Moving to a senior apartment: checklist with deadlines

A move into a senior apartment plans well if you start around six months ahead. That is considerably more than for an ordinary move – not because of the deadlines but because of clearing the old home. The legal points are quickly stated: at least three months’ notice to a customary termination date, registration with the new municipality within 14 days. The rest is organisation – and deciding what comes along.

The six-month timeline

When	What
6 months before	Start clearing out. Wait for confirmation of the new apartment before giving notice.
4–5 months before	Measure the new apartment and choose furniture accordingly. Get quotes from removal and clearance firms.
3 months before	Give notice by registered post. Family dwelling: both signatures.
2 months before	Prepare change-of-address notifications. Inform home care, doctor and pharmacy.
1 month before	Apply for the parking restriction. Fix the handover date for the old apartment.
Moving week	Keep important documents and medication separate and to hand.
Within 14 days after	Register with the new municipality, deregister from the old one.
Afterwards	Compensation office, health insurer, bank, insurers.

Clearing the old home: the longest part

After thirty or forty years in the same place, sorting through is almost always more demanding and more tiring than the move itself. Allow several months, not weeks – and start as soon as the decision is made, not when the date is fixed.

What helps:

Measure first, decide second. Get the floor plan of the new apartment and check what actually fits. A dining table for ten rarely fits a two-and-a-half-room apartment. This order spares you the most painful version: move first, throw away afterwards.

Sort into four piles: take along, pass to the family, sell or give away, dispose of. The «decide later» pile is a trap – it grows.

Involve the family early. Ask children and grandchildren concretely what they would like to take. It lightens your load and prevents later arguments about things long since disposed of.

Do not do it all yourself. Clearance firms take on the heavy work; get two or three quotes based on an on-site visit rather than a telephone estimate. Check whether disposal fees are included – they often make up a substantial share. Some firms offset usable furniture.

Treat documents separately. Land register extracts, insurance policies, advance care directive, living will, tax papers and receipts for value-adding investments belong in their own clearly labelled box – and in your own keeping, not in the removal load. Why those receipts still matter is covered in Adapt or sell?.

Notice: the formal requirements

The statutory notice period for apartments is at least three months to a locally customary or contractually agreed date. What counts is when the notice arrives with the landlord – not the postmark. So send it early, by registered post.

The point most often overlooked: for a family dwelling both spouses or registered partners must sign, even if only one person is moving out. Without both signatures the notice is invalid.

Do not give notice until the new apartment is definitely confirmed. With senior apartments and waiting lists, some time can pass between confirmation and move-in – establish the occupancy date before you give up the old home.

Registering and deregistering: the 14-day deadline

In most municipalities you must register with the new municipality within 14 days of moving in, and deregister from the previous one. The deadline is set cantonally, but 14 days is the rule. In many cantons both can be done online via eUmzugCH; otherwise in person with your ID and tenancy agreement.

You do not need to notify Serafe separately – address data comes automatically from the residents’ register. Just check the next invoice if you are dissolving a household or moving in with others.

What additionally needs reporting in later life

These points are missing from ordinary moving checklists:

• The compensation office, if you receive supplementary benefits. Recognised housing costs change – and they are only covered up to regional maximums. Report the move as soon as it is settled.
• Home care (Spitex), if you receive services. Moving to another municipality may mean a different organisation is responsible; arrange the handover early.
• Doctor and pharmacy. Over a longer distance a change makes sense; have your medical records transferred.
• Aids and adaptations. If ramps, grab rails or a stairlift are in use, establish beforehand what the new apartment needs and who contributes – see Adapting your home.
• Advance care directive and living will. Check that addresses and named contacts are still correct.

Moving day itself

You will need a parking restriction in many towns and larger municipalities if space is required in front of the building. Apply to the municipality or city police, ideally one to two weeks ahead – and at both addresses. Many removal firms handle this on request.

Keep medication, important documents, glasses, hearing aids and chargers in a bag with you, not in the removal load. And arrange for someone whose only job that day is to be there for you – not to carry things, but to keep track.

On handing back the old apartment: after a long tenancy you usually owe less than you think. Why, is explained in handing back a home after decades.

Summary

• Start six months ahead – clearing the home, not the notice period, sets the timeline.
• Notice period at least three months; for family dwellings both spouses sign.
• Do not give notice until the new apartment is confirmed and the occupancy date is known.
• Register with the new municipality within 14 days, in many cantons online via eUmzugCH.
• Additionally notify: the compensation office if you receive supplementary benefits, home care, doctor and pharmacy.
• Measure the new apartment first, then decide what comes along – not the other way round.