Cost of Removals

By Kim
Last updated 31st July 2024 - Reading time: 15 mins
At a glance
  • The average cost of home removals is around £900
  • The job will take approximately 1 - 2 days to complete
In this article, you'll discover the following:
  • A complete pricing breakdown which includes cost factors to consider, along with what such a task usually involves
  • How long the job should approximately take and a general overview of what types of services can be performed
  • How to find and hire a removals company

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In this article, we will go over everything you need to know about removal costs, including, what's involved in hiring removal firms any additional factors that may affect the job's overall cost.

The average cost of removals will typically be around £900.

home removals

Average Cost of House Removals:

Depending on the complexity of the job, it usually takes: 1-2 days

£900

How Much Does It Cost To Move House?

Are you looking for information about the cost of removals in the UK? We will provide additional information about house removals. Read on to find out everything you need to know about this type of work.

So how much do home removals cost?

The average cost of hiring a house removal company will vary depending on the company you choose, the distance in which you're moving, and the size of your home.

For example, the average cost of house removals for a 3-bedroom property travelling around 50 miles is around £1,000-£1,200. As expected, this isn’t necessarily cheap work as it involves a lot of hard work.

The estimated cost above includes everything from professional packing services to dismantling and reassembling your furniture. Professional packing services usually equate to around £250 of the overall cost, and the service of dismantling and reassembling your furniture is usually around £125.

If you live in a smaller home such as a one-bedroom flat, you can expect the removals to cost around £300-£450. If your home is a larger property such as a five-bedroom house, then the removals could cost up to around £1,300-£1,500.

If your home is located in the London area, you can expect to pay more for removals than those based in the North of the UK or other areas outside of London. In addition, the more items you are looking to move, the higher you can expect the removal costs to be. Also, you can expect to pay more the further away you are moving.

What's the best way to pack a TV for moving to protect it from damage? What would a professional service do?

"If you have a box then wrap in bubble wrap and place in box tape up thoroughly if not bwrap in a blanket or sheet then bubble wraps just make sure it’s secure in the back of the van or car"

Removal Prices

As we've previously mentioned, the cost for home removals can vary by quite a large amount depending on the size of your home and the distance of the move.

To better understand what you might expect to pay for this work, take a look at the table below for the average cost of house removals on various-sized properties:

JOB DESCRIPTION AVERAGE COST
Move a one-bedroom house 50 miles distance £300-£400
Move a two-bedroom house 50 miles distance £500-£620
Move a three-bedroom house 50 miles distance £780-£900
Move a four-bedroom house 50 miles distance £980-£1100
Move a five-bedroom house 50 miles distance £1280-£1400
Move a one-bedroom house 150 miles distance £400-£500
Move a two-bedroom house 150 miles distance £600-£750
Move a three-bedroom house 150 miles distance £870-£980
Move a four-bedroom house 150 miles distance £1050-£1200
Move a five-bedroom house 150 miles distance £1380-£1500
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Supply Only Costs

Most of the cost of home removals is the labour costs rather than the cost of materials. If you plan to wrap and pack your things yourself before the move, you'll be able to save some considerable costs on the materials for this work.

home removals

You can quite often find free packaging materials via online resources such as the Facebook Marketplace from people who have moved house recently.

If you would prefer the removals company to supply the packaging materials and boxes for you, this will cost an additional £30-£100 on average. This includes roughly 30 large boxes and packaging materials.

If you require more packaging materials and boxes, the removal prices will be higher. It all depends on how many items you want to take to your new property during the move. The more items you want to take, the more materials you’ll need and, therefore, the higher the costs will be for the materials.

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Additional Costs

There are several additional costs that you may need to budget for when it comes to removals. Below is a list of the additional things that you may need to consider when budgeting for this type of work.

