Protect common property
Set expectations for walls, doors, floors, stairs, elevators, landscaping, and equipment. Document conditions so later questions can be resolved using evidence.
Why a written policy matters
Moves bring large vehicles, heavy furniture, open doors, packaging, and unfamiliar workers into the community. A simple, consistent policy reduces avoidable damage and disruption.
Keep access clear
Coordinate loading and unloading without blocking emergency access, walkways, entrances, or neighbors’ vehicles.
Treat residents fairly
Give everyone the same information and a clear contact. Use an established process for exceptions instead of personal arrangements.
Coordinate logistics and occupancy separately
Moving arrangements
The policy should explain scheduling, vehicle placement, building protection, cleanup, and contacts. Keep it focused on what residents and movers need to do.
Occupancy approval
Confirm any required purchaser, tenant, or occupant process under the governing documents. A moving reservation does not replace approval, and approval does not provide all moving instructions.
Occupant Screening →In Century Village, coordinate gate access and other community procedures with the responsible organization. Obtain current instructions rather than assuming the association controls every service. Follow the application-to-access overview for the separate investigation, association decision, Certificate of Approval, WPRF ID, and access steps. A COA and a government building CO are different documents.
What a useful policy includes
Notice and scheduling
Specify a reasonable advance-notice process, contact person, permitted hours, and how to request a different arrangement when needed.
Vehicles and loading
Identify approved locations and routes, vehicle limitations where applicable, and how access will remain available during the move.
Building protection
Describe protective coverings and any elevator arrangements appropriate to the property. Have qualified personnel guide equipment use.
Mover information
Request practical contact and vehicle information. Have counsel review any insurance, indemnity, or document requirements before adopting them.
Waste and storage
Explain disposal of boxes, furniture, and bulky items. Address temporary storage and containers through the applicable approval process.
Damage and closeout
Provide a reporting contact, condition-check process, and a documented way to evaluate damage. Avoid automatic charges without reviewing responsibility and authority.
Fees and deposits need special care
Do not assume that adopting a moving policy authorizes a move-in fee or damage deposit. Florida Statutes §718.112(2)(k) restricts fees connected with transfers and provides a specific lessee security-deposit framework where governing documents authorize it.
That framework includes a limit of one month’s rent and escrow, claim, refund, and dispute requirements. It is not blanket authority for every moving deposit or fee. Have counsel review the proposed charge, its purpose, document authority, and current statutory limits.
Read §718.112(2)(k) →A practical moving checklist
Before the move
- Give the resident the policy and contact details.
- Confirm any applicable occupancy process.
- Agree on date, time, loading location, and access.
- Coordinate protection and elevator arrangements where applicable.
- Document relevant common-area conditions.
- Identify any approved exception or accommodation.
During and after the move
- Keep access routes and exits clear.
- Provide a contact for unexpected problems.
- Report damage promptly and preserve photographs.
- Remove packaging and restore common areas.
- Complete a condition check and document follow-up.
- Update authorized access and contact information as appropriate.
Use a short move-information record
Board Synergy recommended practice
Adapt these fields to the property. This is a planning aid, not a new approval requirement or authority to charge a fee. Keep personal contact details in the association’s controlled records system.
| Field | What to agree or record |
|---|---|
| Unit, move type, and contact | Move-in or move-out; owner/resident contact; association or manager coordinator and backup. |
| Date, time, and contingency | Planned window, how to report a delay, and whom to call if the arrangement must change. |
| Vehicles and route | Loading location, mover contact, practical vehicle information, and the route that keeps exits and emergency access clear. |
| Equipment and protection | Applicable elevator arrangements, protective coverings, responsible installer, and before/after condition check. |
| Storage and disposal | Applicable container authorization, placement, pickup, and bulky-waste arrangements; confirm current instructions before delivery. |
| Exceptions and follow-up | Authorized logistical variation, confidential accommodation referral where needed, outstanding question, assigned person, and next action. |
For a storage container, start with UCO’s current forms page and the relevant association approval process. Do not assume a moving reservation authorizes a POD, parking location, or use of property controlled by another organization.
Close the move without mixing up the records
- Check the route and common areas. Record completed cleanup and any damage report using dated photographs and a factual description. Identify responsibility and obtain review before imposing a charge.
- Update the right category. A move does not itself establish a title transfer. Confirm ownership changes through the sale handoff; update actual resident information, emergency contacts, and age verification separately using the records-maintenance checklist.
- Coordinate authorized access changes. Confirm who remains entitled to access and which provider administers credentials. Do not cancel access merely because belongings were removed or an occupancy dispute exists.
- Assign unresolved work. Record the lead, evidence location, next action, and follow-up date in the decision/action log. If an incident may become an insurance claim, follow the claim-response guide and actual policy requirements.
Board Synergy recommended practice. For a disputed move-out or continued occupancy, consult Denied Renewals, Condominium Unit Evictions, and association counsel before taking consequential action.
Make the policy workable
Keep instructions short, readable, and available before residents book movers. Allow a clear process for disability-related accommodations and other unusual circumstances, with professional advice when needed.
Plan for move-outs as carefully as move-ins. Do not use scheduling rules to improvise an eviction, resolve an ownership dispute, or withhold lawful access. Refer such issues to counsel.
Small buildings benefit too.
Even without elevators or a staffed office, an association can identify a contact, loading area, access route, cleanup expectations, and a simple condition-check process.
Adopt and administer it consistently
- Review recurring problems and the property’s actual layout.
- Draft practical instructions and a simple moving information form.
- Have counsel check authority, fees, restrictions, accommodations, and adoption requirements.
- Follow the applicable meeting, notice, and approval process.
- Distribute the policy and train the people administering it.
- Review incidents and improve the procedure when needed.
Define which tasks belong to the board, manager, owner, and mover. Keep the procedure manageable so it can be followed even when volunteers change.
Educational overview for Florida condominium associations. Resource and styling update October 16, 2026; original page October 3, 2026. The lessee-deposit distinction was checked against §718.112(2)(k). Suggested policy topics and checklists are practical recommendations, not an adopted policy. Confirm current law, governing-document authority, and required procedures with association counsel.
Board Synergy Club · Watch & learn
Move-In and Move-Out Policies
A clear moving policy helps residents plan ahead and protects shared spaces during a busy transition. Use this BrainyBoard program as a discussion resource when reviewing advance coordination, moving hours, loading areas, elevator arrangements where applicable, mover insurance, cleanup, and documentation of damage. Keep moving logistics separate from buyer or occupant approval and from gate access procedures administered by the responsible operator.
Move-In and Move-Out PoliciesWatch on BrainyBoard ↗This program opens on BrainyBoard. Access is subject to the provider’s current sign-in and viewing requirements.
Education, not an individual decision. This externally hosted program is offered as a discussion resource; its contents have not been independently verified for this webpart. Program information may reflect requirements or practices in effect when recorded and may address association types with different rules. Have management confirm site-specific arrangements and coordination with service providers. Have qualified Florida counsel review the association’s authority, fees or deposits, insurance requirements, accommodation requests, and any enforcement procedure before adopting or applying a policy. This webpart does not authorize a charge, allocate responsibility for damage, or permit restricting a person’s access or possession to enforce a moving rule. Viewing the program does not by itself establish required director education credit. This resource does not establish official UCO or WPRF policy.
Plan the move. Protect shared spaces. Welcome good neighbors.