How Much Does It Cost to Hire Removals 2023?

When moving house becomes only a matter of time, chances are the one of the very first questions, if not the very first one, will be about the house removal costs, and more specifically, “How much does it cost to hire removals?”.

That can hardly be a surprise, of course, considering that a lot of your hard-earned money is on the table. Besides having a rough idea of the removal costs the upcoming move will incur, you should be really interested in knowing how to find an affordable removal firm to keep those moving expenses in check.

As a bonus, being familiar with how the cost of moving is calculated will help you fight the rising expenses by using smart cost saving techniques. Ultimately, it all comes down to being prepared financially and mentally about how much your removal company will charge you in the end.

Q: How much is it to hire a professional house removal company?

A: Read on to find the approximate answer.

How much do removal companies cost?

For local moves, removal companies charge an average of £50-£60 per hour for 2 men and a van with a 2-hour minimum charge. For long-distance moves, removals charge anywhere between £850 for a 1-bed flat and £3000 for a 4-bedroom house.

In practice, the actual average removal costs are much more difficult to calculate with a higher level of accuracy due to the large number of variables that surround each residential move. Read on to learn more details about how much removal companies charge on average.

How much do local removal companies cost?

Here’s what you should know about removal costs when you’re moving locally across town or relocating to another neighbouring city.

• 

  As a rule of thumb, local removals charge by the hour, not per pound (weight) or per mile (distance).

• £60-£70 per hour for 2 movers and a van is the typical charge of local removals but that hourly rate can vary substantially depending on your exact location within the country and the removal company itself.

• Most of the time, your local removals will hit you with a 2 hour minimum charge so that they can stay protected from super short mini moves.

• Local packing services usually go around £30 per hour per packer, while the required packing materials may or may not be included in that packing rate.

• Each additional crew member will cost you extra, as will each extra moving service requested or required for completing the moving job.

• It’s almost impossible to predict how many hours your local moving crew will work on your move, so it’s a good idea to trust what the pros have stated in their initial quote. Unexpected problems could easily slow down the entire relocation process, which means that it’s never a bad idea to plan for more time than originally estimated.

How much do long-distance removals cost?

It’s much tougher to put a price tag on long-distance moves where the distance and the number of items being moved will determine the house removal costs. The case-by-case nature of moving suggests that instead of trusting average moving costs, the right thing to do is to ask for accurate quotes from home removals and then compare those estimated removal prices.

Still, it’s always useful to have a rough idea of the removal costs for moving across the country:

• 1 bedroom home. How much does a removal company cost if you’re moving out of a 1 bedroom home? The average removal cost for a 1-bed flat is roughly £850. If you want professional packing, be ready to pay an additional sum of around £275.

• 2 bedroom homes. The approximate removal costs for a 2-bed house are somewhere around £1500, while extra packing services can go up to £475, or even more.

• 3 bedroom homes. The average removal costs for 3-bed houses can go around £1850 (a substantial price increase!) but the exact price will depend on a score of circumstances that surround your particular case. The same goes for your packing costs – prepare around £775 but be ready for more depending on how much stuff you own.

• 4 bedroom residences. The costs for hiring a removal company to help you out when you’re moving out of a 4-bedroom house can easily surpass the £3000 mark, while professional packing services will cost you roughly another £975.

Needless to say, the above example prices are just that – examples of estimated average prices that cannot in any way guarantee your final relocation cost. The only way you can know how much your removal firm will charge you, in the end, is to ask them for an initial price calculation.

ADDITIONAL INFO: What is the average cost of moving house?

Removal costs calculator

You should have your costs calculated before the move takes place. Basically, it’s the numbers under the bottom line of your estimates that will help you decide which removal company to use.

Here’s something important to remember: good removal companies will want to visit your home in person to make sure their estimate is accurate. That way, it’s a win-win situation for both parties. Do not agree on rough estimates given over the phone or via e-mail, for they could never factor in all the details and specific conditions. It’s pretty simple: until an expert estimator visits your property, sees all the items you have for moving, and asks you concrete questions that actually make sense, you are running the risk of getting a final bill that has little to do with what the removal firm first quoted you.