Flat Pack Furniture Assembly

If you are purchasing new furniture for your new home, you may need to hire someone to help you put all of this new furniture together. This type of service can be especially convenient if you simply want to crack on with unpacking everything without the worry of having to build new furniture.

flat pack assembly

The average cost to hire a handyman to assemble your flat-packed furniture is around £20-£60 per hour. The actual overall price you pay will depend on the number of items that need to be assembled, the size of the furniture removals, and your location in the UK.

Hiring a Skip

If you are planning on getting rid of a lot of things that you don’t want to take to the new home with you, then you may need to consider an appropriate form of waste removal. The best thing you can do in this instance is to hire a skip so that you can easily remove all of the waste and unwanted items in one go.

The average cost that you can expect to pay to hire a skip will vary depending on the size of the skip and your location in the UK. However, you can expect the price to be roughly £100-£400 for an average-sized skip hire.

Painting and Decorating

When you move into your new property, it’s very likely that you’ll want to decorate some of the rooms. It’s best to take care of this before you begin unpacking all of your things. While you may want to decorate yourself, many people prefer to hire a professional to take care of this.

The average cost to hire someone to do painting and decorating for you is around £180-£500 per room. The price will depend on the type of finish that you’re looking for, the number of rooms that you want to decorate, your location in the UK, and the size of the rooms that you’re decorating.

New Flooring Installation

As well as painting and decorating your new home, you may also be interested in getting some new flooring installed before moving all of your things in. Some people may choose to fit new flooring themselves. However, most people will turn to a professional for this type of work.

new flooring

The average cost to install flooring in the UK is around £400-£1,000 per room. The price you pay will depend on the size of the room, the type of flooring that you choose, and your location within the UK.

Labour Costs and Timescales

When you hire a company to carry out your home removals for you, the majority of the cost lies within the labour costs.

The overall prices for this will vary depending on the size of your home, the type of company that you choose, the distance of the move, and your location within the UK. Those based in the London area will pay more for labour than those based in other areas of the UK.

The average labour costs to move a one-bedroom property are around £300-£500. For an average-sized three-bedroom property, the labour costs around £780-£980. For a larger five-bedroom property, you can expect to removals labour fee to be around £1,380-£1,500.

These prices include the cost of hiring a team of contractors to transport all of your things from your current property to your new property in a different location.

Most house removals companies will be able to complete your entire home move within a day. The precise timescales will depend on the distance of the move and the number of items that need to be moved.

For a better idea of the timescales that you can expect for your particular house move, it’s best to contact your removals company and ask for an estimated timescale based on your specific needs.

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Cost Factors of a House Removal

There are several factors that can affect the overall cost of home removals work. Below is a list of the things that may contribute to the varied prices for this work.

costs

The Size of Your Property

The size of your property will affect the price that you can expect to pay for home removals. The larger your property is, the more you can expect to pay for the job.

This is because larger homes tend to have more things in them, so you will have more things to move to your new property. The more items you need to move from one property to another, the longer the work will take. This will then result in higher costs.

The Distance of the Move

The distance in which you're moving will affect the overall cost of your removals job. The further away you plan to move, the more the job will cost. It is very important to bear in mind that one of the factors of home removal is the cost of fuel for the drivers.

This means that the further you move from your current address, the higher these costs will be.

If you are moving long-distance, the process of the move will take much longer. This will then result in much higher labour costs. If you are moving very far away, for example, somewhere abroad, then the prices for removals will be considerably much higher.

The Location of Your Property

The location of your property can also affect the overall cost of a home removals job. If you are based in or around London, the price you can expect to pay for removals is higher than those based in the North or other areas in the UK.

What's Involved in House Removal?

If you are planning on moving home, you may be interested in learning what is involved with a removals job. In this section, we will go over everything that is involved with this type of work.

home removals

A house removal involves packing up all of your existing things into boxes. Fragile things will need to be protected well enough to withstand transportation. Once everything is packed away, you are ready to move.

