BOSTON — Boston’s annual moving frenzy may be synonymous with “Allston Christmas,” but five years of city data show the trash burden and moving permit activity is not concentrated in the neighborhood that gives the tradition its name.
“I think [“Allston Christmas”] is a fun way to think about it,” Liz Breadon, City Councilor for Allston-Brighton, said in an interview with Boston25. “When you have a huge number of people changing addresses on one day of the year, and they’re moving either into smaller apartments or they’re moving out, back home, out of state, they have a lot of stuff that they don’t need that’s perfectly serviceable.”
About 70% of leases in the city turn over on Sept. 1 driven by a large influx of students moving in at the start of the school year, according to the City of Boston. The weekend leaves moving trucks “storrowed,” discarded furniture and bedding piled on streets, offering “Christmas presents” to new residents and a surge in demand for city services.
“...we expect to collect more than 5,000 mattresses,” said Dennis Roache, superintendent of waste reduction and code enforcement for Boston Public Works, at a press conference Thursday. “That’s about 15% of our volume in a year, and approximately 8,000 additional tons of trash and nearly 2,000 additional tons of recycling.
City officials urge residents to call 311, Boston’s 24/7 non-emergency hotline, to report unsanitary conditions and violations. The Public Works Department will handle trash collection and code-enforcement needs, while the transportation department will impose temporary parking restrictions to manage congestion and moving permits.
A five-year analysis of Boston311 records from 2021-2025 found that code enforcement-related trash collection cases are about five times higher during moving week than a typical week, a 399% increase.
To help manage that volume, Roache said the city is adding trucks and collection crews in the areas with the highest move-in activity. Beacon Hill, North End and South Boston have the highest concentrations of permitted moving activity relative to their rental housing stock, according to 2026 moving permit data.
From 2021-2025, moving permit activity showed a dramatic spike with nearly 18 times as many permits issued than in an average week. Around 177 permits are issued in a typical week, while moving week from Aug. 29 - Sept. 4 brings in over 3,100 permits.
As of Aug. 27, 1,133 permits are set to expire on Sept. 1. On that day, neighborhood liaisons will be out in the streets to assist movers, residents, and businesses to navigate city services and ensure streets are clear, said Conor Newman, a deputy director for the Office of Neighborhood Services.
Breadon said the city will also be distributing literature about tenants’ rights and how to properly dispose of the trash that accumulates on moving weekends.
“There’s a huge number of people changing dress in Allston-Brighton on Sept. 1, so we expect a lot of congestion on our streets,” Breadon said.
The streets of Allston and Brighton lead in permit activity on Sept. 1, with over 50 permits issued on just Commonwealth Avenue, Kelton Street and Washington Street. This does not account for the residents who move in without a permit.
East Seventh, East Eighth, East Third, and M streets in South Boston will have over 40 permits issued that day.
The city will also deploy over 50 inspectors to student-heavy neighborhoods, like Allston and Brighton, during the move-in period to monitor housing, sanitation and code compliance, said Tania Del Rio, commissioner of the Inspectional Services Department during the press conference.
Allston, Brighton, Back Bay, Fenway, Mission Hill and Beacon Hill are among the student-heavy neighborhoods to receive additional attention. Del Rio added inspectors will be present in North End, which isn’t known for a high student population but has historically been the second largest neighborhood with moving permit activity relative to their rental housing.
“I think our inspectional services inspectors are really crucial on move-in day because very often, once an apartment is rented out, it is quite difficult to get back in to inspect the conditions, the sanitary conditions,” Breadon said. “ And very often, our inspectors are on the scene so that someone can come and say, ‘Can you come and look at this? This doesn’t look right.’”
Allston’s share of sanitation problems has improved across several 311 categories, such as “illegal dumping,” “improper storage of trash” and “poor property,” despite being known for its large student population and discarded “treasures.”
“Our Public Works Department and our trash disposal people are being really efficient, so very often, there isn’t a whole lot of time to go shopping, so to speak,” Breadon said.
Brighton, however, has been the largest student-heavy neighborhood contributor of sanitation burdens, climbing from 8.7% share of “poor property” reports in 2021 to nearly 18% in 2025 — the largest among any neighborhood.
Student-neighborhoods account for some of the largest shares of code enforcement violations — cases involving trash and debris flagged by city officials for removal — according to the five-year period analyzed. However, in recent years, their shares have declined and South Boston and East Boston emerged as prominent neighborhoods for this enforcement. This shift reflects the growing number of students and young professionals moving into these neighborhoods, the Office of Streets spokesperson wrote.
South Boston has led the city in shares of moving-week sanitation cases violations over the past five years, including “illegal dumping,” “improper storage of trash” and “poor property,” according to the 311 data analyzed.
“It’s about being respectful and understanding you’re coming to a new city but there are rules that are in place to ensure that every resident is protected and lives in a safe and healthy neighborhood,” South Boston’s City Councilor Ed Flynn said in an interview with Boston 25.
Despite low levels of permits issued each year, Dorchester and Roxbury have also repeatedly emerged among the leading contributors of “illegal dumping” and “poor property.” The two neighborhoods have an abundance of multifamily and rental properties, where move-outs and renovations can generate furniture, and other debris that may be placed out illegally, an Office of Streets spokesperson wrote.
Roache said the city will send a code enforcement team and issue violations for excessive materials or blocking accessible sidewalks.
“When items are placed on the curb, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in good working order and safe,” Roache said. “We really discourage going around and shopping for items that may be unsafe for particular reasons. People do place those items in the trash for intentional purposes sometimes — that sometimes those items are no longer working or unsafe.”
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