· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Mover
People pricing an apartment move usually count rooms and boxes. The building matters as much: which floor you are on, whether there is an elevator and whether you can book it, and how far the crew has to walk from where the truck can stop to your door. Those are the conditions that turn a two-hour job into a four-hour one, and on a long-distance move they show up as their own lines on the bill. Our apartment and office moves page has the basics of how we work in walk-ups and elevator buildings; this post is about access charges, what the federal rules say about them, and what to tell us so the number holds on the day.
What counts as an access charge on a move?
An access charge is anything that adds labor because of how the crew reaches your things, rather than because of what the things are. The federal rules for interstate household moves call these accessorial services and name elevators and long carries as examples in 49 CFR 375.401, the federal estimate rule. The consumer summary printed as Appendix A to 49 CFR Part 375 (the 2013 edition on GovInfo) adds a third, the flight charge, defined in its glossary as an extra charge for carrying items up or down flights of stairs.
In practice the list is short. Stairs, counted by flights and by which end of the move they are at. An elevator, and whether it is a passenger car the crew has to share or a freight car the building lets you book. A long carry, meaning the walk from the truck to the door is longer than usual because the truck cannot get close. Each one is a time question first. The exact definitions, and any set charge for them, come from the mover’s own tariff on an interstate move, so ask to see how they are written.
When do stair and elevator charges have to be priced on an interstate move?
They have to be settled before the bill of lading is prepared. Paragraph (f) of 49 CFR 375.401 puts that duty on the mover for both binding and non-binding estimates, and it gives the mover a consequence for skipping the step: if the mover did not ask about those services and determine them first, it has to deliver your shipment and bill you for the extra charges after 30 days. Our post on binding and non-binding estimates covers how the estimate types work; the point here is narrower. An access charge that surfaces only at delivery, because nobody asked, is not supposed to be collected at the door.
There is one exception worth knowing. Appendix A to Part 375 describes impracticable operations, conditions at a residence that make it physically impossible to use the normal road-haul truck and call for special equipment or extra labor. Those charges can be due at delivery, but no more than 15 percent of all the other charges due at delivery, with the rest billed and due in 30 days. A street a tractor-trailer cannot enter is the usual case, which is why a building on a tight street needs mentioning before the truck is assigned.
What if the building turns out different on move day?
On an interstate move, Appendix A treats a surprise at the destination, such as elevators, stairs or a parking permit nobody knew was needed, as something the mover bills after delivery, with payment due 30 days later, rather than a charge you settle before your things come off the truck. That protects you from a demand at the door. It does not make the charge go away.
On a local move none of that applies. Part 375 covers interstate household moves; a move from a Midtown walk-up to a house in Nashville or out to Murfreesboro is priced by the agreement you make with the mover. We quote local moves by the hour with a set crew size, so a third-floor walk-up nobody mentioned does not create a new line on the bill, it just adds hours. The cure in both cases is the same: describe both buildings at the estimate.
What we need to know about your apartment building
Tell us the floor at each end, and whether the stairs are inside or outside, straight or turning. A turning stair with a low landing decides whether a sofa or a box spring goes up whole or comes apart, and that is better known before the crew arrives with the wrong tools.
Ask the leasing office or building manager three things in writing: whether movers may use the elevator and at what hours, whether it has to be reserved and padded, and where a box truck is allowed to stop. If the answer to the last one is a fire lane they will not allow, or a lot at the far end of the complex, measure the walk roughly and tell us; that walk is the long carry. If you are moving out of one building and into another, ask both. Then send us the details for an estimate and we will size the crew and the truck to the building, not just to the furniture.
- The floor at each end, and stairs or elevator
- Elevator hours, reservation and padding rules from the building
- Where the truck can park and roughly how far that is from your door
- Anything that has to be taken apart to fit a stair turn or an elevator
Sources
- Appendix A to 49 CFR Part 375, Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move (2013 edition, GovInfo) — Glossary definition of a flight charge; impracticable operations capped at 15 percent of other charges due at delivery
- 49 CFR 375.401, Must I estimate charges? (eCFR) — Paragraph (f): accessorial charges such as elevators and long carries determined before the bill of lading, and billing after 30 days if the mover did not
- 49 CFR Part 375, Appendix A, Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move (eCFR) — Unforeseen destination charges billed after 30 days, the 15 percent limit on impracticable operations at delivery, the flight charge definition, and the interstate scope
FAQ
Stairs, Elevators and Long Carries on an Apartment Move — questions
Do movers charge extra for stairs?
On an interstate move, stairs can be a separate flight charge, which the federal consumer summary defines as an extra charge for carrying items up or down flights of stairs. On a local move priced by the hour, as ours are, stairs add time rather than a separate line. Either way, tell the mover the floor at both ends.
Do movers charge for a long carry?
A long carry is the extra walk when the truck cannot park close to your door, and federal rules for interstate moves list it as an accessorial service the mover has to price before the bill of lading. On a local hourly move it simply adds time, so tell us where the truck can stop.
What is a flight charge when moving?
It is a charge for carrying items up or down flights of stairs. The term comes from the glossary in Appendix A to 49 CFR Part 375, the federal consumer summary for interstate household moves. How a particular mover counts a flight and what it charges is set in that mover’s tariff, so ask to see it.
Do I need to reserve the elevator for movers?
Many apartment buildings set elevator hours for moves and ask for the elevator to be reserved and padded, but each building has its own rules. Ask the leasing office or building manager in writing, at both the building you are leaving and the one you are moving into, and send the answers to your mover.
Are local moves covered by the federal moving rules?
No. The federal household goods rules in 49 CFR Part 375 cover interstate moves. A move that starts and ends inside Tennessee is priced and governed by the agreement you make with the mover, so get the rate, the crew size and any access conditions written down before moving day.