How Much Does a House Move Cost in the UK in 2026?

The honest 2026 answer

A properly insured UK removals company will move a typical 3-bedroom house locally for £600 to £1,200 in 2026. That's the number to plan around. Anything much cheaper is usually an hourly crew with no insurance and no fixed price — and the final invoice rarely matches the phone quote.

Below is the price range for each home size, plus every add-on that reliably changes the bill. All figures are based on live Dimond Movers quotes across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Greater London for the first half of 2026.

Price by property size (local move, under 25 miles)

'Local' means both addresses within roughly 25 miles of each other. Longer runs add fuel, driver hours and often a second crew day — priced separately below.

• Studio / 1-bed flat: £280 – £550
• 2-bed flat or small house: £400 – £800
• 3-bed house: £600 – £1,200
• 4-bed house: £900 – £1,800
• 5-bed / large family home: £1,500 – £3,000
• 6-bed+ / estate move: £2,500 – £6,000+

Price by distance

Distance changes the shape of the quote, not just the total. Anything over about 150 miles usually needs an overnight leg, which changes the crew day-rate maths.

• Under 25 miles: baseline price above
• 25–75 miles: add £120 – £280
• 75–150 miles: add £250 – £600
• 150–300 miles (single day, long day): add £500 – £1,100
• 300 miles+ (two-day, overnight crew): add £800 – £1,800

The five add-ons that quietly triple the bill

These are the surprises we see most often on cheap 'per hour' quotes that don't survey properly. A fixed price from a company that has seen the property should include all five in the number, not appear as line items on the day.

• Stairs above the 2nd floor with no lift: +£80 – £250
• Long carry (van > 20m from door): +£60 – £180
• Parking suspension or permit fees: £40 – £180 each end
• Full packing service: £180 – £800 depending on home size
• Dismantle / reassemble beds, wardrobes, gym equipment: £60 – £300
• Piano or safe: from £180 (upright) to £700+ (grand)
• Storage between properties: £15 – £45 per crate per week

What lowers the price

Three levers move the number more than anything else: timing, packing and prep. Combined, they can knock 25–40% off the same physical move.

• Move Tue–Thu, mid-month, outside July/August: 10–20% cheaper than a Friday end-of-month peak
• Pack your own non-fragile items and pay for fragile packing only: saves £150 – £400
• Declutter properly before the survey: a smaller inventory usually drops one crew member and often one van
• Book 4+ weeks ahead: last-minute peak dates carry a 15–25% premium

Hourly vs fixed pricing — which one to insist on

For anything bigger than a 1-bed flat, always insist on a fixed written quote after a survey (video is fine). Hourly pricing sounds cheap and almost always ends up more expensive: the incentive is wrong, and there's no protection against a slow crew or unexpected access issues.

Dimond Movers quotes every UK house move as a fixed price, based on a free 15-minute video survey. What you're told at survey is what you pay on the day.

What insurance you're actually paying for

'Goods in transit' insurance covers items while they're on the van. That's not the whole move — most damage happens during loading, unloading and reassembly. Ask specifically about combined liability cover (transit + handling + storage) and about the per-item cap. A £40,000 policy total with a £250 per-item cap is not the same product as a £100,000 policy with a £5,000 per-item cap. Cheap quotes often hide behind the first version.

Sample real quotes from Dimond Movers, 2026

A representative sample from actual quotes issued this year, anonymised.

• 2-bed flat, Oxford → Reading (35 miles), part packing: £820
• 3-bed house, Aylesbury → St Albans (52 miles), full packing: £1,640
• 4-bed family home, North Oxford → Cotswolds (38 miles), full packing + one piano: £2,380
• Studio flat, Islington → Oxford (65 miles), self-pack: £590
• 5-bed home, Beaconsfield → Cambridge (95 miles), full packing + 2 weeks storage: £3,950

How to get a quote that won't move on the day

Ask for a video survey (5–15 minutes), a written fixed price, a named crew size and van count, insurance cover confirmed in writing, and any parking or access notes acknowledged in the quote. If any of those five are missing, keep shopping. A proper removals company gives them without being asked.