The costs of moving house as a renter

Renters may save on stamp duty and legal fees, but when you might have to move every few years, the costs can still add up quickly – and it often pays to travel light. Gemma, 33, shares how she spent – and saved – on her recent move from West to North London.

When my landlord wanted to raise my rent after ignoring serious rising damp, I put in my notice and started planning.

Determined to get everything across town to my new home on the cheap and every penny of my deposit back, here’s how I managed it.

Security deposit

This has typically been my largest expenditure and, as a freelancer, I might have been expected to pay six months’ rent or more upfront.

Luckily, I was moving in with my boyfriend and didn’t have to pay a security deposit.

Redecorating

My landlord had allowed me to paint as long as I returned my walls to their original magnolia at the end of my tenancy.

Repainting was by far the most labour-intensive and time-consuming part of the move.

Doing it myself cost £144.90 for 20 litres of paint for the walls, 2 litres of paint for the trim and new rollers – far less than the £1,000 (or more) a professional would have charged.

I may have spent about a week working through the night – but I saved over £850.

Decluttering or storing

I pared down to the essentials – and amassed quite the collection of non-essentials in the process.

'Why don’t you get a storage unit?' my boyfriend suggested. To which I maturely responded: 'Why don’t you get a storage unit?'

I resented the idea of paying £91 a month to store things I already knew I didn’t want to keep and would never be organised enough to sell.

Instead, I made several donations to charity shops and friends and continued to declutter.

Packing

Packing my belongings into luxury shopping bags seemed eco-friendly and a little glamorous. My friends were charmed, but the mover was less so – most bags fell apart in transit.

Cardboard boxes are more secure and often free for the asking at supermarkets and off-licences – or £20-30 for multipacks online.

Transportation

Lest my friendships with car owners become additional costs of the move, I booked a man with a small van for 2.5 hours and no help loading or unloading for £94.75.

He happened to arrive with a large van – and I filled it. Even my essentials were more than I’d estimated.

When my mattress wouldn’t fit in the lift, my boyfriend and I ended up carrying it up five flights of stairs.

It would have cost about twice as much to book the large van, an additional hour and help from the driver and an assistant – I would have been happy to pay that solely for getting the mattress into the flat.

Cleaning

Ideally, I would have emptied my flat well before my tenancy ended and hired a professional cleaner for £170-200 to leave it truly spotless.

In reality, my boyfriend and I stayed up until four in the morning on check-out day making sure the place was immaculate.

We spent about £20 on cleaning products and £38.25 on a car service to take us to our new home when we’d finished – and still saved more than £100.

Miscellanea

After emptying my kitchen and defrosting the fridge and freezer, I spent £36.64 on two nights’ food deliveries. I also replaced the carbon monoxide detector for £16.50 and arranged six months’ mail redirection at £58.50.

After attempting to donate it and being told they no longer took mattresses, we paid £25 for bulk waste removal with the council’s supplier to dispose of an old mattress.

Finally, the move was over, and we could start enjoying our new home. The cat, of course, was way ahead of us, and had already settled in next to the radiator for a nap.

The total:

Redecorating – £144.90

Man with van – £94.75

Meal deliveries – £36.64

Carbon monoxide alarm – £16.50

Mail redirection – £58.50

Cleaning supplies – £20

Car service – £38.25

Mattress disposal – £25

TOTAL: £434.54

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