How to move house in 2025

Before you can fully start planning your move, you need to complete your house purchase. This means:

• Arranging your mortgage

• Instructing a solicitor

• Getting a survey

• Exchanging contracts

When you exchange contracts, you usually arrange and agree to a completion date. This is when the sale is completed, and you get the keys to your new home.

This will usually be the same as your completion date. If you’re selling your home at the same time, you’ll probably need to move out and move in all on the same day.

If you’re moving out of a rental property, you might be able to move over a few days or weeks, depending on when your tenancy agreement ends. 

Although this will give you more breathing space to move, the longer you have left on your tenancy, the longer you will be paying rent on top of your new mortgage payments.

Until you have your moving date, making arrangements for your move can be tricky. When choosing your moving date, ensure you give yourself enough time to get everything in order.

When you have your moving date, you can arrange your removals. There are lots of different removal options, and which is right for you will depend on things like your budget and how much you have to move.

• Do it yourself: If you don’t have loads of stuff to move, you might be able to do it yourself without a professional removal company. You will probably need a van or large vehicle to move furniture, so look at renting a van for the day or asking for help from friends and family.

• Removals only: If you have a lot to move, it’s worth getting a removal company to transport your belongings. They do all the heavy lifting and will load and unload your stuff for you.

• Removals and packing: Most removal companies also offer packing services where they will come in and pack up all of your belongings for you and transport them to your new home. This comes at an extra cost but can take a lot of stress out of moving, especially if you have a lot to pack.

Make sure you get quotes from several companies and compare prices and the services they offer. Look at reviews they’ve received and see if they are registered by the British Association of Removers.

This can be the most daunting part of moving, but it doesn't have to be if you start early and break it down. 

You can start packing non-essentials weeks before you move, even before you have a completion date, if you want to get a head start. Here are some top packing tips:

• Get plenty of boxes, labels, tape and bubble wrap

• Declutter before you start by donating any unwanted stuff

• Pack room by room

• Clearly label every box with what room it’s for and what’s in it

• Wrap furniture to avoid scratches - use bedsheets or towels to save money

• Pack essentials in an accessible bag

• Disassemble large furniture as much as you can

• Pack screws and bolts in sandwich bags and tape them to relevant furniture so they don’t get separated

• Make an inventory so you don’t miss anything and can identify any items that go missing

If you can afford to, consider paying the removal company to pack for you. They are experts at packing safely and efficiently and can often pack up your whole house within a couple of hours.

You must ensure you’ve settled any bills associated with your property before you move out. That means letting your energy and water suppliers know and informing your council. 

Contact your energy provider at least 48 hours before you move out to tell them you’re leaving the property. You should then take meter readings on the day you move out and give them to your supplier so they can calculate your final bill.

If you are in credit, they should refund you any money you’re owed. If you’re on a fixed tariff, you may need to pay an exit fee to leave the contract early.

Most councils have an online form you can complete to inform them that you’re moving home. If you don’t let them know, they will continue to bill you, even if you no longer live in the property.

It’s important to inform anybody who needs your address that you’re moving so they know where to contact you. You’ll need to provide them with your new address and moving date so they can update their records accordingly. 

Here’s a list of who you will need to update:

• Your employer

• Your bank/building society

• Insurance companies (home, car, etc.)

• The council and electoral roll

• TV Licence

• Your doctor and dentist

• DVLA

To make sure you don’t miss anything, it’s worth getting your post redirected. The Royal Mail’s postal redirection service means any post sent to your old address for you will be forwarded to your new home. You can set this up to run for 3, 6 or 12 months, but you will have to pay for the service.

Your moving day will be busy, so make sure you do everything you can beforehand to prepare.

If you have young children, think about arranging for someone to look after them on the day so you’re free to focus on moving.

It’s worth preparing the essentials that you’ll need on your first day in your new home so they’re easily accessible. For example, if you know you’ll need a few cups of tea to keep you going, make sure your kettle, tea bags and mugs are close at hand. 

Try to clear your cupboards and freezer of food if you can so nothing goes to waste. If you’re taking your freezer with you, remember to thoroughly defrost it before moving day.

Moving days usually start early when the removal company arrives and starts loading the van. 

Contact your estate agent to find out when the keys will be ready to collect. They won’t release your keys until the mortgage money has been sent to complete the purchase, and this can sometimes take a few hours to go through. 

Once you have the keys, try to go ahead of the removal van to assess the property's condition. It might need a clean, which will be easier to do before your stuff arrives. 

Once everything is unloaded, unpack room by room. It’s usually a good idea to start with essentials for your first night, like your bed and kitchen items. 

Check to ensure everything works as it should and that you have the right keys for all the doors and windows.

Finally, be kind to yourself and don’t give yourself too much to do on your first day. Once you’ve unpacked the essentials, try to relax and enjoy your new home.

This will probably be your biggest moving day cost, but the amount you’ll pay will vary depending on the size of your house, how far it needs to be transported and the service you choose. Here are some estimates of the costs you might face:

• One-bedroom home: £400-£500

• Two-bedroom home: £500-£700

• Three-bedroom home: £700-£900

• Four-bedroom home: £1,000-£1,200

If you want the removal company to pack your belongings, you can expect to add at least £250 to the cost. Most companies will also offer to dismantle and reassemble your furniture, but you will have to pay extra for this as well. 

Get bespoke quotes from several companies to determine exactly what you’ll need to pay. Some will even come to your property to assess the scale of the job before quoting you a price. 

If you have decided to move yourself, you may need to rent a van for the day. The cost of this will depend on the size of van you need, but you can expect to spend between £80 and £150 for a day’s hire.

Sometimes it’s not possible to move out of your old house and into your new one on the same day. If this is the case, you might need to put your stuff into storage for a few days or weeks.

Storage unit costs vary based on the size of the unit you need, but a rough guide is around £25-£30 a week for a 50-square-foot space. 

If you need to put your belongings into storage, you might need to pay twice for removals: once to move into storage and once to move out and into your new home.

There are a host of other costs you might face when moving, and they can all add up:

• Packing materials: You’ll need boxes, labels, tape, and bubble wrap to pack all your stuff safely, and this can end up costing £100 or more for a three or four-bedroom house.

• Cleaning: It’s a good idea to get a professional cleaner in after you move out, especially if you were renting. This can cost between £200 and £400, depending on the size of your house.

• Mail redirection: You have to pay if you want the Royal Mail to forward any mail to your new address. This costs £76 for 12 months for one person, but you have to pay extra to add more people.

• Kids and pets: If you need to find care for your children and pets on the moving day, you may have to pay for this if you can’t find a friend or family member to look after them for you.

• Lunch/food: It may be tricky to find time to cook on a moving day, so budget for lunch and a takeaway on your first night in your new home.

When you port your mortgage you move your current mortgage to your new home.

You'll stay with the same lender and your mortgage deal stays the same too.

If you’re buying a more expensive home, and need to borrow more, you could take out another mortgage.

You’ll probably have to use the same lender.

You could save money by porting your mortgage.

You would not have to pay:

• early repayment charges on your current mortgage

• fees for setting up a new mortgage

If you’re on a great deal you get to keep it.

Porting your mortgage could be a good idea if you:

• took out a fixed-rate mortgage when interest rates were much lower

• have a fixed-rate mortgage and you’d have to pay early repayment charges to end it