Research by Admiral Home Insurance showed that although people are usually good at budgeting for the cost of deposits and associated legal fees, extra costs such as home removal, professional cleaning or redecoration are often missed.

Brighton is the most expensive city for house movers outside London, followed by Southampton and then Oxford, while Birmingham face the lowest costs for moving. 

Over a third of Brits say they weren’t fully prepared for the cost of moving house and admit they could have done more research. 

Unpaid holiday

Movers may also miss the cost of missing work – 46% of Brits took time off work last time they relocated, usually between 3 and 6 days. With the average daily wage in the UK set at £105.80, people moving house could be losing out between £317 and £634 for moving house if they take unpaid holiday. 

While 45% of movers say they’d call upon a home removal company to help them move house – at an average cost of £353. One in 10 people admit they didn’t budget for this service despite having to use it last time they moved home. 

Exeter was the most expensive city for home removal services with an average price tag of £495, while people in Birmingham pay the least – with an average cost of £247 for help moving.  

A third of people used storage facilities when moving between properties in the UK, with one in 10 people keeping their belongings in storage for between six months and a year. The average cost for self-storage in the UK ranges between £532 for six months and £1,064 for a year’s worth of storage.  Brighton tops the list for the most expensive storage – six months of storage costs an average of £852. 

A lick of paint

A fifth of people say they used a professional painter and decorator last time they moved to a new house. The cost for sprucing up a two bedroom house with a fresh lick of paint will set people in East London back the most in the UK, at £1,183 on average. Southampton painters charged the most outside of London for the same job, coming in at £1,066.

Birmingham was the cheapest city for painting and decorating, with the average quote coming in at £656, followed by Newcastle (£700) and Manchester (£716).

Noel Summerfield, head of household insurance at Admiral said: “Regardless of whether you’re buying or renting a house, there are lots of different costs you need to factor in, so it’s important to do your research beforehand to make sure you budget enough to cover everything you need.

“It’s very easy for insurance to slip off the list of things to think about, but this could leave your belongings and your home at risk when moving. It’s vital to have your contents insurance sorted out before the day of the move because accidents can happen and the last thing you want is for your belongings to be broken or damaged during an already stressful time….Your insurer may be able to transfer your existing policy to a new home, but there may be differences depending on the situation so it’s important to do your research.”