older buildings, the building manager or the chair of the residents' assembly is enough. A message in the building's group chat or a note on the noticeboard three to five days ahead does it. Say the date, the rough time, and that there will be a van or a truck outside.

If you are moving out of a rented flat, tell the landlord as well — the handover is often tied to the same day.

It is also worth telling the neighbours on your own floor. Your door will be open, workers will be passing with large items, and it is better that nobody finds out when the noise starts.

New builds and buildings with security

In newer developments — Belgrade Waterfront, A Blok, West 65 and similar complexes — the procedure is more formal. The move is registered with the building management or the security desk, a slot for the goods lift is booked, and sometimes a list of the crew entering is required.

Without that notice, security can refuse the crew access to the goods lift, and the move simply stops. For these buildings, allow five to seven days rather than three to five, because the lift slot is formally reserved.

For office buildings and shopping centres the notice goes to the building management, together with a booking for the goods lift and access to the loading bay. That is the single most common reason a commercial move has to be rescheduled — how we handle it for business clients is on the office moving page.

What we take care of

Formally, the notice comes from the resident — it is your building and your relationship with the management. But we take you through it: we tell you exactly what to ask the management for (the lift slot, permission for the delivery zone), we align the crew's arrival with the approved slot, and we bring the protection for the corridor and the lift.

In buildings with strict rules, that is the difference between a move that runs and one that stalls at the security desk.

If the date cannot wait, we also do emergency moves — and we sort the notice out the same day, by phone with the management.

One last thing worth knowing: when there is no lift, the floor is the single biggest factor in the price. How that works is set out on the price list.

Frequently asked questions