How Long Does a Move Take in Toronto? Realistic Timelines by Home Size

For a one-bedroom condo or apartment, two movers and a truck usually need 2 to 4 hours, and that is the most useful single answer to “how long does a move take in Toronto.” A studio runs 1.5 to 2.5 hours. A two-bedroom apartment with three movers takes 3 to 5 hours, and a three-bedroom house with three or four movers takes 5 to 8. Where your own move lands inside those ranges depends far more on the building, the parking and how ready you are than on the number of bedrooms.

Typical moving times by home size

The table below shows the typical hours and totals from our published Toronto moving rates. Read them as planning ranges, not quotes. Two homes with the same bedroom count can sit at opposite ends of a range, and a quick video walkthrough is how you get a real estimate for yours.

The studio and one-bedroom totals are those hours multiplied by our two-mover rate of $149 an hour with the truck included. That rate applies to select non-peak dates and peak-period pricing may vary, so confirm the rate for your date when you book. Two-bedroom apartments and houses get a third or fourth mover, and the price for that bigger crew comes on the call.

The piano and single-item rows are flat rates, so their hours tell you how long the crew will be at your door; the price stays fixed. Everything else is billed by time, which is why most of this page is about the things that add minutes.

A rough way to read the table: a ground-floor unit with the truck at the door and every box sealed sits near the bottom of its range. The same unit two flights up, with the truck down the block and the bed frame still assembled, heads for the top.

Where the hours go on moving day

A local move has three stages, and the time runs through all of them. At the old place the crew wraps furniture in blankets, takes apart what has to come apart and carries everything out to the truck. Then comes the drive. At the new place the same work runs in reverse: carry in, reassemble, and put the big pieces where you want them.

Most of the careful work happens at the first address. A dresser gets wrapped once, before it leaves the bedroom, and a bed frame comes apart once, at the start. So the loading half of the day often runs longer than the unloading half, especially when the old home has stairs and the new one has an elevator.

Simple furniture disassembly and reassembly is included in the hourly rate, and complex disassembly is $25. If you are not sure which side of that line a piece falls on, show it on the walkthrough. A loft bed or a wall unit that nobody mentioned can add real time on the day.

How hourly billing works

Our rate is $149 an hour for two movers and a truck, which is $50 an hour per mover plus $49 an hour for the truck. It is the rate for select non-peak dates, and pricing in peak periods may vary. Hourly moves have a one-hour minimum. Past that first hour the clock counts in 15-minute increments, so a move that takes 2 hours and 15 minutes is billed as 2 hours and 15 minutes.

The truck, blankets, dollies, straps and standard insurance are included. You won’t see a separate truck fee, a fuel surcharge on an in-city move, an equipment fee or a trip fee. Stairs and elevators cost nothing extra. Standard coverage is $0.60 per pound per article, the industry standard, and a full replacement-value upgrade is available if your furniture is worth more than that.

Ontario law puts some limits around the number. A consumer moving contract worth more than $50 has to be in writing, and it can include the estimate, the number of staff and the estimated number of hours. When the estimate is written into the contract, the mover cannot charge more than 10% above it unless you need extra supplies or services and agree to the increase. The province lays this out in its consumer guide to hiring a mover.

On an hourly move, minutes spent waiting for the last boxes to be packed are billed the same as minutes spent carrying. To turn the ranges above into a figure for your own home, request a quote; a quick video walkthrough is enough for a real estimate.

Condo moves run on the elevator booking

In a Toronto condo, the building usually decides when your move starts. Condo buildings typically make you reserve the service elevator for a fixed block, and the crew can only carry during that block. A one-bedroom that would take two hours with the elevator to itself takes longer when the booking starts late, another resident’s move runs over, or the loading dock is a long carry from the elevator doors.

We work inside your booked service-elevator window, and we protect the hallways and the elevator cab before the first piece moves. Buildings also want a certificate of insurance naming the building. We provide it before move day, and if you are going from one condo to another and both buildings ask for one, we produce both.

Two buildings also means two sets of hours. Your old building might give you the elevator in the morning while the new one only allows moves after lunch, and the gap between them stretches your day. Send both windows when you book so the move is planned around them. Our guide to condo elevator bookings and building rules goes deeper on the building side, and the condo and apartment moving service page explains how the certificate and the elevator are handled.

Walk-ups, houses and the walk to the truck

Stairs cost nothing extra, but they do cost time. Every box from a third-floor walk-up goes down by hand, and the mover climbs back up empty for the next one. Narrow stairwells with a turn at each landing slow the big pieces far more than the boxes, because a sofa or a dresser has to be tipped and angled at every corner. If you are leaving a low-rise building or a flat above a shop, read our walk-up apartment moving guide before you book.

Houses add time in other places. The basement, the garage, the garden shed and the patio set never show up in a bedroom count, and they can push a three-bedroom move toward the eight-hour end of its range. Count them in when you book a house move in Toronto, and the estimate will reflect the real job.

The walk between your door and the truck matters just as much. The City of Toronto lets moving vans park on the street while they are actively loading or unloading, but drivers still have to follow traffic rules, parking restrictions and posted signs, according to its parking regulations. The same page explains the distinction that matters most on moving day: a No Parking zone lets you stop to load or unload merchandise, while a No Stopping zone does not let you stop even to load or unload. Parking within three metres of a fire hydrant is prohibited.

Busy streets are harder. The City lists key downtown corridors and the areas near bus and streetcar stops, crosswalks and hydrants among its No Stopping zones, and it has run a rush-hour No Stopping enforcement blitz with Toronto Police on key arterial routes. A driver who stops in one of those zones can be ticketed, and the vehicle may be towed. If the nearest legal spot is half a block away, every trip gets longer, so tell us before the day where the truck can stand, and mention any laneway door or driveway.

Packing is the part you control

Nothing stretches a move like a crew arriving at a half-packed apartment. Movers can’t load a box that hasn’t been packed yet, so the time runs while the last kitchen cupboard gets emptied. When everything is taped, labelled and stacked before the crew walks in, the carrying starts in the first few minutes.

If you would rather hand it off, our packing service is $50 an hour per packer. Materials are at cost, about $3 to $5 per box. How long packing takes depends on the home, because the kitchen and the closets decide it: a two-bedroom with a full set of dishes, a wall of books and a stocked pantry is a very different job from one that came furnished. A video walkthrough is the fastest way to a real figure.

Packing it yourself? Start with the rooms you use least, leave the kitchen for the last two days, put heavy things like books in small boxes, and keep a bag with the first night’s things in your own car. Our list for getting your apartment ready before the movers arrive has the rest.

The drive between addresses

The drive is part of the billed time: the hourly clock keeps running while the loaded truck travels from your old home to the new one. Inside the city the drive is often the shortest stage of the day, and the hardest to predict. A move from the Annex to Leslieville crosses the core. A move from Scarborough to Etobicoke may run on the 401 most of the way. On either one, the time of day can matter as much as the distance.

Expressway closures are the other wild card. The City closes the Gardiner and the Don Valley Parkway for full weekends of maintenance. For 2026 it scheduled a full closure of the Gardiner from the Humber River to Spadina Avenue over a weekend in late April, and of the DVP from Highway 401 to the Jarvis Street ramp over a weekend in May. Its notice of the Gardiner and DVP weekend closures warned that either date could move if rain was forecast. A detour adds drive time, so check for closures before you settle on a weekend date.

Farther moves pick up a distance charge. When a move is over 30 minutes one way, fuel is $1.50 per kilometre after the first 50 km. Moves to another city, such as Ottawa or Montreal, are quoted separately for the route and the load.

Weather and the time of year

Rain and snow slow every carry. Furniture needs more careful wrapping, floors at both ends need protecting from wet boots and dolly wheels, and nobody takes a dresser down icy front steps at full speed. In winter, clear and salt the walkway and outside steps the night before, and keep a path open to wherever the truck will stand. Our page on moving in an Ontario winter covers cold-weather moves in more detail.

Watch the forecast in the days before. Environment and Climate Change Canada now colour-codes its weather alerts. Yellow is the most common level and means hazardous weather with moderate, local or short-lived impacts. Orange is uncommon and means significant damage or disruption is likely. Red is rare and reserved for very dangerous weather. The federal explainer on colour-coded weather alerts describes each level. A yellow snowfall warning usually means a slower day; an orange one on your date is worth a phone call about whether to keep it.

What time movers usually arrive

No single start time applies to every Toronto move. In a condo, the start is often set by the service-elevator window. If the building gives you the elevator from 9 a.m., that is when carrying can begin, and the crew’s arrival is planned to match. In a house or a walk-up, the start is the time you book.

At Moving Co., you get either a set start time or an arrival window when you book, depending on the job. Whatever time you agree on, get it in writing. Ontario requires a moving contract to show the start and end dates of the service, and you can put the arrival window in the same confirmation. On the day, the province’s advice is to be ready when the movers arrive and to move valuables and personal documents yourself. If anything changes, our phone line is open 24 hours.

Two one-bedroom moves, two different days

Take two one-bedroom moves on the same Saturday. The first goes from a condo near Fort York to a tower in Liberty Village. The boxes are packed, both elevators are booked, the furniture is ordinary and the drive takes minutes.

