Moving Co. moves households and businesses across all of Etobicoke, from the Humber Bay Shores towers on Lake Shore Boulevard to the wide lots of The Kingsway and the apartment blocks of Rexdale. Local Etobicoke moves are billed hourly at $50 per mover, crews arrive with the Certificate of Insurance your condo board needs, and the line at 905-752-7787 is answered around the clock.
Etobicoke has been part of the City of Toronto since the six former municipalities amalgamated on January 1, 1998. That matters on move day, because it means Toronto’s parking permits, Toronto’s noise bylaw and Toronto’s condo rules apply here exactly as they do downtown, whether you are at Islington and Bloor or out past Highway 427.
South Etobicoke is where Toronto’s growth went, and it changes your move
Etobicoke covers three City wards, and they are not having the same decade. At the 2021 census, Etobicoke Centre held 118,483 people, Etobicoke-Lakeshore 141,751, and Etobicoke North 116,003, which is 376,237 people across roughly 149,049 dwellings.
The interesting number is the direction of travel. Etobicoke-Lakeshore grew 9.8 percent between 2016 and 2021, the third fastest of all twenty five federal districts in Toronto, behind only Spadina, Fort York and Toronto Centre. Its dwelling count rose 9.9 percent, an increase of 5,896 homes in five years. The City of Toronto names south Etobicoke as one of its highest growth areas alongside Downtown and Midtown. Etobicoke North, meanwhile, shrank by 1.7 percent.
Almost all of that growth is vertical and almost all of it is along the lake. That single fact is why a move in south Etobicoke usually means booking an elevator weeks ahead, and a move in the north or the centre usually means a driveway and a front door.
Humber Bay Shores: the tower cluster on Lake Shore
Humber Bay Shores is the densest new housing in Etobicoke and the most logistically demanding place we work in the district. The towers along Lake Shore Boulevard West and Marine Parade Drive went up quickly and close together, and the loading infrastructure has to be shared.
What that means in practice:
- Book the service elevator the moment you have a closing date. Summer Saturdays in these buildings are spoken for weeks in advance. A booked window is usually three or four hours and it is enforced.
- The loading dock is often shared between towers or reached through a single ramp, so arriving late does not push your window back, it removes it.
- Certificates of Insurance are standard. Property management here is professional and will check before the tailgate drops.
- Lake Shore Boulevard is not a place to double park. Traffic and the Martin Goodman Trail both run past these buildings.
We run these moves early in the assigned window rather than at the end of it, because the second half of a shared dock day is where everyone else’s delays land.
Mimico, New Toronto and Long Branch: the old lakeshore villages
Behind the new towers sit three of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city. Mimico, New Toronto and Long Branch were independent villages long before Etobicoke was a borough, and they still look it: narrow streets, semis and small detached homes on tight lots, laneways, and the occasional century house with a staircase built for people who owned less furniture.
The challenges here are the opposite of the towers. There is no elevator to book, but there may be nowhere to put a five ton truck. Some streets are one way, some have permit only parking on both sides, and some driveways will take a cube van and nothing larger. We size the truck to the street rather than the house, and where the street genuinely cannot take a truck we shuttle with a smaller vehicle.
GO Transit’s Lakeshore West line stops at Mimico and Long Branch, and the 501 Queen streetcar terminates at the Long Branch Loop, which is useful for you and irrelevant to the truck. Plan the parking, not the transit.
The Kingsway, Sunnylea and the prestige streets
The Kingsway, Sunnylea, Princess-Rosethorn, Markland Wood and Edenbridge are the large lot side of Etobicoke: mature trees, long private driveways, detached homes with finished basements, and contents that often include things worth handling properly.
These moves are usually easy on access and heavy on volume. A private driveway means no permit and no elevator. What takes the time is the house itself, four or five bedrooms, a basement that has been accumulating for twenty years, a garage, sometimes a wine cellar or a home gym. The crew size matters more than the truck size.
Low hanging mature branches are a genuine consideration on some Kingsway streets. If your driveway has a canopy over it, mention it when you book so we bring the right truck rather than discovering the clearance on the day.
Etobicoke Centre: Kipling, Islington and the Six Points rebuild
Etobicoke Centre is one of four Centres named in the Toronto Official Plan, alongside North York, Scarborough and Yonge-Eglinton, which is planning language for places the city intends to concentrate housing and jobs around excellent transit. You can see it happening around Kipling and Islington.
Kipling station is the western terminus of Line 2 and now a combined transit hub serving TTC subway and bus, GO Transit and MiWay buses from Mississauga. The Six Points interchange that used to tangle Bloor, Dundas and Kipling has been rebuilt into a normal street grid, which has opened up land for new towers.
