Home removals cost in Brighton: preparing both houses

A removal van has to stop at two kerbs, not one, and in Brighton and Hove that is where many moves get complicated. The old street may be a permit zone, the new one may have a steep carry from the road, and neither is something a price list can see. That is why a quote that only asks how many bedrooms you have is a guess. This guide covers how a Brighton house move is priced, what changes at each end, and the council steps that need arranging before the van arrives.

It uses Brighton and Hove City Council, Citizens Advice and legislation pages as read on 28 October 2026 and puts no figure on a move, because the price depends on what you take and how it has to travel. For a timeline of the whole fortnight, see our moving house checklist for Brighton and Hove, and for the service itself, the home removals page.

What sets the price of a house move in Brighton

Volume, stairs, the carry to the van, packing and parking at both ends set the price, so photos of what you are taking say more than a bedroom count.

Search for a Brighton house move cost and you will find three-bedroom ranges that differ by hundreds of pounds from one page to the next. Most come from removal firms or comparison sites, none that we looked at says how its range was worked out, and several are undated. They cannot all be right for your move, because they cannot see it. Two three-bedroom houses can be very different jobs: one has a ground-floor hall and a van outside the door, the other has a loft full of boxes, a narrow staircase and a long walk to the kerb. Lewis reviews volume, access, parking and anything that needs a specialist route, then gives a clear price before booking. If the scope changes on the day he explains it and agrees any change before continuing.

• Volume. Furniture, boxes, the loft, the shed and the garage all take van space. What you are not taking costs nothing to move.
• Stairs and floors. A flat on an upper floor, a narrow staircase or a wardrobe that will not turn on the landing adds carrying time at each end.
• The carry. The distance from the front door to where the van can stand matters as much as the distance between the two houses.
• Packing. Right Turn offers packing help. A home that is already boxed and labelled is quicker than one where nothing is packed.
• Big single items. Sofas, wardrobes and beds may need extra hands or taking apart.
• Parking. A bay that has to be suspended, a permit street or a double-parked van changes how the day runs.

The two houses side by side

Look at both addresses with the same questions, because the old house and the new house often differ more than the distance between them.

If one end is awkward and the other easy, say so. Lewis can only price what he knows about, and a surprise at the second address is the usual reason a move runs long. Our services page lists everything Right Turn does, including packing help, single big items and small office relocation.

Parking at both ends: the council bay suspension

Brighton and Hove City Council lists moving house as a reason to suspend a parking bay, and its standard notice is seven full working days.

The council’s parking suspension page lists moving house among the reasons you can apply for a suspension. The same page and its parking suspension information page set out the limits that matter when you plan a date:

• Notice. The standard notice is seven full working days. An urgent route exists for shorter notice, at an extra charge, so check the page for the current cost.
• Where. The council cannot suspend yellow lines or unrestricted streets, and it does not suspend bays in car parks.
• When. Bays are not suspended on bank holidays.
• Refusals. A request can be refused if the street is already suspended or the area is busy with city events. You are then told the next available date, which is why applying early matters.
• The sign. The council puts up a yellow sign showing the location and dates. It must not be moved or altered, or the suspension becomes invalid.

You may need this at both ends. Check your confirmation and payment emails, including the junk folder, because the council sends them by email. Fees and notice times change, so read the current page when you apply rather than trusting a figure on a blog, including this one. A suspension does not replace a good photo of the street for your quote: it tells Lewis how close the van can get. Our guide to council bulky waste against a man and van in Brighton covers the council rules for the items you are not taking.

Permits, Council Tax and the paperwork that follows the van

A resident parking permit does not move with you, and the council wants to hear about your new address straight away.

The council’s moving house parking page says you must tell it straight away when you have moved, whether you go to a new address in the same zone or a different one. If the new address is in a controlled parking zone, you need a resident permit for that zone, and if the zone has a waiting list you must join it first because a permit cannot be issued until you do. If the new zone costs more, the difference is paid pro rata, and if it costs less you can apply for a pro rata refund. Moving out of a zone ends the old permit, because a permit lapses when the holder’s address is no longer in the zone it was issued for. The council can ask for proof of address and may cancel a permit if it is not supplied within 14 days of a request.

