Corporate relocation in Berlin: what HR and facility teams should clarify first
Corporate relocation in Berlin: what HR and facility teams should clarify first
Corporate relocation covers two very different jobs that often end up on the same desk. One is moving a workplace – an office, a lab, a warehouse, a retail unit. The other is moving people – employees arriving in Berlin, leaving Berlin or changing flats within the city, with the company paying the bill.
The logistics differ, but one thing is identical: the company is the client, not the person carrying the boxes. That changes what matters. Invoicing, cost transparency, a single point of contact and clear scope boundaries become as important as the move itself. Umzugsfirma Junker has been operating in Berlin since 2012 – this article sets out what is usually worth clarifying before anything is booked.
In short: Decide first whether you are moving a workplace or people – the planning differs substantially. For either, agree early on who signs off, who receives the invoice and what the scope covers. In Berlin, three local factors drive the effort more than distance does: upper floors without a lift in period buildings, narrow stairwells and street access. Be aware of the boundary as well: a moving company transports, assembles and stores – it does not handle immigration, residence registration, tenancy contracts or tax matters. Those belong to a relocation consultancy or the relevant authorities.
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Two service types, two planning logics
Moving a workplace
Office, practice, lab, warehouse, retail unit
- Floor plan first: numbered workstations on a layout of the new space – everything else follows from it
- Downtime is the real cost, not the transport. Network and phone connections are the usual bottleneck
- Archive volume in linear metres, not in boxes – with administrative offices this often drives the effort more than furniture
- Special inventory: system furniture, safes, acoustic pods, large-format equipment
- Restoration obligations in the old lease are frequently overlooked and can exceed the move itself
Moving employees
Arrivals, departures and moves within Berlin
- Who is the contract partner: the company or the employee? This decides invoicing and liability
- Scope limits: many employers cap the covered volume or the services included
- Language: the person on site may not speak German – clarify who briefs the crew
- Access at both ends is often unknown in advance, especially for arrivals from abroad
- Timing rarely aligns with the start date, so temporary storage is a recurring topic
Overview for orientation. Which arrangement fits your case depends on the assignment, the space and your internal rules.
For the workplace side we have a separate article on project organisation – phases, roles, floor plan and downtime. Office move planning
What we do – and what we do not
This is the boundary that saves the most time, and it is worth stating plainly. Corporate relocation is often used as an umbrella term covering everything from packing crates to visa applications. We do one part of that, and we are clear about which.
Within our scope
- Survey and quotation broken down by line item, on site or by video
- Packing material and, on request, professional packing and unpacking
- Dismantling and reassembly of furniture and system furniture
- Transport within Berlin, across Germany and internationally, subject to route and scope
- Protective covering for floors, stairwells and lifts
- Street access: applying for a temporary no-parking zone where required
- Furniture lift where stairwells or floor levels require it
- Temporary storage of goods that cannot yet be delivered
- Disposal of furniture and equipment no longer needed
- Invoicing to the company with itemised documentation
Outside our scope
- Immigration and visa matters – handled by the competent authorities or an immigration adviser
- Residence registration (Anmeldung) and other official registrations
- Home search and tenancy negotiation – a relocation consultancy or estate agent
- Tax, payroll and social security questions – tax advisers and payroll
- School and childcare placement
- Utility and internet contracts at the new address
- Reconnecting IT systems and business applications – your IT function
- Assessing retention periods or destroying records
- Vehicle registration and driving licence conversion
Why this matters for HR
If a moving company implies it will “take care of everything”, the gaps surface on the arrival day – usually the day the new colleague needs an address registration to open a bank account. Working with two clearly separated providers, one for the move and one for the administrative side, is generally the more reliable arrangement. We say so openly, even though it means naming work we do not sell.
Berlin-specific factors
Colleagues relocating from other cities are frequently surprised by the same three things. None of them is unusual here – but all three affect the effort more than the distance does.
| Factor | Why it matters in Berlin |
|---|---|
| Period buildings without a lift | A large share of the housing stock is pre-war Altbau. Ceilings are high, so a fourth floor here often means a longer climb than a sixth in a modern building |
| Narrow stairwells | Bulky items frequently cannot be turned on the landings. In those cases the route runs along the façade with a furniture lift instead |
| Street access | Loading bays are rare in residential districts. A temporary no-parking zone (Halteverbotszone) has to be applied for at the district office and needs lead time |
| Building management | Lift reservations, protective covering and access outside business hours are usually agreed with the Hausverwaltung, not with the landlord directly |
| Timing within the month | The turn of the month is the busiest period, because tenancy agreements change then. Mid-month dates are generally easier to arrange |
| Districts differ | Access, parking and building types vary considerably between districts – which is why a survey is more useful than a floor plan |
Observations from practice, without any commitment as to dates, durations or feasibility in an individual case.
