Moving Apartments in Taipei Without Losing Your Mind: Movers, Prices and a 4-Week Plan

Moving apartments in Taipei: the short answer

Moving apartments in Taipei is probably cheaper than you expect, and more fiddly. A local move with a moving company usually costs NT$1,500 to 3,500 per trip for a small 1.75-ton truck and NT$2,800 to 5,800 for a standard truck, depending mostly on how many floors you carry things up and down. A studio usually fits in one small-truck trip. The hard part isn't the price, it's the logistics: booking the elevator, parking the truck in a narrow lane, and doing all of it in Chinese.

Our recommendation: for a furnished studio with suitcases and a few boxes, book a small moving truck with two movers, not a van-sharing app and not a taxi shuttle. Book it one to two weeks ahead, avoid the last weekend of the month, and get a written estimate. The rest of this guide shows you how.

Photo: 玄史生 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Pick the right kind of move

Most moves within Taipei fall into one of three sizes.

• Suitcase move (furnished to furnished, a few boxes): two or three taxi or Uber trips can do it, if both places have elevators. Cheapest, but slow, and you carry everything yourself.
• Small move (a studio or one-bedroom with some of your own furniture): a small moving company with a 1.75-ton truck and two movers. Usually done in half a day. This is our pick for most single renters.
• Full move (a family apartment, large furniture, appliances): a moving company with a larger truck, two to four movers and packing service. Get an on-site estimate.

If you're moving internationally rather than across town, that's a different job; see our guide to shipping belongings to Taiwan.

What moving companies in Taipei charge

These ranges come from PRO360's 2026 moving price guide, based on quotes submitted through the platform:

• Item: 1.75-ton truck, ground floor to ground floor | Typical price: from NT$1,500
• Item: 1.75-ton truck, 6th floor to 6th floor (stairs) | Typical price: up to NT$3,500
• Item: Standard truck, ground to ground | Typical price: from NT$2,800
• Item: Standard truck, 6th to 6th (stairs) | Typical price: up to NT$5,800
• Item: Stairs surcharge | Typical price: NT$300 to 500 per floor
• Item: Long carry (truck can't park close) | Typical price: NT$100 to 250 per 10 meters
• Item: Packing service | Typical price: NT$500 to 1,200 per hour
• Item: Furniture disassembly | Typical price: NT$400 to 1,200+ per item
• Item: Night moves | Typical price: NT$500 to 1,000 extra per truck

Two things drive the price up more than anything else: walk-up buildings without elevators, and lanes where the truck has to park far from your door. Mention both when you ask for a quote. A ground-floor-to-elevator move in a wide street can cost half of a fifth-floor walk-up to a fifth-floor walk-up.

How to get a quote you can trust

Movers price on volume, access and distance, so give them all three. Send a short video walking through every room with cupboards open, the number of boxes you expect, both addresses with floor numbers, and whether each building has an elevator and somewhere for a truck to stop. Ask for a total price, not just a per-trip rate, and ask what would change it. Two or three quotes are enough; if one is far below the others, it usually means extras will appear on the day.

Your rights under Taiwan's standard moving contract

Taiwan's transport ministry publishes mandatory terms for consumer moving contracts, the 搬家貨運定型化契約應記載及不得記載事項. A legitimate mover should follow them. The parts that matter most:

• Licence and estimate first. The mover shows a transport business licence, comes to estimate on site, and fills in a written estimate sheet that becomes part of the contract.
• No surprise charges. The mover can only charge the agreed price. Tolls, fuel, bridge fees and the crew's meals are the mover's cost, not yours.
• Per-trip pricing has a cap. If you're charged per truck trip and they need more trips than estimated, anything beyond 20% over the estimate can't be charged.
• Broken elevator. If the elevator isn't usable through no fault of the mover, any extra fee must be agreed; if it wasn't agreed, they can't add one.
• Damage. The mover is liable for items damaged or lost during the move, unless it was force majeure or your fault. Report damage within 3 days of the move, or within 10 days if it wasn't easy to spot.
• Valuables. Cash, jewelry, art and similar items aren't covered unless you declared them and their value when booking. Carry them yourself.
• Payment. If no payment terms were agreed, you pay after the move is finished and you've checked it, and they give you a receipt.

In practice, small movers often skip the paperwork. Ask for the estimate in writing anyway, even as a LINE message with the price, date, addresses and floors. It is what you point to if the price changes on the day.

Building rules: the elevator, the lobby and the truck

Newer elevator buildings in Taipei usually have a management office, and most of them have rules for moving:

• Book the elevator. Many buildings require a booking for moving day, with set hours, and some ask for a refundable deposit or a fee.
• Protect the elevator. Expect to use padding on the walls and floor; some buildings provide it, some make the movers bring it.
• Moving hours. Weekend and evening moves are often restricted, because sound carries in Taipei buildings.
• Truck parking. Ask where the truck can stop and for how long. Lanes are narrow and a truck blocking scooters for an hour causes real trouble.

