Removals in East London, from Victorian terraces to tower blocks

1. 1

   New-build towers run on permission, not parking

   Stratford, Canary Wharf, the Royal Docks. Building management usually wants the goods lift booked, proof of insurance, protection on the lift walls and everyone signed in. Some blocks only allow moves on weekdays inside set hours.

2. 2

   One goods lift, everybody's move

   A tower with three hundred flats often has one lift that furniture is allowed in. If it is not booked in your name for your slot, you queue — and on an hourly job you are paying while you queue.

3. 3

   Terraces with no front garden

   Much of Hackney, Leyton and Walthamstow opens straight onto the pavement. There is nowhere to stage a load, so the van has to be close, which makes the parking the whole plan rather than a detail.

4. 4

   Outer East is a different move entirely

   Ilford, Romford and Dagenham are largely houses with drives and unrestricted parking. Same crew, same van, considerably easier day — and the quote should reflect that.

Suspending one parking bay for one day of a domestic move.

Tower Hamlets, Newham, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham, Havering — not checked yet. We will not print a notice period or a fee we have not read on the council's own page, so those rows stay empty until we have.

Sources: each council's own parking pages and Transport for London. Figures marked archived came from a capture of the authority's own page, because that host blocks automated access. These fees change every April, and Hackney's in late May, so if a date looks old, ring the council before you book. The borough guides carry every fee, rule and exception in full.

• A Hackney dispensation cannot cover a Luton

  Hackney caps the vehicle at 2.27 m high, 5.25 m long and 3,500 kg unladen. A Luton is roughly 3.2 to 3.5 m high and 6.5 to 7 m long. Buy the £25.50 document for a removals van and you have bought something that does not cover it. Only a suspension works.

• Hackney's seven working days start tomorrow

  The count begins the next working day after you apply. Apply on a Friday and it starts on the Monday, so seven working days is really nine or ten calendar days. Book the bay before you book the van.

• A dispensation does not reserve the space

  It stops you being ticketed. It does not stop your neighbour parking in the spot. That single distinction is why a suspension costs several times more, and it is the thing customers most consistently misunderstand.

Our building wants proof of insurance. Can you provide it?

Ask us when you book and we will tell you exactly what we can send and what it covers, so you can forward it to the managing agent before the day rather than on it.

Can you move us at a weekend in a managed block?

We can work weekends. Whether your building allows it is the question — plenty restrict moves to weekdays inside set hours, and that restriction is on the resident. Check before you fix a date with anyone.

Do you cover Ilford and Romford?

Yes. IG and RM postcodes are covered alongside every E postcode, and access out there is usually easier than inner East London.

DanielFounder, Metro City Moves.