The second goes from a third-floor flat above a shop on the Danforth to a semi in East York. The stair is narrow and turns twice, the closest legal spot for the truck is around the corner, and the bed and a wall unit still have to come apart.

Both sit inside the published range of 2 to 4 hours for a one-bedroom. The first is set up to finish near the bottom of it. The second will use most of it, and all of it if the kitchen is still being packed when the crew arrives.

How to keep your move at the short end of its range

• Book the elevator and find the parking first. Confirm the service elevator at both buildings and the nearest legal spot for the truck before you pick a start time.
• Finish packing the night before. Every box sealed, labelled by room and stacked near the door without blocking it.
• Strip the beds and empty heavy drawers. A dresser full of books has to be emptied on the clock.
• Flag the awkward pieces. Sleeper sofas, loft beds, glass tabletops and anything that came up a narrow stair in pieces.
• Measure what has to fit. The sofa against the new apartment door, the wardrobe against the bedroom ceiling.
• Separate what isn’t coming. Put it in one room with the door closed, so nobody carries it out by mistake.
• Have someone at the new place. With keys, fobs and the elevator booking in hand, and a plan for where each room’s boxes go.

Before you call, the moving cost calculator gives you a ballpark. To talk through your date or your building, call (905) 752-7787; the line is open 24 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take movers to move a 1 bedroom apartment?

Two movers and a truck typically need 2 to 4 hours for a one-bedroom condo or apartment in Toronto. At $149 an hour, the rate for select non-peak dates (peak-period pricing may vary), that works out to $298 to $596. A ground-floor unit with everything packed and the truck close to the door lands near the bottom of that range. Stairs, a long carry, a late elevator or unpacked boxes push it toward the top.

How long does it take to move a 2 bedroom apartment?

A two-bedroom apartment typically takes 3 to 5 hours with a crew of three movers. We price a three-mover crew when you call instead of publishing a total, so the figure depends on your date and your building. Expect the longer end if the unit is up a walk-up stair, the building limits elevator time, or the kitchen and closets aren’t packed by the time the crew walks in.

How long does it take to move a house?

A three-bedroom house typically takes 5 to 8 hours with three or four movers, and a four-bedroom house 7 to 10 hours with four movers. Basements, garages, sheds and backyard furniture are what push a house toward the top of its range, so count them when you describe the job. Both sizes are quoted on the call, and a quick video walkthrough gets you a real estimate.

What time do movers usually arrive?

It depends on the building more than the mover. A condo move usually starts when your service-elevator booking opens, so the crew’s arrival is set to match it. Houses and walk-ups have no elevator booking, so the start is whatever time you book. At Moving Co. you get either a set start time or an arrival window, depending on the job. Either way, ask for the arrival window in writing, alongside the start and end dates that Ontario requires in every consumer moving contract.

How long does it take to pack a 2 bedroom apartment?

There is no fixed time, because it depends on how much you own. Full packing service is $50 an hour per packer, with materials at cost, about $3 to $5 per box. A two-bedroom takes longer than a one-bedroom, mostly because of the kitchen and the closets. A video walkthrough is the quickest way to get a number for your place.

How long does the moving process take?

The move itself, from loading at the old place to unloading at the new one, typically takes 1.5 to 2.5 hours for a studio, 2 to 4 hours for a one-bedroom, 3 to 5 hours for a two-bedroom apartment and 5 to 8 hours for a three-bedroom house. The process around it takes longer: packing, booking the elevator at both buildings, sorting out parking and arranging storage if your dates don’t line up.

Do stairs or a condo elevator make a move take longer?

Yes, both can. On stairs every item is carried by hand, the crew walks back up empty, and big pieces have to be angled around each landing. In a condo the move can only run during the booked service-elevator window, and a long carry from the dock adds minutes to every trip. Neither costs extra at Moving Co.; stairs and elevators only show up on the bill as time.

Is there a minimum charge if my move is short?

Yes. Hourly moves carry a one-hour minimum with two movers and a truck, which comes to $149 on select non-peak dates, while prices in peak periods may vary. Beyond that hour, time is counted in quarter-hour steps. A single item moved within the city is a $99 flat rate, which makes more sense than the hourly minimum for one sofa or one dresser.

Can a mover charge more than the estimate in Ontario?

Only within limits. Under Ontario’s consumer protection rules, the final bill cannot run more than 10% over the estimate written into your contract, unless you agree to an increase for additional supplies or services you need. Contracts worth more than $50 must be in writing and must show a description of the services, an itemized list of prices, the total, the start and end dates and the payment terms.