Planning · Published May 7, 2026 · Updated October 6, 2026
The lease is a measuring tool.
An apartment adds a document the product sheet does not mention. This page lists what to look up before you drill or before you book a freight elevator. It is not legal advice, and it does not describe the law of any particular state.
Rules differ by lease, by building, and by city. A sentence that is true for a walk-up in one town can be the wrong assumption for a high-rise with a move calendar. Read your lease, any rider about alterations, and the building’s move sheet if one exists. If those papers disagree, ask the manager in writing and keep the answer. evsalaryevee cannot interpret your lease for you.
Two other documents still apply even when the lease is silent. The furniture instructions still say what they say about anchors. The anchoring guide explains why a clothing storage unit’s restraint is not cancelled by a “no holes” habit. And the physical openings still control whether the piece can enter. Measure them with the room guide and the path guide.
Questions worth answering before move day
Does the lease limit holes in walls?
Some leases allow small picture holes and forbid larger anchors. Some require a specific patch at move-out. Some buildings want written permission before any drilling. Find the clause. If the carton includes a restraint and the lease appears to forbid the holes, you have a conflict to resolve with the manager before you either skip the restraint or drill anyway. This site will not tell you which obligation wins in your building.
Is there a move calendar?
Many multi-unit buildings reserve the elevator, limit hours, and require the hall floor to be covered. Some ask a moving company for an insurance certificate. evsalaryevee does not issue certificates and does not reserve elevators. If you are moving the piece yourselves, ask whether the building’s protection rule still applies to you. Assume that it might.
What floor protection do they name?
Masonite, neoprene, or a specific runner is a building choice. Bring that, not a substitute you hope is close enough. The general behavior of blankets and sliders is in protecting surfaces. The building’s sheet overrides a general article when they conflict, because it is their hallway.
Where will the piece stand, and what opens in front of it?
Apartment plans are tight. A door swing, a radiator, and a required exit path can remove a wall you liked in a photo. Sketch the room before delivery. A low platform bed often has no anchor instruction. A tall dresser often does. Choose with both the plan and the carton in mind, not with the plan alone.
Elevators and the last turn
Measure the elevator door and the cab, then the turn from the elevator to your door. A piece that fits the cab can fail in the private hallway outside it. If the instructions allow legs or a back to come off, decide that before you are holding the piece in the cab. If they do not, the path measurement is the decision. There is no later trick on this website that changes a number you already took.
Service elevators and passenger elevators are not interchangeable just because both are called elevators. Use the one the building assigned. Padding the cab walls is part of the move sheet, not an improvisation with whatever blanket is on top of the carton.
While you live there
Recheck a restraint if you slide a case to paint, to retrieve something, or to fit a rug. A strap installed on day one does nothing if it is unhooked in month four and never put back. Keep heavier items in lower drawers, as the labels on many clothing storage units already say. If a foot starts to rock, use the leveling notes rather than a folded lease envelope under a corner.
Area rugs can shift on smooth floors and can hide a shim. When you lift a rug, look. A building that prohibits waterbeds, wall-mounted desks, or other named items has usually listed them. Read that list before you buy the item, not after it is in the elevator.
When you leave
Remove anchors you installed if the lease expects the wall restored, and fill holes the way the lease or the move-out sheet describes. Do not leave hardware in the wall as a convenience for the next resident unless management asked you to. Take the restraint kit with the furniture if it is part of the product and you are taking the product. The next room may need it.
Photograph the empty room in the same light you can. The photos are for you and for the landlord’s list, not for this website. We do not store move-out records. Questions about these pages go to [email protected]. Questions about your deposit go to your landlord.
Questions to ask before move-in day
Ask which elevator you are assigned, which hours are allowed, and what floor protection the building requires. Ask whether a certificate of insurance is required and who must be named. This website cannot issue that certificate. Ask whether furniture pads are provided or whether you bring them. Ask where the loading area is, and whether a second turn — from the curb to the elevator — has a door shorter than the one at your apartment.
Ask, in writing if you can, whether anchor holes are allowed, and what the move-out rule is for filling them. A verbal “it’s fine” is hard to rely on later. The lease and any house rules attached to it are the documents. This page lists the questions. It does not answer them for your building, and it is not legal advice.
If the building prohibits drilling and the product instructions require a restraint, you have a conflict this site cannot resolve. Options people actually discuss with management include a different wall, a different piece, or written permission. Leaving the kit in the carton is not one of the options the product label is asking for. Read wall anchoring beside the lease, not instead of it.