London removal costs: what you actually pay

These are fixed-price ranges for a same-borough or neighbouring-borough move with normal access. A studio or part-load is cheaper by the hour; a four-bed with a loft and a garage is a full-day job with a bigger crew.

• Studio: £220–£330, two movers, three to four hours
• 1-bed flat: £320–£460, two movers, three to five hours
• 2-bed flat: £460–£640, two movers, five to seven hours
• 3-bed house: £690–£940, three movers, six to nine hours
• 4-bed+: from £950, three to four movers, a full day
• Office: from £95 a desk, usually evenings or weekends

Stairs are time, and time is the price. A fourth-floor walk-up adds roughly 20 to 25 per cent to a flat move against the same property with a lift. Carry distance matters just as much: if the van cannot get within thirty metres of the door, budget an extra hour on a two-bed.

This is why a two-mile move can cost more than a thirty-mile one. Distance is fuel and driving hours; access is the whole crew, repeatedly, up and down.

A bay suspension costs most London boroughs between £30 and £90 a day depending on the street and the notice given. ULEZ applies to every London postcode. The Congestion Charge applies to central zones on charging days.

None of this should be a surprise on the invoice. A fixed written quote states each charge or states plainly that it is included. If a quote is silent on permits, it is not a fixed quote.

Man and van is right for a studio, a part-load, a single item or a student room, and is priced hourly with a two-hour minimum. It assumes you have packed and that access is straightforward.

A full removal is right from a 1-bed upwards, or any move with a deadline, stairs, a lift booking or fragile furniture. You are buying crew size, protection, dismantling and a fixed end time — the things that make a completion day survivable.

Full packing costs from £180 for a half day and typically saves four to six hours of your own time plus the breakages that come from packing at midnight. On a 2-bed it usually pays for itself in the shorter load time alone, because professionally packed boxes stack and travel.

Ask every company the same six questions and the cheapest quote often stops being the cheapest.

• Is this a fixed price or an estimate, and what changes it?
• Are parking permits, ULEZ and the Congestion Charge included?
• How many movers, what size van, and how many hours are allowed?
• Is dismantling and reassembly included, or per item?
• What is the goods-in-transit limit, and can I see the certificate?
• What happens if completion or the lift booking slips?

A price given without a single question about floors, lifts or parking. A refusal to put the number in writing. A deposit demanded by bank transfer with no written terms. A quote that is 40 per cent below every other one — that gap is the re-quote, arriving later.