The next step of a house move involves piling everything into a vehicle (or several vehicles) and then transporting your things from your existing home to your new property. Each of the boxes and items will be placed in the appropriate rooms in your new home so that you're ready to unpack them when everything has arrived at the new property.

Can I Conduct a House Removal Myself?

It is very possible for your to conduct a home move yourself as a DIY project. However, it takes a lot of effort and a lot of hard work.

You will need to have a vehicle or several vehicles in which you can pack everything and move it from your current home to your new one. With this in mind, you may have to hire a van or truck to move everything.

If you plan on completing your home move yourself, you will also need as many helping hands as possible. It’s not easy lifting boxes upon boxes from one place to another, so you definitely need help. The more people you can gather to assist you with the move, the better.

Types of Removals

In this section, we will take a look at the different types of home removals services that you can choose from.

Moving Goods

Moving goods is the main and most common type of removals job. This involves moving your things from your old home to your new home. With a moving goods job alone, you will be required to package all of the items yourself before the day of the move.

Packing Goods

If you require assistance with your packing, you can ask the removals company to take care of this for you. If so, you will pay additional labour costs, and you will also pay an additional fee for the packaging materials.

If you hire the removals company to do your packing for you, they will package everything up and ensure that everything is well-protected so that your goods can be transferred from home to home safely without damage.

Dismantling and Reassembling Furniture

If you have a lot of large pieces of furniture in your home, you may require assistance when it comes to dismantling the furniture for the move and then reassembling it in the new home.

The price for this service will vary as it depends on the number of items that you need this type of assistance with and the type of items that you require this service for.

The service involves dismantling and folding down your furniture so that it’s much easier to transport. The contractors will then put your furniture back together in the appropriate room in your new home.

Hiring Contractors for Removals Checklist

If you are moving home and decide that you would like to hire a removals company to take care of the move for you, you will need to think carefully about the contractors that you hire.

home removals

Below is a list of questions that you should consider asking when finding the right removals specialists for the job.

  • Does the contractor have any qualifications that relate directly to removals?
  • Does the contractor have appropriate transportation for the move? Is it a man and van removals company? How many trips do they expect to make?
  • Does the contractor possess any form of insurance for the work? You should look for contractors who have insurance covering property damage, personal injuries, and a work guarantee. Most removals companies will also provide insurance that covers damage to your goods
  • Does the contractor offer any rubbish removal services?
  • How much experience does the contractor have in removals? Can they provide any testimonials or evidence of previous work? Can they provide photos of previous work?
  • Does the contractor offer any guarantees with their work?
  • How long will the work take to complete?
  • How many contractors will be working on the job?
  • Is there anything you need to do to prepare for the job?
  • Search for “house removals near me” for removals quotes from local companies

FAQs

When should I book a house removal service?

You should aim to begin contacting removals companies as soon as you find out your moving date. Most removals contractors need around 7-14 days' worth of notice before the date of the required work.

You should avoid booking the removal service until you're sure that the sale is going through, as you may be subject to some additional charges if you need to cancel or change the removals date.

How long does a removals job take?

There are many things that will affect the length of the removals job. The factors include the distance of the move and the number of items that need to be moved.

The majority of removals jobs can be completed within a day. However, if you have a lot of goods or if you are moving quite a distance from your current home, the removals job may take several days to complete.

Do I need to get the locks changed at my new house?

It is usually recommended that you change the locks on your new home simply for your own peace of mind. You never know who may have a copy of the key to your new home, so it's definitely best to get the locks changed so that you don't have to worry about someone entering your home without consent.

Do I need to get removals insurance?

Most decent removals companies include insurance as part of their work. However, you should check with them before the moving day to understand the level of protection that their insurance offers.

When do I have to pay the removals company?

Most removals companies will require the payment in full before the day of the job. You will usually be asked for payment at least a week in advance of the moving day. This is a standard practice for those who are members of the British Association of Removers (BAR).
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