Student Moves Checklist for Accommodation Teams

Student accommodation teams need a repeatable moving process, but not every resident has the same job. Some arrive with luggage in a family car; others need transport for boxes, a desk or a room's contents. Ask what is moving before suggesting an arrangement.

For arrivals, work backwards from the resident's permitted access and key collection. For departures, work backwards from the property's checkout requirements. For a room transfer, establish when the new room becomes available and whether belongings can go directly between the two rooms. Avoid assuming reception can hold an entire moving load between appointments.

This guide is for accommodation teams coordinating the physical move. Residents should still use their own accommodation provider's current arrival, inventory and checkout instructions. Rules from another university or building may not apply.

Ask for enough information to identify the moving need without turning a simple arrival into a lengthy administrative exercise. A short first questionnaire can establish the route, proposed date, belongings and the person requesting help. Follow up where furniture, awkward access or extra services need assessment.

• What are the collection and destination addresses, including room or flat numbers?
• Are you moving bags and boxes only, or also furniture and appliances?
• How many items are there, and are any unusually large, fragile or heavy?
• What date do you expect to move, and when can you collect keys?
• Is there a lift, and does the building require an arrival or loading reservation?
• Who will be present at collection and delivery, and who is paying?
• Do you need packing or other help that should be included in the request?

Describe unknowns honestly. “Box count to be confirmed” prompts a useful follow-up; guessing a low number may leave the eventual job inaccurately described. Ask the resident to update the list after packing.

Ask whether the resident is arriving, leaving or changing rooms. Record the collection and destination details, proposed date and inventory.

For an internal room move, explain the floors and route between rooms. Ask the moving service to confirm whether that job can be supported rather than assuming it fits a standard booking.

Check which furnishings belong to the accommodation and should stay behind. Encourage residents to list furniture and box quantities accurately.

Provide the correct entrance, reception hours and instructions for meeting the moving team. Include parking restrictions, loading points and any lift reservations.

Where access depends on staff being present, identify the responsible contact. If the proposed move is outside normal reception hours, resolve the arrangement before relying on it.

Residents should provide access information for the other address too. Arrival instructions cover only one part of the journey.

Ask residents to have packed boxes labelled and loose belongings ready for collection. Suggest an essentials bag containing the things they will need immediately.

They should identify fragile or awkward items in advance and explain any packing help they want. Encourage them to check the agreed moving scope rather than assuming every task is included.

Keep accommodation checkout instructions separate. Returning keys, completing a room inspection and arranging transport each need a clear next step.

The resident, parent and accommodation team may all be involved. Agree who is arranging the move, who is paying and who will meet the moving team.

A parent paying from another location should not become the only contact for access questions. Name someone who can be reached at the property.

Movesmith Business supports resident-paid and organisation-paid moves. Choose the route that matches the arrangement.

For residents organising their own transport, a referral link gives them a direct route to request the move.

If your team wants to prepare and manage bookings, explore Movesmith Business. Keep responsibilities clear so the resident knows what your team is arranging and what they still need to do.

A referral does not itself reserve a team, date or building access window.

The accommodation address may lead a navigation app to the main reception entrance, even when vehicles must unload elsewhere. Give the actual loading entrance, the route from there to the room and instructions for collecting keys. State any booking process in the provider's own terms.

Check who can use the lift and whether access requires a fob or staff assistance. If the route involves stairs, record the floor and anything awkward about it. Keep the building's contractor requirements visible to the person arranging transport rather than introducing them when the team arrives.

For out-of-hours arrivals, confirm the real process with the building. Do not suggest that security will accept belongings or hand out keys unless that arrangement has been agreed. Give residents a contact route that will work during their arrival period, especially when the normal office is closed.

Ask residents to check what the room already contains before buying or transporting furniture. Accommodation can differ even within one provider, so direct them to their specific room information. Items supplied in the room belong on the accommodation inventory, not automatically on the resident's moving list.

Encourage a separate arrival bag containing the belongings they need before the rest is unpacked. Useful examples include bedding, toiletries, a change of clothes, chargers and the documents or details needed for check-in. Medication, keys and valuables should remain with the resident.

Boxes should be closed, labelled with the destination room and described on the moving list. Keep food and liquids protected from books and electronics. Ask about transport restrictions for unusual items instead of putting them into an unlabelled bag. A general university shopping list is not a transport inventory: record the actual packed belongings.

During a busy intake, a shared arrival calendar can show pressure on reception, lifts and loading. Keep each resident's transport booking identifiable and separate. An available building slot does not confirm that a moving service is booked for that resident.

If several residents ask about a shared collection, ask the moving service to assess the full request. Do not combine independently booked loads informally or imply a discount. Each person's belongings, stops and responsibilities still need to be clear.

Before a departure, ask where the belongings are going and whether someone can receive them. Confirm the resident's checkout process separately from the transport arrangements. Returning keys before collection may remove access to the room; leaving them too late may conflict with the provider's instructions.

For transport to storage, the resident needs a confirmed facility, unit arrangement and access instructions. Record opening hours, unloading location, lift or trolley access where relevant, and who will be there to admit the moving team. A storage company's name alone is not enough to plan collection and delivery.

Do not promise that the accommodation team will store uncollected belongings or that transport includes a storage unit. If plans change, use the provider's actual process and ask the moving service to assess any revised route or date before it is treated as agreed.

Illustrative example: a resident's family arrives with their belongings before the allocated check-in period. The room is not yet available, and the building's unloading space is needed for scheduled arrivals. Telling them simply to unload would move the problem into a shared corridor.

The accommodation team checks the permitted check-in arrangement and gives a realistic next step. If a separate moving service is involved, the booking contact reports the timing issue and waits for the service to assess its options. Any alternative receiving or holding arrangement must be explicitly agreed; it should not rely on an assumption that reception can take responsibility for the goods.

This example is a planning scenario, not a completed Movesmith job. Its lesson is to confirm room access and unloading arrangements before communicating a transport plan.

At departure, residents should follow the provider's room-condition, cleaning and key-return process. At delivery, use the moving service's completion and reporting process. Neither replaces the other. An accommodation deposit question should not be confused with a concern about transport.

Keep a short operational record of recurring issues such as unclear entrances, lift reservations missed by residents or gaps in out-of-hours instructions. Update the next arrival message accordingly. Keep the reusable guidance free of individual residents' private details.

• Pickup and destination details.
• Date and any permitted arrival window.
• Furniture and box inventory.
• Packing preparation and requested help.
• Reception, parking and lift instructions.
• Payer and on-site contacts.
• Room checkout or key-collection arrangements.
• Who confirms the move is complete.