Moving out of a walk-up apartment: a Balmoral and Mosman checklist

If you live up a flight of stairs in Balmoral or Mosman, the things hardest to carry down are often the same things council won't take away. Mosman's household clean-up does not collect any item over 30 kg or with any side over 1.5 m. Lifting and carrying heavy loads on stairs is the kind of hazardous manual task a business must assess and manage the risks of.

Put those two rules side by side. The solid wardrobe or the old three-seater you don't want to keep fails both: too heavy or too long for the kerb pile, and the slowest item on the stairs. So decide whether to sell it, give it away or dispose of it weeks before moving day. The night before is too late.

This is the checklist Balmoral Removals would hand every walk-up customer, in the order the jobs need doing. For what makes a lift-less move different in the first place, read our guide to moving out of a lift-less walk-up. For the service itself, see walk-up and apartment moves.

Moving out of a walk-up apartment checklist, stage by stage

Source: NSW Fair Trading; NSW Government; Tenants' Union of NSW; Mosman Council

Six stages, each one clearing the way for the next. The timing is ours, not a rule: start the booking and building stages as soon as you have a date, and start the sorting stage about four weeks out. Only two deadlines below are fixed by someone else. Both belong to council's clean-up: the notice for an extra collection, and the night-before rule for putting items out.

The carry test: measuring from your door to the truck

Source: Tenants' Union of NSW; NSW Government

Before anyone quotes, walk the route your furniture will take and write down what you find:

• How many flights, and how many landing turns.
• The width of the stairs, and the tightest turn on the way down.
• The width of your front door and the foyer door.
• The distance from the foyer to where a truck can stand.
• The length, width and height of every large item you plan to take.

That route crosses more than your own floor. Stairwells, corridors, lifts and foyers are common property, and balconies may be too. The stairwell your sofa has to turn through belongs to the building, so the building's rules apply there. More on that below.

What to tell the removalist before you book: the quote checklist

Source: NSW Fair Trading

NSW Fair Trading says to get a written, itemised quote and to give the removalist all the details about your move so the quote is accurate. For a walk-up, the details that matter most are the ones you just measured. Send them in writing.

In our view, a quote that changes on the day can come from a description that left something out: a third flight, a turn the wardrobe can't make, a 40-metre carry to the street. Describe the building as it is.

When the contract arrives, Fair Trading says it should contain the household inventory, the pick-up and delivery addresses, dates and times, how payment is made, and whether there are extra storage costs if there are delays. To see how the number of flights feeds into crew and time, read our guide to crew sizes and hourly rates.

What to ask your strata or building manager, in writing

Source: NSW Government

Strata by-laws apply to everyone in the scheme, tenants included, and they govern shared areas such as stairwells. They differ from building to building, so what your last place allowed tells you nothing about this one.

Get a copy. Owners ask the owners corporation, strata manager or agent. Tenants should receive the by-laws from the landlord or agent. If you are renting in a mixed-use building, there is also a management statement, and your agent or landlord must give you a copy within 14 days of signing the rental contract.

Ask for the moving rules in writing too. By-laws are only enforceable if registered, and "house rules" that are not registered by-laws are not lawful. If your building has a booking, notice or stairwell-protection procedure, get it in writing from the strata or building manager and pass it to your removalist.

It is worth getting right. A breached by-law can lead to a notice to comply, and NCAT can then fine up to $1,100, rising to $2,200 for a repeat breach and up to $5,500 if an order is ignored (checked October 2026).

What Mosman's council clean-up won't take, and what to do instead

Source: Mosman Council

Run the carry test on everything you are not keeping. Mosman's clean-up rules decide what can go to the kerb:

• Put items out only the night before, and keep them off the footpath, driveways and road.
• The limit is 5 m³ per collection.
• No item over 30 kg or with any side over 1.5 m, and no e-waste, building waste or chemicals.
• Mattresses go beside the pile for separate collection.

If the regular collection doesn't line up with your move, a pre-paid extra collection needs 3 working days' notice and is limited to 4 a year per property.

Anything that fails the weight, size or type test needs another route: sell it, give it away, or arrange a separate disposal. Do that early, so it never reaches the stairs on moving day. If you are clearing a home you have lived in for decades, our downsizing guide goes further.

Where the truck stands, and the parking to sort

Source: NSW Government; Mosman Council

A short carry starts with a legal place for the truck, so confirm it before the day. Strata car parks are private property: visitors may use only visitor spaces, and those may have time limits on signs. If there is no visitor parking, the NSW guidance is that "visitors should park elsewhere".

On who enforces it: owners corporations cannot issue parking fines, but Council can where it manages the scheme's parking.

On the street, some Mosman streets sit inside Council's Resident Parking Scheme, so check Council's scheme map for yours. Visitor permits are available to every property in a scheme area, up to 40 a year (1 Nov to 31 Oct). Each is valid for 24 hours and needs the vehicle's registration number. Council's page says scheme prices change from 1 November 2026, so check it for the current cost. The page doesn't say whether a visitor permit suits a removal truck, so ask Council before you rely on one.

Steep, narrow streets add their own problems. Read where the truck stands on a steep street, and if your truck crosses the Spit, plan around the Spit Bridge opening times. Moving on the beachfront? The Esplanade kerb window covers that stretch.

Moving day on the stairs: protection, crew and pace

Ask your removalist exactly what they protect: floors, the stair treads, handrails and the corners of landings. The stairwell is common property, so a scuffed wall becomes a conversation with your building. Our packing and protection page lists what we cover.

Stairs change the pace of the job. Safe Work Australia lists controls for heavy manual tasks that include mechanical aids and rotating tasks between workers. That is why the number of flights shapes the crew and the hours. It is also why your measurements belong in the quote rather than in a phone call on the morning.

On timing, Australian Consumer Law says a service must be done within a reasonable time when none is set. What counts as reasonable depends on how difficult the task is, and on busy periods and public holidays. Three flights and a tight turn is a harder task than a ground-floor flat. For homes on the slope, see our steep-street moves.

If something is damaged: insurance and your rights

Source: Mosman Council; NSW Government

Don't assume the removalist's insurance covers your goods, because removalists are not required by law to insure your property and most only carry cover for their vehicle.

AFRA members must hold public liability, third party property, motor vehicle and carrier's legal liability insurance. Even so, not all damage is the removalist's liability, and AFRA calls insurance "always a wise option". AFRA-accredited removalists can provide transit insurance. Our guide to checking a removalist's AFRA accreditation explains what the badge does and doesn't cover.

If something goes wrong, the service had to be provided with due care or skill. Photograph the damage and put it to the business in writing first. If the problem is minor, you must give the business a chance to fix it and cannot demand an immediate refund. If it can't be settled that way, NSW Fair Trading is the next place to go.

Your next step

Once you have the flight count, the tightest turn, the distance to the street and your building's rules in writing, send them to Balmoral Removals through our Get a Quote page. Include the measurements of your largest items and where you think the truck can stand. We will quote on the building you actually live in.