Evening, Weekend and Out of Hours Moves in Central London

Many of the newer blocks in Central London publish move hours in their resident handbook, and they are rarely generous. A goods lift that can only be booked from six in the evening, or a concierge who allows moves on Saturdays only, turns the choice of time into the building's decision rather than yours. Office buildings in the City, the West End and around King's Cross go further and keep goods movements out of core hours altogether.

Send us the building rules, or the building manager's contact, when you ask for a price. We book the lift and the slot, and we plan the crew around the window rather than arriving at nine and waiting in the lobby until six.

The Congestion Charge runs from 7am to 6pm on weekdays and from midday to 6pm at weekends and on bank holidays. A van that works inside the zone only after six, or only on a weekend morning, does not pay the £18 daily charge at all. The ULEZ runs around the clock, so that does not change.

The roads change too. Much of the kerbside that is a red route or a loading ban at five o'clock becomes usable later in the evening, because many of those restrictions are timed and the signs give the hours. Controlled parking hours vary by zone and in parts of the West End they run late, so we check the street rather than assume.

An evening or Sunday move costs roughly 15 to 25 per cent more than the same move on a weekday during the day, because the crew is working outside normal hours. On a move inside the zone some of that comes back in the Congestion Charge you no longer pay. Saturdays are priced as busy days rather than as out of hours, and the last Saturday of the month is the busiest of all.

The quote shows it as part of one fixed figure, agreed before the day. If the building allows the move earlier than you expected, or the lift is quicker than planned, the figure stays the same, and if the evening runs long it stays the same as well.

Evening moves usually start between five and seven and are finished by around ten. We plan them so the loud part, the loading in the street and the carrying through communal areas, is done before most of the building is asleep. Moving furniture past neighbours' doors at midnight is the quickest way to a complaint to the managing agent, and many leases forbid moves after a set hour.

Genuinely overnight work is for commercial jobs where the building requires it: an office that has to be empty on Friday night and working on Monday morning, or a shop that can only take deliveries once it has closed. Those we quote individually, after checking the building's rules.

Most people moving flat in Central London are working through the week, and a weekend move means nobody takes a day off to supervise. Saturday is the most requested day in the calendar, so book it early. Sunday is quieter, and a Sunday morning move inside the zone finishes before the Congestion Charge starts at midday.

Check the building rules for weekends before you pick a date, because some blocks do not allow moves on Sundays at all, and council bay suspensions cover the days the council sets rather than the days that suit you.