How Much Do House Removals Cost in London?

London moves are usually short in miles and long in minutes. The van may travel five miles, but stairs, a long carry from the nearest legal parking space and slow traffic decide the bill far more than the distance does.

There is no London tariff. Every move uses the same rate card: an hourly rate for the vehicle and the number of movers, and a per-mile rate for the road distance between your addresses, from £1.20 a mile on the Small Transit (SWB). No VAT is added. Bookings have a minimum time, which matters in London because many moves are short.

The time allowed covers loading, driving and unloading. In London that time is mostly spent at the two doors, so the things that change the price are:

• Floors and stairs. A third-floor flat with no lift takes longer than a ground-floor house of the same size
• Parking. Every extra metre between the van and the door is carried, many times over
• The amount you own. A room-by-room list beats a bedroom count
• Day and time. Evenings and Sundays carry a surcharge
• Extras. Packing, dismantling and the Congestion Charge, only if your move needs them

These use the vehicle and crew our quote form suggests for each size of home, over 8 miles, which is roughly a move between neighbouring boroughs. They assume ground-floor access at both ends on a weekday.

This is arithmetic on the published rates, not a quote. Your figure depends on your inventory, access and date, and the team confirms the final price in writing.

These are home moves we have booked where both addresses were in London. They show the area and month only. Prices are what the customer was quoted at the time, under our earlier pricing, which charged a price for a time slot. They show the size of each job, not today's rates: the rate card above is what a quote uses now.

The spread is wide for a reason. A driver-only small move between neighbouring areas is a very different job from a two-day pack, move and unpack of a flat. Look for the row closest to your own move rather than the average.

Stairs and lifts are where London prices differ most from the rest of the country, and our London house removals page shows how they are added for every home size.

Only the ground floor is free. From the first floor up, stairs are charged at £10 per person, per flight, per hour, and we count 2 flights to a floor. A working lift that takes the furniture means no stair charge. As an example, 2 movers working a third-floor flat (6 flights) adds £120 an hour.

Most of the variation in London prices comes from this line. Moving a flat in London explains how to check the stairs, the lift and the carry before you ask for a quote.

• Congestion Charge. If either address is inside the zone during charging hours, the charge is added to your quote as its own line. TfL sets the amount
• ULEZ. Our vans meet the standard, so you are never charged ULEZ
• Parking suspension. If the van needs a suspended bay, you arrange and pay for it with the council. Parking suspensions for moving day covers how each borough handles it

Congestion Charge, ULEZ and red routes on a London moving day has the detail from TfL.

• Packing. Our packing service, materials included, runs from £400–£2,400 by size of home. It is only offered with a removal
• Dismantling and reassembly. Priced per item, with a £90 minimum booking
• Evening and Sunday moves. An evening move adds 15%, a Sunday or bank holiday 20%
• Waiting time. £40 per crew member per hour, for example if keys are late

A 20% deposit by bank transfer secures the date, and the balance is due before unloading unless agreed otherwise in writing.

A move out of London adds the per-mile charge and the driving time, and on a long route these become a large part of the price. These are past moves we have booked with one end in London, at the prices of the time:

Moving out of London works through the planning and a worked example for a longer route.

• Book a weekday rather than a Sunday or bank holiday
• Get the parking right, so the van stops as close to the door as possible
• Book the lift at a block of flats, and check it takes a sofa
• Clear out before the move, not on the day
• Pack yourself if you have time, and have everything sealed before the crew arrive. Why moving day goes wrong when you are not fully packed explains why
• Send an accurate list, so the vehicle is right first time

For an accurate figure, send both postcodes, your date, a room-by-room list, the floor and lift at each address, and where the van can park. You will get an itemised written quote within 24 hours. Start from our house removals in London page, or build an estimate yourself.

When people ask what a London move costs, they usually mean the van and the crew. The full budget has more lines, and some of them are larger than the removal. It helps to see them together.

• Stamp Duty Land Tax if you are buying in England
• Legal and survey fees if you are buying or selling
• A parking suspension at one or both ends, paid to the council
• Post redirection, from the Post Office
• A council bulky waste collection for anything you are not taking
• Deposit and rent in advance if you are renting the new home
• Overlap costs, such as two rents or storage, if the dates do not line up

Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to homes bought in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Wales have their own taxes. GOV.UK lists these residential rates for a buyer who will own only one home after the purchase:

First-time buyers pay 0% up to £300,000 and 5% from £300,001 to £500,000, but cannot claim the relief if the price is over £500,000. You usually pay 5% on top of the standard rates if you will own more than one home after the purchase. Check the current figures with the GOV.UK calculator, as rates change.

The return must be sent and the tax paid within 14 days of completion. GOV.UK says your solicitor or conveyancer usually does this for you and adds it to their bill, so it is rarely a surprise on the day. It is still worth knowing the figure early, because it sits beside the removal in the same week.

Two quotes for the same London move can look far apart and still be close. They often assume different things about the job. Citizens Advice draws a clear line between the two words people use: a quote is a fixed price, while an estimate is a rough guess, so you might end up paying more.

Many removal prices, ours included, are built from an hourly rate and a time allowance. Citizens Advice's advice on day rates applies here: ask in writing how long the job is expected to take, and how any extra time is agreed. Then line the quotes up on the same points:

• Vehicle and crew. Which vehicle, and how many movers?
• Time allowed. How many hours, and the rate for any extra hour
• Distance. Is mileage charged, and from where to where?
• Access. Are stairs and a long carry already priced in?
• London lines. Is the Congestion Charge shown if the job is in the zone, and are tunnel tolls included?
• Extras. Packing, materials and dismantling, each priced
• Cover. What insurance comes as standard, and what it covers

If one quote is far lower, find out which of these it leaves out. How to compare removal quotes like-for-like and what a removal quote should include go through each line.

Citizens Advice suggests paying traders by card or bank transfer rather than cash, avoiding paying everything upfront, and getting a receipt for any deposit. Ask for the payment terms in writing before you book: how much is taken to secure the date, when the balance is due, and how it can be paid. On our moves those terms are written into the quote.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, services must be provided with reasonable care and skill. Citizens Advice says that if a service falls short, you can ask the trader to put it right, or ask for a discount where putting it right is not possible or would be very inconvenient. You can ask for things to be put right for up to 6 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and up to 5 years in Scotland.

In practice, the sooner you report a problem, the easier it is to deal with. Note any damage before the crew leave if you can, take photographs, and put the details in writing to the company. Goods in Transit and Public Liability cover are included as standard on our moves, and your named coordinator is the first person to tell.

Writing the budget out early stops the small costs adding up unseen. A simple list is enough:

• Removal quote, with stairs, extras and any Congestion Charge line
• Parking suspension fees for each borough
• Packing materials if you are packing yourself
• Post redirection
• Bulky waste collection
• Stamp Duty and legal fees, if buying
• Deposit and first month's rent, if renting
• Storage or overlap rent, if the dates do not meet

Add a margin for the day itself, such as a takeaway, taxis or a night somewhere if keys are late. Hidden costs of moving house in London covers the costs people most often miss.