For the classic man with a van you will be charged, if you are the only client, by the hour. If you have bought something large from ebay, gumtree or a second hand furniture shop or charity, you might need to hire a man with a van. They will give you a rate per hour which includes the van, petrol and insurance. The average cost per hour for a removal company in the UK is £38 . This rate can vary significantly depending on where you live, especially in and around London where other factors such as congestion charge and the general volume of traffic make a difference. Rates in the UK range from £15 to £66 per hour.
Moving your furniture and valuables is both exciting and anxiety provoking. Calling in the professionals to do all packing, heavy lifting and temporary storage takes the stress out of moving and is well worth budgeting for this service. Get quotes from removal companies using HaMuch. Get the rate you want and get moving now.
When your tenancy lease is coming to an end or you are in the process of selling your home, and you have an idea of a moving date, it is a good idea to then begin your search for a reliable house removal company. They usually need as much notice as possible to book you in and you want to know that the stressful job has been dealt with. The average daily rate for a removal person in the UK is £281 per day but can go up to £560 per day in certain locations. This is complicated by the amount of people required for the move, the size of the van, the size of your house, and the level of packing service you require. Expect to pay between £500 and £2000 but for a 3 bedroom house moving locally, say within a 20 mile radius, expect to pay around £600. In order for a quote to begin, they will need to know the moving out address, and which area you will be moving in to so they can charge according to distance. Next, is to let them know how many bedrooms there are in your current home and if there is a garden / shed / garage to also account for. This will let the company decide on what size van or truck is needed for your move.
The style of removal service affects the price. The cheapest being just a simple load up of already packed boxes to drive through to the new location and leave all in one designated room. Alternatively, the removals come to pack for you and again drop off in one designated room for you to unpack in the new location. The most expensive is a full house-move service which involves the removal company doing both the packing and unpacking in both homes on your behalf. For the packing service expect to pay from £200 to £400 and dismantling and assembling beds will also cost around £50 per bed.
Once you know which packing service you require, also let the company know if you will need your items to be stored for a few days, weeks or months. It is a good idea to find out how you will be charged for storage. Best is if you are only charged per week rather than per month as this means a delay in gaining access to the new home by a few days will only cost you a week’s worth of storage as opposed to a whole new month of storage charges. If your belongings will be in storage, do insist on knowing where the storage unit is located and if the company has various locations, ask if you have an option to have the items stored as close to the new home as possible. Check what the arrangements are if you need to access items from storage, as there is usually a charge for this as well as so many days’ notice that has to be given to them.
As this is your whole life’s contents, do choose a company who offers insurance. Your household insurance does not usually cover contents the moment they have been removed from the address that the contents are insured against. On moving day, you will need different covers of insurance; insuring against any damage or loss while they are packing and unpacking, insurance for the contents on the move in the van on the road just in case of a road accident, and finally if your contents are going into storage then you will need insurance during the period of storage.
Be sure to use a company that has to maintain a certain code of conduct by choosing removal and storage companies that are affiliated with associations, e.g., British Association of Removers (BAR), or National Guild of Storers and Removers (NGRS). You can always go onto the websites they claim to be affiliated with to double check that their membership is indeed active. For your own peace of mind, choose a company who employs the moving staff rather than casual labour because employed staff are more likely to take care when dealing with your possessions and less likely to be rough while packing and carrying heavy equipment. Ask how they will move large and bulky items, do they use a trolley to help with the load and if you have stairs, how many people will lift and ease the items down your stairwell?
As moving day involves a lot of heavy lifting of furniture, they will ask you to arrange parking right outside your property. Remember this is not only for the benefit of their backs but for your benefit as well, because less distance to carry your precious tv or couch means less chance of it getting too heavy and being dropped.
Be sure to note if they are providing the boxes and tape for packing as well as special protection for mattresses and fragile pieces. Take note of their payment options, it is not unusual to be asked to pay a deposit or even in full, upfront before moving day. Check what their terms are, if there is a few hours delay for you to be in ownership of the keys for the new home – will the movers wait a few hours and at what charge to you? Also ask what happens if there is a delay between solicitors and if you cannot get access at all to the property for at least a day or more.
If you are moving from / to a small country town, you do need to inform them of any tight lanes so they can plan for two smaller vans rather than one large truck which will not be able to turn into the lanes.
Pass on any relevant details about both homes to the moving company would like to know how many floors your current home is spread over and how many for the new home, i.e., how many floors are both homes spread over, if you in a maisonette - let them know top or bottom floor, if an apartment - mention lift or stairwell only access, clearly explain where they will park from your front door to any obstructions such as a garden gate that automatically closes or a long narrow garden path to a side entrance front door. All of this information will help them to determine the time needed on your move as well as how many moving specialists they will assign to your house.
Before beginning your search for movers, make a note of heavy and bulky furniture items and remind yourself if they can be dismantled or not, e.g., a 6-seater dining room table – can the legs be removed? What are the measurements for the couch? If you have expensive or fragile items, e.g., expensive original wall-art and an heirloom old grandfather clock, make a note of these items and the dimensions to mention to the removals beforehand so that they can plan for extra protective packaging and the aware of which items need special care.
If there are items that you will need help dismantling before they are loaded into a truck, e.g., taking apart a bed or a home office desk, give details on dimensions and how many and if you would like the items re-assembled in the new home.
Another need for removals is to clear a house or flat, which can involve a loved one passing away and the need to empty the house before it is sold. Waste clearance removals can also be helpful when you are not moving home, just doing a declutter of years of items being stored and no longer having a use for. They will load a truck filled with your unwanted belongings to sort between recycling and landfill. A full house clearance can cost from £300.
If you are in charge of emptying a home after a relative has passed away, the removal company will need to know the size of the house and the state of the furniture as some items might be able to be reconditioned or donated to a furniture bank. Removals will generally try to recycle as much of the unwanted belongings as possible. Discuss with them if it is better for you to first go through the items to make piles that are fit for charity shops as donations and piles that need to be sent for landfill. Ask if you will be charged for extra ‘drop-offs’. The removals may have their own charity and furniture banks that they work alongside, so any furniture of value might get you a discounted rate.
| Job details | Estimate |
| Moving crew for 2 bed house | £7000 |
| Moving crew for studio or 1 bed flat | £900 |
| Moving crew for 2 bed house | £1400 |
| 1 man in van for studio or 1 bed flat | £100 |
| 2 man in van for 1 or 2 bed flat | £150 |
| 2 man in van for 2 bed house | £200 |
| Moving crew for 2 or 3 bed house | £550 |
| Moving crew for studio or 1 bed flat | £600 |
| Moving crew for 2 or 3 bed house | £900 |
| 1 bed flat - per month | £200 |
| 2 bed home - per month | £300 |