For a move this means a mix: established rental apartment buildings from the 1960s and 70s with small, slow elevators, alongside new condo buildings with proper loading bays. The older towers are the ones to plan carefully. A single passenger elevator serving twenty floors with no booking system is the most time consuming access in Etobicoke, and it is worth starting early in the day.
Rexdale, Thistletown and the northwest
North of Highway 401, Etobicoke changes character again. Rexdale, Thistletown, Kingsview Village, Jamestown and West Humber-Clairville are a mix of post war bungalows, back splits, townhouse complexes and apartment towers, with a large industrial and logistics belt running toward Pearson.
Access is generally straightforward: wide streets, driveways, surface parking at the apartment blocks. The two things worth knowing are that some of the older apartment towers have the same single elevator problem as central Etobicoke, and that truck traffic around the airport lands and the 427 corridor is heavy on weekday mornings. We schedule around it rather than through it.
This is also the part of Etobicoke where population is falling rather than rising, and where we see more moves out to Brampton, Vaughan and further west than moves in.
Do you need a permit to park a moving truck in Etobicoke?
Sometimes. Because Etobicoke is part of the City of Toronto, the city’s street occupancy rules apply. If the truck needs to occupy the roadway or a signed parking space on a public street, a temporary street occupancy permit is the correct route, and it can be bought online up to two weeks ahead.
In practice, a large share of Etobicoke moves need nothing at all. Detached homes in The Kingsway, Markland Wood, Alderwood or Rexdale almost always have a driveway that takes the truck. Condo towers have a loading dock. The permit question mostly arises in Mimico, New Toronto and Long Branch, where street parking is tight and the driveways are short.
What hours can movers legally work in Etobicoke?
Toronto’s noise bylaw prohibits loading and unloading noise between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Monday to Friday, and between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. on weekends and statutory holidays, with a $500 fine. That leaves a practical working window of roughly 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.
Your building may be stricter than the city. Condo boards frequently limit moves to weekdays or to specific hours, and some do not permit Sunday moves at all. The building rule is the one that will actually stop your move, so check it before you book the date.
Do Etobicoke condos require a Certificate of Insurance?
Almost always, and Humber Bay Shores is one of the most consistent about it in the whole city. Most buildings want the corporation and the property manager named, at stated limits, on file before move day. Some want it five business days ahead.
Send us the building’s requirements when you book and we produce the certificate and get it to management ahead of time. We do it at both ends, because your destination building has its own rules and its own paperwork.
Highway access is the quiet advantage of an Etobicoke move
Etobicoke sits on better road infrastructure than almost anywhere else in Toronto. Highway 427 runs north to south through the middle of it, the 401 crosses the top, the QEW and the Gardiner run along the bottom, and Pearson is minutes from the northwest corner.
For you this shows up as time. A move from Etobicoke to Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington or Brampton spends far less time in traffic than the equivalent distance across the middle of the city, which on an hourly rate is money. It is also why we can often do two stops in a day here when we could not downtown, and why Etobicoke is a practical base for long distance moves heading west.
What does a move in Etobicoke cost?
Local Etobicoke moves are billed hourly at $50 per mover, so the total comes down to crew size, truck size and how long the job runs. A one bedroom at Humber Bay Shores with a booked elevator is a different job from a five bedroom in The Kingsway with a finished basement and a double garage.
We give an upfront written estimate after a walkthrough or a proper inventory, and the number you approve is the number you are invoiced. Full pricing detail is on our rates page.
What moves the number most in Etobicoke:
- Elevator access versus stairs. A booked service elevator is faster than a shared passenger lift by a wide margin.
- Truck to door distance. Long carries from a shared dock cost more than a driveway.
- Timing. Month end, the first of the month and summer Saturdays are the busiest slots in the city.
- Basements. The single most underestimated part of a detached home move.
- What is not coming. Clearing first is cheaper than moving it and deciding later.
Moving in Etobicoke by the numbers
- 376,237 people across the three Etobicoke wards at the 2021 census
- 149,049 dwellings
- 9.8 percent population growth in Etobicoke-Lakeshore from 2016 to 2021, third highest in Toronto
- 5,896 new dwellings added in Etobicoke-Lakeshore in that period
- 1.7 percent population decline in Etobicoke North over the same five years
- $500 fine for moving noise outside the permitted hours under Toronto’s noise bylaw
How many movers you need and how long an Etobicoke move takes
As a working guide for a local move within the district:
- Studio or one bedroom condo: two movers, roughly three to five hours with a booked elevator
- Two bedroom condo: two to three movers, roughly five to seven hours
- Three bedroom house: three movers, roughly seven to nine hours
- Four or five bedroom house with a basement: four or more movers, and often a full day
Stairs, long carries and a shared elevator all push these upward. A booked dock and a driveway pull them down. We would rather send an extra person and finish inside your elevator window than send one fewer and run past it.
