Cost of moving house
Moving is more than the deposit. Stamp duty, legal fees, a survey, removals, a mortgage fee and the estate agent all add up. This pulls them into one honest total you can adjust.
Where the money goes
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Stamp duty | £7,500 |
| Estate agent (inc. VAT) | £4,125 |
| Conveyancing (legal) | £1,200 |
| Survey | £600 |
| Removals | £900 |
| Mortgage arrangement fee | £999 |
| Total | £15,324 |
How to read the total
The single biggest variable is stamp duty, which is calculated from the purchase price and where you are buying, using the same rules as our stamp duty tool. Tick first-time buyer or second home and the total shifts straight away. The estate-agent fee only appears if you enter a sale price, because that cost belongs to the property you are selling, not the one you are buying. Everything else is a flat editable figure, so the total is only as good as the quotes you put in.
Worked example
Buying at £350,000 in England and selling at £275,000, the stamp duty comes to £7,500 and the estate agent takes £4,125 including VAT. Add conveyancing, a survey, removals and the mortgage fee and the all-in cost is £15,324. Buying only, with no sale, removes the estate-agent line and brings the figure down noticeably.
Common questions
How much does it cost to move house?
It depends heavily on the price and whether you are also selling. For this example, buying at £350,000 and selling at £275,000, the all-in cost is about £15,324, with stamp duty of £7,500 the largest single item. Strip out stamp duty and the moving costs alone are around £7,824.
What is the biggest cost when moving?
For most buyers it is stamp duty, especially above the nil-rate band or on a second home. After that the estate-agent fee on the property you are selling is often the next largest, because it is a percentage of the sale price plus VAT. The legal, survey and removals costs are smaller and more predictable.
Do I pay estate-agent fees when buying?
No. Estate-agent commission is paid by the seller, not the buyer. So if you are only buying, set the sale price to zero and the fee drops out. If you are selling one home and buying another, you pay the agent on the sale side, which is why it is included here.
How much is conveyancing?
Legal fees for a straightforward purchase are commonly around £1,000 to £1,500, plus disbursements such as searches and Land Registry fees. Leasehold and new-build transactions cost more because there is extra paperwork. The figure here is a single editable estimate, so adjust it to your quote.
Are these costs refundable if the sale falls through?
Mostly not. Survey and legal work already done are usually payable even if the purchase collapses, which is why a failed transaction is expensive. Some conveyancers offer a no-move, no-fee arrangement on their own charges, but disbursements and search fees are generally still owed.