Moving House in London Without a Car

About 1.44 million London households have no car or van. If you are one of them, you already know how to live without one. Moving home is the one week when it shows: there is no boot for the boxes, no quick trip to the tip, no way to take the plants and the laptop across town while the van does the rest.

This guide is about those gaps. It sets out what a removal crew can take off your hands, what it cannot, and how to plan the day when everything you own goes in the van and you go by bus, train or on foot. It uses the 2021 Census to show how common a car-free household is in each borough, and our own rate card for every price.

At the 2021 Census, 1,440,271 of London's 3,423,890 households had no car or van: 42.1%. Across England it was 23.5%. London has 14.6% of England's households but 26.1% of its households without a car, so a moving company that assumes the customer can "pop back for the rest" is assuming the wrong thing for a large part of the city.

The figures come from Census table TS045, car or van availability. It counts any car or van owned by or available to someone in the household, including a company car they can use privately, and one that is off the road for repairs. It does not count motorbikes, vehicles registered as off the road (SORN) or a car that belongs to a visitor. So a household in this table genuinely has no car to call on.

The spread is wide. City of London is highest at 77.2%, then Islington at 66.9% and Tower Hamlets at 66.4%. In twelve of London's 33 council areas, more than half of households have no car: City of London, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Westminster, Hackney, Camden, Southwark, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey and Newham. At the other end, Havering has the lowest share at 21.5%, and five outer boroughs (Bromley, Sutton, Bexley, Hillingdon and Havering) are below the England figure.

The last column explains a lot. Across the 32 boroughs, the share of households with no car rises closely with the share of homes that are flats (a correlation of 0.96, where 1 would be a perfect match). That matters for moving day. The boroughs where most households have no car are boroughs of flats, so a car-free move is very often a flat move: stairs, lifts, communal doors and a kerb that may be a long walk from the front door. The van and crew have to cover all of that without a car to fill the gaps.

The Census is from March 2021, and car ownership may have changed since then. It is still the only count that covers every household in every borough the same way, which is why we use it.

Most of a move is the big day, and the big day is the van's job. The difficulty for a car-free household is the small trips either side of it. Here is each one, and who can do it.

Collecting boxes and materials

Supermarket boxes and boxes bought online have to be carried home. A dozen flat-packed boxes are light but awkward on a bus, and tape, paper and bubble wrap add more. If we pack for you, this problem disappears: boxes, tape, bubble wrap and wardrobe cartons arrive with the crew and are itemised in your quote, so there is nothing to buy or collect first. The next section covers what to do if you want to pack yourself.

Moving a few boxes ahead of the van

People with cars often take the fragile things or the first boxes across in the days before. Without a car, you can take what you can carry by hand on public transport, and that is about it. Anything more is cheaper put on the van once than carried across town in instalments.

The tip run

This is the one that catches people out. A household with a car takes the broken chair and the old mattress to the recycling centre the weekend before. Without one, unwanted furniture tends to end up on the van, which then has nowhere to take it. We do not do waste clearance, so we cannot take anything away for disposal. If something is not coming with you, it needs its own plan before moving day; the section on getting rid of things covers how.

Trips to a storage unit

Self-storage is often sold on being able to drive up and load your own unit. Without a car, every visit means arranging a vehicle, so it is worth deciding up front how often you really need access. The storage section below covers how our partner storage handles access and delivery.

Getting yourself there

On the day, the van leaves with everything and you still have to get to the new home, ideally before the crew does, with the keys, the things you would not put in a van, and probably a bag of cleaning things. That trip is yours to plan.

You have two routes, and the right one depends on whether you want to pack yourself.

Route 1: we pack, and the materials come with us

If you book packing with your removal, the packers bring everything. Packing is only booked with a removal, not as a service on its own. For a 1-bedroom home, our package is 2 packers / up to 3 hrs for £250 of labour plus £150 of materials, £400 in all, and the materials allowance is:

• 15 small / book boxes
• 15 large double-wall boxes
• 2 wardrobe boxes
• 4 tape rolls
• 20m bubble wrap
• 200 sheets packing paper
• 1 roll stretch wrap
• 1 mattress cover

Specialist materials such as TV cartons, picture and mirror cartons and crates are not in the allowance and are quoted separately. For a car-free household, this route removes every box run and the problem of storing flat boxes for a week in a small flat.

Route 2: you pack, and you plan the materials

If you would rather pack yourself, tell us when you ask for a quote. We bring the materials: whatever materials are part of your job are itemised in the quote, so you can see exactly what you are paying for. Ask how and when they can reach you before moving day; we will tell you what can be arranged for your date rather than promise it here. Meanwhile, use what you already have. Suitcases, holdalls, laundry baskets and storage crates all travel in the van, so they are free capacity. Our guide to whether removal companies supply boxes covers box sizes, strength and how many each size of home needs, so it is not repeated here.