Downsizing from an Etobicoke house into a Humber Bay condo
This is one of the most common moves we do in the district, and it is really two jobs. The house empties into more space than the condo can hold, so the question is what happens to the difference.
Usually some of it goes to family, some goes to storage while decisions get made, and some is genuinely finished and goes out through junk removal. Doing that sorting before move day rather than after is the single biggest saving available on a downsizing move, because you stop paying to transport things you are going to get rid of anyway.
Pianos, art and the specialty pieces Etobicoke homes hold
The Kingsway, Sunnylea and Princess-Rosethorn houses hold a lot of pianos, and the Humber Bay condos hold a lot of art. Both need handling that a general crew does not provide as standard.
Our piano movers carry piano boards, piano dollies and stair climbers on every job, and pianos are quoted as a flat rate rather than hourly. For single heavy or awkward items on their own, see single item movers.
Winter moves and storage between closings
Etobicoke winters bring the same problem as the rest of the city, with one local addition: the lakeshore gets wind that the rest of Toronto does not. Loading at Humber Bay in February is genuinely colder and wetter than loading in Rexdale on the same day.
We floor protect as standard in winter because salt and slush do more damage to hardwood than furniture does. Where closing dates do not line up, we hold contents in storage and deliver when you actually have keys, which is far cheaper than a hotel and a second move.
What we can and cannot move
We move household contents, appliances, furniture, pianos, safes, gym equipment, art and office contents. We assemble and disassemble furniture, we pack and unpack, and we can clear what is not coming with you.
We cannot transport hazardous goods. That means propane tanks, gasoline, paint thinner, aerosols, corrosives and similar. Live plants and perishable food are better in your own car. If you are unsure about a specific item, ask when you book rather than on the day.
Our moving services in Etobicoke
Everything we do across Toronto is available in Etobicoke: house moves, condo and apartment moves, small moves, packing services, furniture assembly, office moves, storage and junk removal. Crews are in house rather than subcontracted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to park a moving truck in Etobicoke?
Only if the truck has to occupy the roadway or a signed parking space on a public street. Etobicoke is part of the City of Toronto, so a temporary street occupancy permit applies and can be bought online up to two weeks ahead. Most Etobicoke moves need nothing, because detached homes have driveways and condo towers have loading docks. The exception is Mimico, New Toronto and Long Branch, where street parking is tight.
What hours are movers allowed to work in Etobicoke?
Toronto’s noise bylaw prohibits loading and unloading noise between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Monday to Friday, and between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. on weekends and statutory holidays, with a $500 fine. Your condo building may impose stricter hours than the city does.
Do Etobicoke condos require a Certificate of Insurance?
Almost always, and the Humber Bay Shores towers are among the most consistent about it. We issue the certificate naming the corporation and property manager and send it to management ahead of the move, at both the origin and destination buildings.
How far ahead should I book the elevator at Humber Bay Shores?
As soon as you have a firm closing date. Summer and month end Saturdays in those buildings are booked weeks ahead, and the loading dock is often shared between towers. A typical booked window is three to four hours and it is enforced.
How much does a move in Etobicoke cost?
Local moves are billed hourly at $50 per mover, so the total depends on crew size, truck size and how long the job takes. We provide an upfront written estimate after a walkthrough or inventory, and the approved number is what you are invoiced.
Can you move large homes in The Kingsway and Markland Wood?
Yes, and they are a regular part of our work in Etobicoke. These moves are usually easy on access thanks to private driveways, and the time goes into volume: bedrooms, finished basements, garages and specialty items. Crew size matters more than truck size.
Do you handle older apartment buildings with one small elevator?
Yes. Central Etobicoke and Rexdale have many 1960s and 70s rental towers with a single passenger elevator and no booking system. Those moves work best started early in the day, before the building gets busy.
Do you move between Etobicoke and Mississauga?
Constantly. Etobicoke Creek is the boundary and the 427, QEW and 401 make it one of the quickest cross boundary moves in the region. It is priced the same hourly way as a move within Etobicoke.
When is the cheapest time to move in Etobicoke?
Mid month, mid week and outside the summer. The last and first few days of any month are the busiest across all of Toronto, and summer Saturdays are the single most contested slot. Moving on a Tuesday in October costs less than the same job on the last Saturday in July.
Do you provide storage if my closing dates do not line up?
Yes. We hold contents in storage and deliver when you have keys. This is common in Etobicoke on downsizing moves, where the house closes before the condo is ready.
Plan Your Etobicoke Move
Tell us the address, the building, the floor and your date, and we will tell you the crew size, the truck and the realistic hours. If your building needs a Certificate of Insurance, say so on the call and we will have it sent ahead.
Call 905-752-7787, answered around the clock, or request a quote online.
