If completion slips, your belongings need somewhere safe to wait until you can get into your new home. Your removals firm may be able to hold them for a short while, or you can move them into a storage unit, which simply carries on until you’re ready. First, call your conveyancer and your removals firm, so everyone knows the new timing.
Why completion slips
Completion happens when the money reaches the seller’s solicitor. Once it has, the seller’s solicitor confirms completion and the keys are released. The Home Owners Alliance notes that if funds arrive late, completion may be delayed until the next working day, and that in a chain, a problem elsewhere can bring things to a sudden stop.
Talk to your removals firm
If your things are already loaded, ask your removals firm what they can do. Some can keep a load on the lorry overnight or move it into their own storage, but that depends on the firm, their schedule and your agreement with them, so ask before moving day what happens if completion is late, and what it would cost.
Who pays for the delay?
That depends on your contract and on whose side the delay came from. The Home Owners Alliance explains that in England and Wales, a buyer who can’t complete on time may have to pay interest and compensation for losses the delay causes. Your conveyancer can tell you where you stand, so keep the invoices for anything extra the delay costs you.
Storage that doesn’t need an end date
A storage unit with us gives your things a safe place for as long as the delay lasts:
- No end date needed. The minimum stay is just two weeks. After that, your storage carries on, paid every four weeks, until you give notice, normally 14 days.
- Early or late loading. Access is 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, so a van can unload the evening a completion falls through.
- If you’ve already given notice, call us before your end date and we’ll agree a later date with you, confirmed in writing.
- Only pay for what you use. Once the unit is empty and we’ve checked it, we refund any days you’ve paid for but won’t use.
Someone from your side needs to be there when the removals crew unloads, either you or a friend or relative you’ve shared access with.
If your completion has just moved, call us on 0800 2545585 and we’ll check what’s free near you, or get a price online.
Related questions
- Can I keep my unit longer than I planned, or leave later than my date?
- What happens after I book, and can I move in the same day?
- What’s the difference between self storage and removals storage?
- Can I move house if I can’t sell mine yet?
This page explains how completion delays commonly work in England. It isn’t legal advice.
Further reading
- Home Owners Alliance: Completion: what to expect