A home survey is all about risk assessment and damage prevention. The job of the removals company representative is to:

• take a closer look at all the things you plan to move to your new home;

• take note of specialty items that require individual packing and handling – anything that is too expensive, valuable, fragile, big, or heavy to be handled like an ordinary household item;

• assess any possible moving day difficulties due to small doorways, narrow corridors, sharp turns, steep staircases, lack of a lift if moving out of a building of flats, and so on;

• answer any questions that you might have and address any worries of yours concerning the upcoming household move; and of course

• prepare a binding estimate of the removal costs – a binding estimate in writing which you should read carefully and compare with other quotes from a few other removals.

Use our quick removal costs calculator at the top of the page to have licensed and insured removal companies contact you for in-house price calculation.

SEE ALSO: 7 cheap ways to move across country

Compare removal costs

Do yourself a favour and don’t base your decision on price alone. Rather, compare the removal costs and the rates of all the additional services stated in the written estimates. Your new pre-move homework is called Comparative Analysis and its successful completion will ensure not only considerable savings from your house move but also peace of mind in knowing that your valuable possessions are in the hands of a reputable and experienced removals company.

Here’s what your comparative analysis of removals should look like in 3 simple steps:

• Step 1: Compare the removals quotes as far as price and moving services go, then leave only the ones that fit your budget and respond to your relocation needs;

• Step 2: Browse through removals reviews to find out what former customers had to say about the professionalism and trustworthiness of the companies you’re currently reviewing. Click here if you’re searching for top-rated removal companies in London;

• Step 3: Check whether the removals you’re considering are proud members of the British Association of Removers (BAR). BAR membership is proof of professionalism and experience – exactly what you’re looking for in a removal firm.

MUST READ: How to find the best companies in the UK?

The real cost of moving

Here’s the real deal: by knowing how to estimate removal costs, or rather – how the removal costs are estimated, you will gain a better understanding of what it is exactly you can do to move house for less money.

Interestingly, it’s your seemingly matter-of-fact decisions that can have the biggest impact on the final price. For example, your determination to take with you a number of big and heavy furniture pieces will inevitably inflate the house removal costs, and that is not something you will welcome with a smile on your face.

Ultimately, bothersome questions such as “Should I have moved those things in the first place?” could really plague you after the household move becomes a fact. Sadly, seeking good answers to whether you could have done something differently to avoid the higher house removal costs won’t really work in retrospect.

Knowledge is power! Learn the major factors that will affect the cost of moving house the most, and then harness that knowledge to pay much less for your local or long-distance move.

• Stuff. How much stuff you have for moving is vital for how much you will pay in the end. It’s very simple indeed: more items to move equal more weight and higher volume, which combined equal a larger moving van and more crew members to get the job done. The solution is elementary: reduce drastically the number of items you’re moving.

• Services. It’s only logical that each additional service will cost you extra. Yes, packing is the number 1 additional moving service so it’s essential to decide upfront whether you can manage that tough task on your own or whether you prefer to get the speed, convenience, and protection of professional packers.

• Distance. It does make a difference price-wise whether you’re moving within the same city or whether you’re crossing the entire country on a 700-km relocation trip. Longer distances simply mean higher transportation costs, including higher fuel costs, and even possible overnight stays due to the law that drivers must have 45-minute breaks every 4.5 hours of cross-country driving.

• Stuff, again. If you own high-value items in your home (for instance, artwork, a piano, a billiard table, a Jacuzzi, etc.) and you can’t and won’t leave them behind, then be ready for added removals costs due to the extra (packing) care and specialist attention those possessions require.

• Emergency. The emergency of your move, that is how fast you want things to happen, will definitely push the cost of moving in the “wrong” direction. If time is crucial for you, you may need to hire more crew members, so the price will increase accordingly.

• Timing. How much do removal companies charge? That largely depends on the timing of your house move. During the peak moving season (May – September) and on holidays, on weekends, or the first and last days of a month, the demand for affordable removal firms is rather high so the removal company rates are also higher. If you’re seeking a great removal deal as you should, you will need to get your timing right, and that is not always possible, is it?

• Company. Some removals are just more affordable than others, and that’s a fact. Follow this link for solid advice on how to hire cheap removals in the UK (cheap as in affordable, of course!).

BONUS MOVING TIP: House removal tips and advice on removals from the UK Government (PDF)

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