Council Tax is a separate step. The council’s Council Tax page for residents who are moving points you to its online account to update your address, and says a future move-in date delays the update until you move. It covers moving within Brighton and Hove and moving out.

This matters for the move because a street with a waiting list can affect where the van and your own car go in the first week. If you are buying or renting a property in a permit zone, ask about the permit at the start, not on the day. Our moving checklist has the fortnight-by-fortnight order for these jobs.

Cut the load before the van arrives

Every item you sort out and send elsewhere before moving day is volume the van does not carry, so clear first and pack second.

A move is the one time you open every cupboard. The things you decide not to take have to go somewhere, and the right route depends on the item. A sofa, a mattress or a fridge freezer each follows different rules, which is why we have separate guides to sofa disposal in Brighton and Hove, mattress disposal in Brighton and fridge freezer disposal in Sussex. Old furniture has its own routes in our guide to getting rid of old furniture in Brighton and Hove.

If a whole room, the loft or the garage is going rather than moving, that is a house clearance job, and Right Turn offers house clearance and part clearance as well as removals. Ask Lewis to price the clearance alongside the move. Our guide to house clearance cost in Brighton and Sussex explains what drives that price.

One safeguard applies whoever takes the leftovers. If waste leaves your property with anyone, check the carrier on the Environment Agency public register of waste carriers. Right Turn is a registered waste carrier (CBDU621046), which you can look up there. Right Turn cannot take hazardous or flammable materials, gas bottles, chemicals, asbestos, clinical or medical waste or illegal items, so sort those out separately before the day.

Packing, labels and what stays with you

Pack by destination room, label every box and keep a small bag of essentials with you rather than on the van.

Packing is the part of a move you control most. Boxes that are labelled by the room they are going to can be placed where they belong on arrival, which saves carrying time at the new house. Disassembling beds and shelving the day before, with the screws bagged and taped to the piece, stops the first evening at the new house turning into a hunt for a fitting.

• Keep with you. Keys, phone chargers, medication, documents, a first-night bag and anything of high value.
• Do not rely on the van for. Valuables or items you would struggle to replace, which are better in your car.
• Tell Lewis in advance about. Any very heavy item, a tight staircase, a loft or shed to empty, or anything you want taken apart.

If you want help packing, ask when you send the photos, so it is part of the clear price agreed before you book. Our checklist for clearing a parent’s house is useful if you are emptying a family home before a sale, and the probate house clearance guide covers the paperwork side.

Comparing quotes and what to ask

Ask what a price covers, what happens if the job changes, and what the firm does if something is damaged, then compare like with like.

Two prices for the same move are not comparable until you know what each includes. Before you accept any quote, ask who is carrying out the move, whether packing and taking furniture apart are included, how the firm deals with a change on the day, and how a problem is dealt with afterwards. At Right Turn the answer to the first is Lewis, who runs every job personally, and the answer to the second is that he reviews the photos and agrees the price before booking.

The law gives you a baseline. Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats every contract to supply a service as including a term that the trader must perform it with reasonable care and skill. Citizens Advice says that if you were given an estimate and the final bill is a lot more than you expected, you can dispute it, and that if a service falls short you can ask the trader to put it right where possible or ask for a discount. The page is general advice rather than removals specific, so read it for your own situation. Our guide to licensed house clearance in Brighton shows how to check a firm’s registration before you book.

What to send for a price

Send wide photos of every room and both streets, the postcodes at each end, the stairs and your preferred date, and Lewis will come back with a clear price.

• One wide photo of each room, taken from the doorway.
• The loft, garage, shed and any full cupboards.
• The largest pieces of furniture, with a door or wall for scale.
• The stairs, hall and front door at the old house and the new one.
• Both postcodes, the street each van would stand on and any permit or suspension you have arranged.
• Your date, any fixed key time and whether you want packing help.

Send them by WhatsApp, the contact page, phone or email. Lewis reviews the photos and gives a clear price before anything is booked. Read more about the people behind the van on the about page, or see how a Right Turn job looks in the sofa removal case study.