Either way, the useful rule for a car-free move is to have everything packed and sealed before the crew arrives. With no car, there is no second trip for the things that were not ready.

Our man and van price guide sets out the rates for every van and crew and works through five London jobs, so this section only covers the question a car-free mover faces: who carries the other end? A driver-only booking gets you the van and one person, who loads, drives and unloads. Anything that needs two people needs a second pair of hands, and that is usually you, or a friend.

For many people moving without a car, the friend is the problem. The friend who helps you move is often the friend with the car, and the car is often why they were asked. If your helpers are coming by Tube, they arrive when they arrive, they cannot bring a trolley, and they are tired by the second staircase. Here is what the difference costs on one small job.

A worked example: one room from a second floor

Take a room in a shared flat: a single bed, a desk, a chest of drawers and boxes, moved 4 miles from a second floor with no lift to a ground-floor flat, in our Small Transit (SWB). We assume 1 hr 30 min of carrying in total, half of it at the collection. That is our assumption for a light room with easy access, not a fixed figure, and your quote is built on your own inventory.

Both jobs are charged the 2-hour minimum, because the work takes less than that. The stair charge is £10 per person, per flight, per hour at that address, and a second floor is 4 flights, so it doubles with the second mover. Even so, the second person adds £70 to the job. For that, nobody needs to turn up to help, and nothing that needs two people waits on the stairs for a friend's train.

When a driver only still works without a car

• Everything is boxes, bags and items one person can carry safely
• You can and want to take one end of the few two-person items
• The ground floor or a lift that takes the furniture at both ends
• A short carry from where the van can stop to the door

When two movers is the better plan

• Any sofa, wardrobe, bed frame, washing machine or fridge freezer
• Stairs without a suitable lift at either end
• Your helpers would be coming by public transport, or not at all
• You cannot lift, should not lift, or would rather not

For anything bigger than a room or two, see man and van or removal company, which covers where a bigger crew makes sense.

It is the obvious question when you have no car, and the honest answer is: do not plan on it. Whether a passenger can travel depends on the vehicle, the number of seats and how many of the crew are on board, and we do not promise it as standard. If it matters to you, ask when you book and the team will tell you for your job.

Plan to travel separately. It is usually better anyway. The crew needs the cab for the crew, and you need to be at the new home before the van to open up, check where the van can stop and decide where things go.

This is the part of the day that is entirely yours. The aim is simple: be at the new address, with the keys, before the van. Here is why it matters and how to plan it.

Why arriving first matters

Our hours run from the team's arrival at your collection address and include the drive. If the crew arrives at the new home and nobody is there to let them in, that is waiting time, charged at £40 per crew member per hour. Half an hour with two movers is £40. A missed train or a signal failure can cost more than the fare.

Plan the order of the day

On a short London move, the van can reach the new address quickly once it is loaded. You will usually be the last thing to leave the old home, because you are checking the empty rooms. Leave enough of a gap: the crew can do the last loading while you walk through, but you need to leave as soon as the doors close, not stay for a final clean.

If keys are being released by an agent or a solicitor on the day, the timing is less in your hands. Our completion day guide explains when keys are usually released and how to plan around a delay.

What you can carry on public transport

On National Rail, the rules are clear. National Rail says you are generally welcome to bring up to three pieces of luggage on board at no extra cost, though some train companies have their own policies. Extra charges may apply above three items or for luggage over 1 metre in any dimension, and you must be able to carry large luggage without help. Items over 1 metre that you cannot carry unaided are not permitted, and the page names large furniture among them.

For buses, the Tube, the Overground and the Elizabeth line, check TfL's own conditions before the day. We could not confirm TfL's luggage wording when we wrote this, so we do not state it here. The practical point holds on any network: take what you can carry yourself, in one trip, and let the van take the rest.

What to keep with you rather than on the van

• Keys, paperwork and the contact numbers for the agent, the building and the crew
• Phone, chargers, laptop and any work equipment you need on Monday
• Medicines, glasses, and anything for children or pets for the day
• Valuables: jewellery, passports, cash
• A small bag with a kettle, mugs, toilet roll, a towel, a basic toolkit and bin bags
• Plants that will not survive a hot van, if they are small enough to carry

Everything else goes on the van. If something on that list is too big to carry, tell the crew; it can travel with care in the van and come off first.