Ask these questions at both the old and the new building, as soon as you know your date. Being stopped in the lobby because nobody reserved the elevator is the classic way a Taipei moving day goes wrong. Walk-up buildings have no management to ask, but they're exactly where stairs surcharges come in.

A 4-week plan for moving apartments in Taipei

Four weeks out

• Give notice to your landlord as your lease requires, in writing.
• Pick a date. Avoid the last weekend of the month, when leases turn over and movers are busiest.
• Get two or three quotes. Send photos or a video of your stuff and both addresses with floor numbers.

Two weeks out

• Book the mover and confirm in writing.
• Book the elevator at both buildings.
• Arrange pickup for big items you're not taking (see below).
• Ask your internet provider to move or cancel your line; installation can take a week or more. Our home internet guide has the details.

One week out

• Pack, label boxes in English and Chinese if you can (kitchen 廚房, bedroom 臥室, bathroom 浴室).
• Book a move-out clean for the day after your furniture leaves.
• Agree a handover time with the landlord for the inspection and meter reading.

Moving day

• Be at the old place when the movers arrive. Point out fragile items and anything that belongs to the landlord, which stays.
• Take photos of the empty apartment once everything is out.
• At the new place, check items for damage before the movers leave.

First week after

• Hand back the keys and get the deposit timeline in writing.
• Update your ARC address with the National Immigration Agency; see updating your ARC address after you move.
• Check your first utility bill; our utility bills guide explains how the shared and individual meters work.

Problems foreigners run into

Booking in Chinese. Most small movers take bookings by phone or LINE in Chinese. A translation app works for basics, but the details that cost money (floors, parking, elevator, disassembly) are exactly where misunderstandings happen.

Furniture you don't want. You can't leave a mattress or sofa on the street. Under the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection's bulky waste rules, district cleaning teams collect household furniture and appliances for free by appointment, as long as you break them down to a manageable size and leave them where the team tells you. Book through the 1999 citizen hotline. Book a week ahead, and ask the building where to leave items for pickup. Small items go in normal trash and recycling; our trash day guide explains the system.

The landlord's furniture. In a furnished rental, the bed, wardrobe and appliances usually stay. Don't let movers take them by mistake; mark them with tape.

Ghost Month. Many Taiwanese avoid moving during the seventh lunar month, usually August to early September. Some movers are less busy then, but some landlords also prefer not to hand over units. Our Taiwanese culture guide explains the custom.

Rain. Taipei has long rainy stretches. Ask whether the truck has a covered cargo area or a tarp, and keep electronics and mattresses wrapped.

The deposit. Leaving behind dirt or damage beyond normal wear gives the landlord grounds to deduct from your deposit. A move-out clean and photos are cheap insurance; see our guide to hiring an apartment cleaner in Taipei.

Let TRA Live handle your move

If you'd rather not run this project in Chinese, our moving support covers it from start to finish:

• Survey: we look at how much you're moving and the access at both addresses, then plan the trucks and crew.
• Packing: our team can pack for you with proper materials, with extra care for fragile and valuable items.
• Transport: we coordinate the movers and handle the day. Booking the elevator with your building's management office is still on you, so ask both buildings about moving-day rules as soon as you have a date (see the building rules above).
• Settling in: unloading, help with unpacking and furniture assembly, and removing debris and boxes afterward.
• Cleaning: add a move-out clean at the old place or a deep clean at the new one through our cleaning service.

We quote individually based on volume, floors and distance. Message us on LINE with both addresses and a few photos. Still looking for the next apartment? TRA's home search finds it with you in person, and once you know your key date, we can quote the move around it.

FAQ

How much does it cost to move apartments in Taipei?

A local move typically costs NT$1,500 to 3,500 per trip with a small truck and NT$2,800 to 5,800 with a standard truck, plus extras for stairs, long carries, packing or disassembly.

How far in advance should I book movers in Taipei?

One to two weeks for a small move, and earlier for the last weekend of the month, before Lunar New Year or for a large family move.

Do Taipei moving companies speak English?

Some do, but most small movers book by phone or LINE in Chinese. Get the price, date, addresses and floors confirmed in writing either way.

Who pays if movers break something?

Under Taiwan's mandatory moving contract terms, the mover is liable for damage during the move unless it was force majeure or your fault. Report it within 3 days, or 10 days for damage that's hard to spot.

How do I get rid of furniture when I move out in Taipei?

Book a bulky waste pickup with your district cleaning team through the 1999 hotline, about a week before you move. Don't leave furniture on the street.

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