Commercial arrangements HR usually needs to settle
These points have nothing to do with logistics and everything to do with whether the process runs smoothly inside your organisation.
What we can provide for your internal process: an itemised quotation in the format your organisation requires, with the reasons for individual items set out where relevant – for example why a furniture lift or a no-parking zone is needed. Whether consolidated invoicing across several moves, reporting formats or framework arrangements are possible depends on the case and is best clarified with us directly.
Preparing an employee move
Most delays on the day trace back to information that was not available beforehand. For arrivals from abroad this is more common, simply because nobody has seen the destination flat.
The most common oversight with arrivals
Furniture that does not fit. Room proportions, door widths and stairwell geometry in Berlin period buildings differ noticeably from many other markets, and built-in kitchens are frequently not included in German rental flats at all. It is worth checking dimensions before a shipment leaves the origin country – that decision cannot be reversed once the container is loaded.
Storage as part of the arrangement
With corporate moves, timing rarely aligns. A lease starts later than the assignment, an office fit-out overruns, or only part of the inventory is needed initially. In those cases goods are handled once rather than twice: collected, stored and delivered on the agreed date.
- Employee arrivals where the flat is not yet available at the start date
- Office fit-outs that are completed floor by floor
- Downsizing: furniture that is not needed now but should not be discarded
- Archive material occupying expensive office space
- Departures, where part of a household stays in Germany
An inventory list created at the point of storage is what makes retrieval workable later – particularly with corporate storage, where the person who packed it may no longer be with the company. Storage
International moves
For moves into or out of Germany, additional matters arise that do not exist domestically: the freight route, documentation for the destination country, and the decision on what travels, what is sent ahead and what stays behind.
- Freight route: road within Europe, sea freight for overseas volumes, air freight for pre-shipments. Each carries a different lead time
- Documentation: a complete, numbered inventory with declared values is required; further documents depend on the destination country
- Import restrictions are country-specific and change. Binding information comes from the competent authorities and the destination country’s diplomatic mission – we cannot substitute for that
- Power supply and appliances: voltage and plug systems, and whether large appliances are worth shipping at all
- Climate: solid wood, veneer and instruments react to significant changes in temperature and humidity
- Return move: what is stored in Germany now will be needed again later – document it accordingly
Which routes, handling steps and destination countries can be covered in an individual case is clarified at enquiry stage; depending on route and scope we work with suitable partners.
What we need for a quotation:
- type of move: workplace or employee
- both addresses with floor level, lift and access situation
- for workplaces: number of workstations, floor area, archive volume in linear metres
- for employees: flat size and, ideally, a rough inventory
- bulky, sensitive or high-value items
- preferred time frame, and whether outside business hours or in phases
- which additional services should be included: material, packing, assembly, storage, disposal
- invoicing details and any internal reference required
- named contact on your side
Umzugsfirma Junker has been operating in Berlin since 2012 and holds a rating of 4.9 out of 5 from more than 1,600 reviews. We work with our own fleet and permanently employed staff. Quotations are issued itemised and in the format required, as a rule within 24 hours.
Request a quote · +49 30 588 48 200 · info@junker-umzug.de
Umzugsfirma Junker · Kurfürstendamm 234, 10719 Berlin, Germany
Note: This article is provided for general information and reflects practical experience as at July 2026. It deliberately contains no prices, no volumes, no lead times and no duration figures, as these depend on the individual case. All statements regarding processes and points to check are non-binding recommendations provided without warranty and constitute neither a warranty of characteristics nor a binding specification of services. In particular, no commitment is made as to dates, collection or delivery periods, transport durations, availability of particular routes, or the acceptance of individual items.
References to statutory carrier liability, insurance, tenancy matters, immigration, registration requirements and tax questions provide a general overview only and do not constitute legal, immigration, insurance or tax advice. The applicable rules depend on the individual case and may change; binding information is provided solely by the competent authorities, the destination country’s diplomatic mission and your professional advisers. Immigration matters, residence registration, tenancy negotiation, tax and payroll questions, reconnection of IT systems, assessment of retention periods and destruction of records do not form part of our services. The scope of services and the applicable terms are determined exclusively by the individual quotation and the general terms and conditions applicable at the time of contract. Rating figures reflect the position at the time of publication.