Long-distance and regional moves are the ones most likely to have a gap — your old settlement date, your new one, and the day the movers can actually deliver don't always line up perfectly, and a truck already loaded with your furniture isn't a backup place to sleep.
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How to do it
- Check your actual dates first — settlement day, moving-truck delivery day, and the day you can physically get keys aren't always the same day, especially on a long-distance move.
- Book a short-stay option near your new place, not just anywhere in the city — even one night closer in saves real hassle on moving day itself.
- Ask your removalist directly whether they offer short-term storage if your new place genuinely isn't ready — some do, as part of the same booking.
- Book earlier over summer — short-term accommodation books out around the same peak season your movers do.
- Pack a separate bag with essentials for the gap itself — if your things are mid-transit or in storage, you don't want to be without basics for however many nights the gap runs.
Working out the nights you need
- List the dates that have to line up: the day you hand back your old keys, the day your new lease or settlement starts, and the day your mover can deliver.
- If your move crosses Cook Strait, add the ferry crossing for your car or van to that list, since it has its own booking.
- Book the gap plus a night or two, with free cancellation if any of those dates could still move.
- Keep the booking, your new address and your mover's contact in one place for moving week.
If your belongings need somewhere to wait too, see arranging short-term storage, and for a long-distance move, booking a long-distance mover.
Common mistakes
- Assuming settlement day and delivery day will automatically line up — confirm both against the calendar rather than trusting it.
- Booking accommodation on the wrong side of the city for your new address, not the side that actually helps on moving day.
- Leaving it until the week of the move, when both movers and short-term stays are hardest to book affordably.
Related tasks
If you already know there's a gap, mention it when you're getting quotes for your mover — see if short-term storage can be bundled into the same booking rather than arranged separately.