What £1,400 covers
- Three crew for most of the day, four where the staircase demands it
- A Luton and a second run, or a larger vehicle where the streets allow one
- Wrapping every soft and wooden piece in the room before it moves
- Dismantling and reassembling beds, wardrobes and large dining tables
- Floor runners and door protection at both ends
- Waiting time on a late completion, at no extra charge
- The Congestion Charge at £18, ULEZ, fuel and mileage
- Goods in transit and public liability cover
Jobs we have priced
Four real three bed move jobs with the access at both ends, so you can find the one that looks like yours.
Kennington to Dulwich
Three bed Victorian terrace, no lift and none needed, bay outside at both ends, weekday completion confirmed for eleven. Three crew, two runs.
£1,310
Bloomsbury to Highgate
Four storey Georgian terrace with a tight staircase and no rear access, four crew, three wardrobes dismantled, Camden suspension at the loading end charged at cost.
£1,870
Southwark to Bromley
Modern townhouse with an integral garage, straightforward loading, longer drive out of the zone. Friday completion, keys at three, unload finished after dark.
£1,550
Fulham to Wandsworth
Three bed with a raised ground floor and a loft conversion, six external steps, one run in a seven and a half tonne vehicle the street could take.
£1,410
What sets the figure
| Situation | Price |
|---|---|
| Straightforward access at both endsTerraces with a bay outside, modern townhouses with a garage or a drive. | £1,050 to £1,350 |
| A period staircase or a loft conversionThe extra floor is the cost, not the extra bedroom. Four storeys means a fourth pair of hands. | £1,350 to £1,720 |
| No legal stopping at one or both endsA long carry on a full house is hours rather than minutes, plus the suspension at cost. | £1,500 to £2,000 |
| Moving out of the zone entirelyPriced as one job rather than by the mile, with the Congestion Charge on the leg that enters the zone. | £1,200 to £1,830 |
What moves the figure
- The number of floors, not the number of bedrooms+£195 to £475
- A three bed over four storeys with a loft conversion is a bigger job than a four bed over two. Every flight is another trip for every item above it.
- Where the van stops at each end+£150 to £390
- On a full house a fifty metre carry is not fifty metres, it is fifty metres repeated a hundred and forty times. This is the biggest hidden cost in a Central London house move.
- Suspensions at one or both ends£45 to £120 a day per bay, at cost
- Two boroughs means two applications, two lead times and two rates. We apply for both and pass each through at what the council charged.
- A completion time nobody can promiseno change to the price
- Chains slip and keys arrive late. Because the figure is fixed rather than hourly, waiting costs you nothing, which removes the pressure to rush a job that should not be rushed.
- Packing the house+£645 to £1,290
- Three bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room is a full day for two or three packers, usually done the day before rather than on the morning.
- Friday, Saturday or the end of the month+10% to 15%
- Completions cluster on Fridays because that is how the legal side works, which makes Friday the most expensive day to move a house in London.
Why a house is priced by the day rather than the room
Three bedrooms in Central London can mean a two storey terrace in Kennington or a four storey Georgian house in Bloomsbury with the bedrooms stacked above each other. The furniture list is similar. The day is not.
We price on how many trips the crew makes and how far each one is, which is why the questions are about floors, staircases and parking rather than about how many wardrobes you own. A four storey house with no rear access is the job that costs £870, and no room count on a booking form would have told you that.
Completion day, and what a fixed price actually protects
The hourly rate problem is at its worst on a house move, because the risk you are being asked to carry is the largest and the least in your control. Keys expected at midday that arrive at three is four hours of a crew standing on the pavement. At £90 an hour for three people, that is £360 you did nothing to cause.
We quote the day rather than the hour. If your solicitor is telling you midday and it turns into three, the number does not move. What we ask in return is that you tell us the realistic time rather than the best case, because a completion expected at four may push the unload into the next morning and we would rather plan that than discover it.
What an hourly firm would charge for the same house
Three crew and a Luton at £130 to £190 an hour, eight to ten hours door to door on a house with stairs at both ends. That is £1,040 to £1,900 before any waiting on completion, and published London averages for a three bedroom move sit at £1,150 to £2,200 for exactly that reason.
Our band runs £1,050 to £2,000 with the middle at £1,400, which is the same money as an hourly firm on a day where nothing goes wrong. The difference shows up on the day something does. A late completion, a shared goods lift, a suspension that was not applied for. On an hourly rate every one of those is an extra line. On ours it is already paid for.
Moving out of Central London
Roughly half the house moves we do have one end outside the centre, going to the suburbs, the home counties or further. Those are priced as one job rather than by the mile, and the Congestion Charge applies to the leg that enters the zone rather than to both.
The quirk on a move out is that the harder end is usually the new address. You know your own staircase and your own parking. You may not know that the new road is unadopted, that the drive will not take a seven and a half tonne vehicle, or that the village has a weight limit. We check that end as carefully as the one you are leaving.
How to bring the number down
Every one of these is something you can do rather than something we can discount.
- Move on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday if the completion date can bend at all
- Clear the loft, the garage and the shed a fortnight before rather than on the day
- Sell or dispose of what you are not taking before the move, not after it
- Pack every box yourself and label them by room, so the unload does not need directing
- Give us both addresses in full early, so we can apply for suspensions inside the borough lead time
- Take the beds apart yourself the night before if you are confident with the fixings
- Ask the estate agent for a realistic completion time rather than the optimistic one
Three bedroom house move costs: common questions
How much does it cost to move a three bedroom house in Central London?
Between £1,050 and £2,000 including VAT, with most landing near £1,400. Straightforward access at both ends puts you at £1,050 to £1,350. A four storey period house, or an address with no legal stopping, puts you at £1,500 to £2,000. The figure covers three or four crew for the day, the vehicle, wrapping, dismantling and reassembly, fuel and the Congestion Charge.
Does the price go up if my completion is late?
No. That is the main thing a fixed price protects you from on a house move. A crew waiting four hours for keys would cost £500 or more on an hourly rate and it costs you nothing with us. What we ask is that you give us the realistic completion time when you book rather than the best case.
How long does a three bedroom house move take?
Eight to ten hours door to door for most, and a full day is the right thing to plan for. A two storey terrace with a bay outside at both ends can finish by mid afternoon. A four storey house with a tight staircase and a carry to the van will run into the evening.
Do I need a parking suspension at both ends?
Only where there is no bay within carrying distance, and on a full house that is worth checking at both addresses rather than one. Each borough charges its own rate, £45 to £120 a day per bay, and each wants several working days of notice. We apply on your behalf and pass the cost through at what the council charged.
Can you do the move over two days?
Yes, and on a large house with a difficult staircase it is sometimes the better plan. We load the non essentials on day one, the rest on completion day. It is quoted as one figure covering both days rather than as two separate jobs.
What about a move out of London?
Priced as one job rather than by the mile, so the distance matters less than you would expect. A three bed from Southwark to Bromley and the same house to Guildford are closer in price than the mileage suggests. The Congestion Charge applies only to the leg that enters the zone.
Will you take everything in one load?
Rarely on a three bed in the centre, because the streets that will take a large vehicle are the exception rather than the rule. Two runs in a Luton is the normal answer and it is inside the quoted price. Where the road genuinely takes a seven and a half tonne vehicle we use one, and it is one run.
How we do the job itself
This page is about the money. The house removals page covers the method: the crew, the wrapping, the access planning and what tends to go wrong.
Prices by area
The band above holds across all 37 Central London areas we cover. What changes between them is the parking and the housing stock, which is what decides where in the band you land.