Apartment Moving in Portland, Planned Around Your Lease Dates
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- ODOT For-Hire Carrier #275978USDOT #3604556Licensed & InsuredBBB A+ AccreditedGoogle 4.8★ RatedFamily-Owned · Hillsboro, OR
Many Portland apartment moves begin with a piece of paper: a termination notice, a rent-increase letter, or the notice you gave your landlord yourself. Portland and Oregon law put firm dates on many of those papers, and those dates shape when your moving day can happen and when it makes sense to book.
Butterfield Moving is a family-owned, licensed mover based in Hillsboro, and we plan each Portland apartment job backward from the day you need to be out, at published hourly rates.
Have the date from your notice in front of you when you call. It is the first thing we will ask.
Four Dates That Shape an Apartment Move in Portland
Oregon law sets the baseline for renters statewide, and Portland adds its own layer on top. We are movers, so we won't read your lease for you or tell you what you are owed. What we can do is show how each date changes the move itself. The rules below live in Portland City Code Chapter 30.01.
1. The 90-day notice gives you a long runway
When a Portland landlord ends a tenancy without cause, or for a qualifying landlord reason under Oregon's landlord-tenant law, the city requires at least 90 days' written notice, or longer if the rental agreement says so. Ninety days is enough time to choose a weekday in the middle of the month, when there are usually more open dates on our calendar. It is also easy to let the notice sit until the move slides to the final weekend. If you have a notice, count back from the termination date and put a moving day on the calendar this week. Changing it later is free with one to two weeks' notice.
2. Relocation assistance is due by the 45-day mark
In those same situations, Portland's code requires the landlord to pay relocation assistance no later than 45 days before the termination date, unless the tenancy is exempt. If your moving budget depends on that payment, you can still lock in the date now. Nothing is due to us until the job is done. Whether your tenancy qualifies, and for how much, is a question for the Portland Housing Bureau's Rental Services Office. The code lists exemptions, and they are specific.
3. A rent-increase letter can leave the month open for half a year
After a large rent increase, you may not know your move month until months after the new rent takes effect. Here is the sequence for a tenancy that is not exempt:
- Rent goes up 10 percent or more within 12 months.
- The tenant has 45 days after receiving the notice to request relocation assistance in writing.
- Once paid, the tenant has six months from the date the increase takes effect to repay it and stay, or give notice and leave.
If you are inside that window, call early anyway. We can recommend a crew and give you an hour range now, then set the day once you decide.
4. A condition report when you arrive, a walk-through after you leave
Portland requires a signed condition report with photos at the start of a tenancy and gives the tenant 7 days after the tenancy begins to add anything the landlord's report missed. After a tenancy ends, the landlord does a final walk-through within one week if you want one, with 24 hours' notice of the time. Both of those change the order in which we work on a Portland apartment move.
How We Order the Move Around Those Dates
The call starts with the date on the paper
Termination date, new lease start, floor and elevator at both buildings, and the three largest pieces you own. A short call gets you a recommended crew and an hour range. If either building wants a certificate of insurance, we send it, usually within the hour.
Out of the old unit with room to spare
We book the load-out well before your termination date to allow time for cleaning and the final walk-through. If you already know when the landlord plans to walk the unit, tell us, and we will set the load-out so the rooms are empty by then. Floor runners and door-jamb guards go down first, before the first piece of furniture crosses a threshold.
Into the new unit on your schedule
That seven-day window for the move-in report opens when the tenancy begins. If you want to walk the empty rooms before anything comes off the truck, tell us on the call, and we will build the time into the plan. The crew can also stage boxes in the middle of each room, away from the walls, until you say where things go.
Beds first, then the job walk
Beds get rebuilt before anything else, so you can sleep there on night one, even if the rest of the apartment is still in boxes. Before the truck leaves, you walk the job with the crew and pay by card, check, or cash.
What an Apartment Move in Portland Costs
Apartment moves bill on the same published metro card as our other local moves in the Portland area. An evening slot is available if your building prefers moves after business hours. The hourly rate depends on the day and time you choose, and the total depends on the hours the job takes.
Get a Portland apartment estimateStandard rate: Monday–Saturday, 7 AM–7 PM
- 2 movers + truck: $150.35 per hour
- 3 movers + truck: $206.75 per hour
- 4 movers + truck: $263.15 per hour
- 3-hour minimum · $56.40 per hour for each additional mover or packer
Evenings after 7 PM Mon–Sat, and Sundays (3-hour minimum)
- 2 movers: $195.20 per hour · 3 movers: $273.40 per hour · 4 movers: $351.60 per hour
- Holiday rate (3-hour minimum): 2 movers $230.50 per hour · 3 movers $325.50 per hour · 4 movers $420.50 per hour
Many studios and one-bedrooms need two movers. Larger units, or a long carry from the door to the truck, often go faster with three, and we will tell you which on the call. Packing help runs $56.40 per hour per packer if you would rather hand off the kitchen. Your estimate lays out the expected hours, crew, and rate, including travel from our Hillsboro yard, before you book.
Never on the bill
- Stair or elevator surcharges on local moves
- Deposits to hold a date
- Fuel charges or a month-end premium
Released Value, Replacement Cost and Claims
Released value at $0.60 per pound is the legal floor, not a plan. In plain terms, it pays by weight, regardless of the item's cost. Replacement-cost protection is available if you choose to purchase it. We will submit a claim upon request.
Portland Apartment Move Questions
I will already be in my new place. Can someone else attend my final walk-through?
Portland's code lets a tenant's representative attend, so a friend or family member can go in your place. Arranging that is between you and your landlord. Our part is to have the unit empty on time.
The leases overlap by a few days. Does that help?
It takes the pressure off at the end of the day. We move the apartment in one go, and the overlap means you can clean the old unit afterward instead of around the crew. Tell us both addresses and your keys' date on the call, and we'll set the start time so the old unit is empty, with the overlap still to spare.
I rent a house or a duplex, not an apartment. Is anything different?
The rate card is the same for a rented house, duplex, or apartment. The call covers the same questions, with the driveway and stairs replacing elevators.
My roommate and I are splitting up the furniture. Can one truck handle two addresses?
Yes, on one route and one bill, and a charity drop-off can join the route when the pieces are in good shape for donation.
My old lease ends before the new one starts. Can you hold my things?
No. We do not offer storage. We can point you to local storage and handle the move into and out of the unit. Those are two separate jobs, so budget for both.
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Holding a Notice? Call With the Date.
Call (503) 506-4149. We will match a crew and a moving day to your lease, and we take calls from 7 AM to 10 PM, seven days a week.
Call (503) 506-4149 → Free Portland Apartment Estimate, 7 AM–10 PM Every Day
Hours
Monday–Sunday, 7 AM–10 PM. Messages left outside those hours get returned.
Butterfield Moving LLC · 2092 NE Aloclek Dr, Suite 516, Hillsboro, OR 97124 · Moving…Like Butter™