The week before | Everything packed and sealed, beds stripped, unwanted items already collected by the council or charity, and your carry bag packed.

The evening before | Confirm the arrival time with the team, check your route and a back-up route, and charge your phone.

Crew arrives | Show the team round, point out anything fragile or staying behind, and hand over the list of what goes where.

Last items loaded | Walk through every room, cupboard and the meter cupboard. Take your carry bag, lock up and leave as the van does.

Your journey | Travel by your planned route. If you are delayed, message the crew straight away so they know where you are.

New home | Arrive first, open up, check where the van can stop, and point the crew to each room as they unload.

Many people without a car move into homes built as car-free, where residents cannot get a parking permit. That does not stop a removal van stopping outside on moving day, but it changes which bays and permits are available. Our guide to moving day in a controlled parking zone explains zone hours, signs, which bays a van can use, visitor permits for a van and car-free developments, so the detail is not repeated here.

Two points are specific to a car-free household. First, the only vehicle you have to plan parking for is the van, so ask your council early whether a visitor permit or voucher can cover a removal van; the CPZ guide shows how much those rules differ between boroughs. Second, if the street needs a parking suspension, you apply for it and pay the council's fee, and we plan the van and crew around the space you get. A long carry from wherever the van can stop is paid time, so the parking matters more than the miles.

Every move turns up things that are not coming: the old mattress, the broken chair, the bookcase that will not fit. With a car, they go to the recycling centre. Without one, they need a collection, and they need it before moving day, because we do not do waste clearance and the crew cannot take them away.

London councils run collections for large household items. As one example, Lambeth, where 58.0% of households have no car, offers two services. Items in good condition that can be reused are collected free through a partnership with the charity Emmaus. Items that cannot be reused or recycled go on a paid bulky waste collection: when we checked, it was £36 for up to 3 items, £70 for up to 6 and £116 for up to 10, with no refund once paid. Only the items you listed and paid for are taken, they go out after 8pm the night before and by 6am on the day, and very large or heavy items such as pianos are not collected.

Other councils run similar services with their own prices and rules, so check yours. Three things make it work on a move:

• Book early. Collections run on set days. Choose one a few days before the move, not the morning of it
• Separate it clearly. Put anything being collected in its own place, away from what is moving, and tell the crew what is staying
• Reuse first. Furniture in good condition can often go to a reuse charity or to neighbours for free, which also saves the collection fee

Clearing out before the move also cuts the cost of the move itself, because the van is loaded by the hour. Our cheapest way to move house in London guide has more on that.

Storage that relies on you driving to the unit is a poor fit for a car-free household. We arrange storage anywhere in the UK through a partner, and the van takes things in and brings them back, so you do not need a vehicle at either end. For small loads, such as a few boxes or a student's room, storage starts from £100 a month. For a 1-bedroom flat's contents, our 2026 quotes have been £250 to £350 a month, VAT included, with the first month paid upfront.

Access is by appointment, with 2 working days' notice, and redelivery is priced at the same van rates as any move. Without a car, that is the point to plan around: pack the things you might need in the coming months separately and keep them with you, and put away only what can genuinely wait. Our London storage costs guide compares the options and covers insurance and minimum terms.

Moves within London are often short. Our records hold 15 home, office and storage jobs that started and finished in London, and 10 of those were 3 miles or less in a straight line. These are real bookings from our records, anonymised to the area. The prices are what customers paid at the time, under our earlier pricing, and the miles are straight-line between postcode districts, not road miles, so read them for the van, crew and time a short London move needed, not as today's rates.

Two things stand out. Short does not mean small: a boxes-only move across a couple of miles can still need a large van and a full day if there is a lot of it. And even across the same neighbourhood, the van and crew are set by what is moving and the access at each end, not by the distance. For a car-free household, a short move is still a one-van job, because there is no car to do the in-between trips.

Whether you book a driver for a few boxes or a crew for a whole flat, every move with us includes the same basics:

• Goods in Transit cover. Included on every move, not sold as an add-on.
• Public Liability cover. In place on every job, at home or at work.
• Our own crew. Every mover is employed by AFS. We never pass your move to a subcontractor.
• One named coordinator. Your single point of contact, from the quote to the last box.

Packing materials are not included in the hourly rate; they come with the crew and are itemised in your quote.

For a few boxes or a room, start from the man and van in London page, which lists every van with its driver-only and two-mover rates. For a whole flat or house, our house removals in London page covers the full service on the same rate card, with packing, dismantling and storage available alongside the move. If you are not sure which you need, tell us what is moving and that you have no car, and the London house removals team will suggest the van and crew that mean you do not have to lift, fetch or drive anything.