Movers in Dubai Marina

The loading bay usually decides how a Marina move runs

Almost every tower in Dubai Marina loads from an underground car park rather than the street, and almost every one of those car parks has a height barrier. A standard three ton closed truck will not fit under many of them. Crews who have not worked in your building turn up, discover this at eight in the morning and then spend the day shuttling your furniture up the ramp in small loads.

We check the clearance at the survey. If the bay takes a three ton truck, we send one. If it does not, we plan the job properly around a smaller vehicle, or we park on the service road and agree the carry route with security in advance. Either way the plan exists before the truck is booked, not after it has been turned away.

There is a second thing the bay decides, which is how far your furniture has to travel on a trolley before it reaches the lift. In some Marina towers that is a few metres. In others it is a long push past the car park ramp and through two sets of doors. Both are fine, but only one of them is a half day job, and you should know which one you have before you get a price.

Service lift slots, and why the clock matters here

Marina towers run their service lifts on a booking sheet. You get a slot, often one or two hours, and if you overrun, the next resident is waiting and security will ask you to stop. That is why an hourly moving rate is a bad idea in this community. Every minute of lift queueing would be billed to you, for something entirely outside your control.

We price the job rather than the hour, so the risk of a slow lift sits with us. We also size the crew to the slot. A two bedroom apartment with a one hour lift booking needs more people working at once than the same flat with open access, because everything has to be staged by the lift door and moved in a burst.

If your building only releases morning slots, tell us early. Some Marina towers do not permit moves during Friday prayers or after a set hour in the evening, and a couple restrict moving days entirely during peak season. We confirm what your building actually allows before you commit to a date.

Useful links: DEWA move in and move out and Dubai Land Department.

Permits, deposits and the handover inspection

You will normally need a move out permit from the tower you are leaving and a move in permit at the one you are entering. They are separate applications to separate management offices, each wanting your tenancy contract and Emirates ID, and each taking a few working days. We apply for both and chase them.

Most Marina buildings also hold a refundable deposit against damage to the lobby, the lift interior and the corridor walls. That deposit is the reason we put floor runners down, pad the lift and guard the door frames before a single carton moves. It is included rather than an extra, because losing your deposit to a scraped wall would cost you more than the protection does.

Your DEWA account and your internet are separate from all of this and stay with you. Arrange the move out and move in on your utilities in advance. A new apartment with no power on moving day makes for a difficult afternoon, especially in summer.

What makes a Dubai Marina move cost more or less

Volume sets the base price, then access adjusts it. Two identical two bedroom flats in different Marina towers can be quite different jobs once you factor in the bay, the carry and the lift.

These are the things we look at when we survey, which is why we do not quote a Marina move blind over the phone: