The short version
Call the leasing office a week ahead and ask five things: move-in hours, whether you need to reserve the elevator or loading dock, whether movers or delivery companies need a certificate of insurance, where a truck can park, and how you get keys, fobs and a parking pass. Then set up electricity, water and internet for move-in day, read the deposit rules, and plan how boxes get from the curb to your door.
What the leasing office will ask for
Every building is different, and the rules are in your lease or a move-in packet. These are the common ones.
- Move-in hours. Some buildings allow moves only during office hours, and some block Sundays. If your movers show up at 7 a.m. on a day the office opens at 10, you wait.
- Elevator reservation. Mid-rises and high-rises usually have one freight elevator or pad one passenger elevator for moves, and you book a window. Book it the day you sign, because the end of the month fills up first.
- Certificate of insurance. Managed buildings often require anyone doing work on the property, including movers and delivery companies, to send a certificate naming the property as additionally insured. Ask for the exact wording and the email it goes to, then pass that to your mover. We send one for bin deliveries when a building asks.
- Truck parking. Ask where a truck can sit for three hours. Garage clearance is often too low for a box truck, so the answer is usually a loading zone or a street spot. Inside the City of Houston, blocking a lane or a sidewalk needs a mobility permit (Houston Permitting Center); the moving checklist has the details.
- Keys, fobs, gate codes and parking passes. Find out when you can pick them up. If it is move-in morning, you cannot bring anything in the night before.
- Renters insurance. Some leases require it and ask for proof before keys. It is cheap, and buying it the day you sign saves a scramble.
Money: deposits and fees
Texas does not cap security deposits, so the amount is whatever the lease says. What the law does set is the timing on the way out: your landlord has 30 days after you move out to refund the deposit or send an itemized list of deductions, and does not have to send anything until you give a forwarding address in writing (Texas Property Code 92.103 to 92.109). Photograph every room, including inside the oven and under the sinks, on the day you get keys, and email the photos to yourself so they carry a date.
Other first-month costs to expect: an application fee and an administrative fee, pet deposit or pet rent, a parking or garage fee, a trash or valet fee, and the electricity deposit a provider may ask for if you are new to Texas or have thin credit.
Utilities and services
- Electricity is yours to choose in most of Houston. Pick a plan a week or two ahead on Power to Choose, the state's comparison site, and set the start date to the day you get keys. A unit with the power off in August is a unit you cannot stay in.
- Water and trash are usually billed through the building, often as a flat monthly fee. Ask.
- Internet may be limited to one provider the building has wired. Ask which, and book the install date before you move.
- Mail: file the change of address at usps.com and find out whether packages go to a locker room, the office or your door.
The full list of who to call and the Texas deadlines for your license, registration and voting is in the Houston moving checklist.
Getting it all upstairs
This is where apartment moves differ most from house moves. Everything you own goes from a truck to a cart to an elevator to a hallway to your door, and the elevator window is the clock.
- Uniform containers stack. Same-size containers stacked on a dolly go up a few at a time. Mixed cardboard boxes carried by hand go up one at a time. Rented moving bins are built for this: lidded, the same size, and they roll four high on the dolly we include. How bin rental works.
- Pack by room and label two sides. In a hallway stack you only see the sides.
- Furniture first, boxes second. Get the big pieces placed while the elevator is yours. Boxes can wait in the hallway or the living room.
- Measure the elevator and the door. Sofas and mattresses are the pieces that do not fit. Know before moving day.
- Afterward, the cardboard problem. An apartment recycling room cannot take 48 flattened boxes at once, and buildings generally do not want them in the hallway. Spread them over a couple of weeks, drive them to a city recycling center, or skip the problem by renting bins we collect.
Moving out of an apartment
The same list runs in reverse. Give notice in writing by the date in your lease. Reserve the elevator for the move-out. Clean and photograph, hand in every key and fob, and leave your forwarding address in writing. If you are moving from one Houston apartment to another, have your bins delivered to the old place and collected from the new one; that is how a bin rental is set up.
Questions people ask
Do I need to reserve the elevator to move in?
In most mid-rise and high-rise buildings, yes. Ask the leasing office the day you sign and book the earliest window you can, because month-end dates go first.
What is a certificate of insurance and why does my building want one?
It is a one-page document from a mover's or delivery company's insurer showing they carry liability coverage, usually with the property named as additionally insured. Buildings ask so that damage to a lobby or elevator is covered. Ask the office for the exact requirements and pass them to your mover.
How long does a landlord have to return my deposit in Texas?
30 days after you move out, once you have given a forwarding address in writing. Texas does not cap the size of the deposit itself.
Can I rent moving bins for an apartment move?
Yes. We deliver to your door, including upstairs, and pick up from the new address. Buildings that require a certificate of insurance get one from us.
Last updated October 2, 2026. Building rules vary; your lease and move-in packet are the final word.