The Cost of Delay – Why Completions by 1pm Matter

For most people, moving day is the culmination of months of planning — the final step in what can be a long, exhausting process. Yet for many, the stress doesn’t end when the van arrives.

Across the UK, delays in releasing keys and completing transactions leave families waiting for hours, sometimes with pets, children, and furniture in limbo. For the removals professionals who carry out more than 300,000 home moves a year, that means disrupted schedules, additional costs, and exhausted staff working late into the evening.

The Scale of the Problem

The British Association of Removers (BAR) reports that one in four moves still experience key-release delays on completion day. The financial cost alone is significant — estimated to add around 18% to the average contract value due to extended working hours, vehicle downtime, and disrupted schedules.

But the emotional cost is even greater. Entire families can find themselves effectively “homeless” for up to six hours, unable to access either property while waiting for funds to clear through the banking system.

It’s not unusual for movers to be still unloading vans late into the night, with children overtired and removal teams missing time with their own families.

Why This Happens

The problem stems from how property transactions are structured. Even when contracts are exchanged, completion funds move down a chain of multiple transactions — each dependent on the one before it.

If even one transfer or confirmation is delayed, it can cause a domino effect, pushing completions into the late afternoon. And because funds must legally clear before keys are handed over, consumers — and the professionals supporting them — are left waiting.

This is why one of the HBSC’s key recommendations for reform is to secure completion by 1pm, providing greater certainty for all parties.

Putting Consumers First

The current process doesn’t just inconvenience movers — it directly affects well-being.

“The potential for those additional stress levels to be placed upon consumers is something that the home buying and selling industry agrees must be eradicated,” says Ian Studd, Director General of the British Association of Removers.

As Studd explains, the removals industry has faced growing challenges with recruitment and staff retention, largely because of the unpredictability of completion days.
Drivers and crews often have to work beyond planned hours, sometimes missing other booked jobs. It’s an unsustainable situation that affects both business resilience and staff wellbeing.

Why 1 pm Completions Matter

Setting a 1 pm completion standard may sound simple, but it represents a cultural and operational shift across the entire property chain. It would:

• Allow removal teams to plan and complete jobs within standard working hours.

• Reduce consumer stress and the risk of damage, loss, or disputes.

• Improve efficiency for conveyancers, agents, and lenders by introducing predictable timelines.

• Provide a clear consumer expectation — helping home movers plan their day with confidence.

The goal is to ensure a fair, coordinated process that puts people first, supported by modern systems and digital transactions.

How Reform Can Help

The government’s Home Buying and Selling Reform Consultation, launched in October 2025, takes forward many of the ideas championed by HBSC and industry partners, including:

• Digital identity verification to speed up compliance checks

• Upfront information and standardised property data, reducing uncertainty and delays

• Simplified fund transfers and digital completion processes

• Binding conditional contracts, providing greater commitment earlier in the chain

Together, these reforms can help create the conditions for consistent 1pm completions — and a better experience for everyone involved.

What Happens Next

The HBSC continues to bring together estate agents, conveyancers, lenders, surveyors, and removal professionals to develop practical recommendations that make moving day smoother.

Reform doesn’t happen overnight, but by working together across sectors, we can remove the bottlenecks and frustrations that hold the system back.

Have Your Say

Take part in the government consultation before 29 December 2025:
Respond now on GOV.UK 

Learn More
Explore the Home Moving Reform Toolkit and see how HBSC is supporting collaboration across the industry.
Visit the Toolkit