The Ranking
Our top 8 moving companies in Montreal
Moving in Montreal revolves around July 1. Many Quebec leases end on June 30, so the first of July is the busiest moving day of the year, and crews, trucks and rental vans are booked weeks or months ahead. If your date is fixed, call several companies in the spring and get the date, crew size and rate confirmed in writing. If you can move earlier in June or later in July, you will usually have more choice. Let's Get Moving, for example, charges less for weekday moves between the 4th and the 26th of the month.
The city's housing adds its own work. Many plexes in the Plateau, Rosemont, Villeray and Verdun have outside staircases, often spiral ones, and large furniture does not always fit. Tell each company about stairs, floors and tight turns when you ask for a quote, and ask whether it can hoist items or bring a crane, as Déménagement Total offers. Condo and rental towers downtown and in Griffintown usually want the service elevator booked ahead, and many ask the mover for a certificate of insurance. In winter, icy steps slow crews down, so allow more time and keep walkways cleared.
Parking for the truck is often the hardest part. Montreal's boroughs run their own local streets and parking rules, so check the signs on your block early and ask your mover who will arrange space for the truck if it needs to stop where parking is restricted.
Most local moves are billed by the hour for a crew and truck, often with a minimum and travel time on top. Déménagement Alex posts a starting rate of $95 an hour for two movers with a truck and says a 3½ apartment often costs $395 to $795, while Déménagement Total advertises rates from $140 an hour. Long distance moves are usually quoted per job. Ask for the estimate in writing, with the hourly rate, the minimum, travel charges and any fees for pianos, stairs or materials.
Quebec's standard conditions of carriage for household moves, as reproduced by the Canadian Association of Movers, limit what the carrier owes for loss or damage to the higher of the value you declare in writing or $4.41 per kilogram, based on the total weight of the shipment. If your belongings are worth more, declare a higher value in writing before the move and ask what that costs. The same conditions give you 60 days after delivery to give written notice of a claim, and they say that if the final charges run more than 10 percent over the estimate, you may pay the excess within 15 working days. Keep your copy of the bill of lading.
Watch for the usual warning signs: no street address, a price given only by phone, a large cash deposit demanded up front and a company that will not put its legal name on the contract. Every company here has an address we checked against the City of Montreal's property assessment roll, and we left out movers listed at condo units, apartments, homes and office suites we could not confirm, as well as brokers and lead sites that do not run their own trucks.
Quebec does not have a separate licence for household movers that we could confirm. Look the company up in the Quebec enterprise register to see its legal name and status, ask for proof of liability and cargo insurance, and check membership in the Canadian Association of Movers where a company claims it. For a move into the United States, ask for the carrier's USDOT number and check it on the FMCSA website.
