Guide
What time do you get the keys on completion day?
GOV.UK says keys are often handed over around lunchtime on completion day, and under the Law Society's Standard Conditions of Sale money received after 2pm counts as completing on the next working day. Load the van in the morning, plan to unload from early afternoon, and confirm the booking only once contracts are exchanged.
What time do you get the keys on completion day?
Usually around lunchtime. GOV.UK's guide for buyers in England and Wales says the keys are often handed over around lunchtime, and that you collect them from the estate agent or the seller. Completion happens when your conveyancer's money reaches the seller's conveyancer, so the time depends on how quickly the funds move, and in a chain on everyone above you as well.
Most residential sales use the Law Society's Standard Conditions of Sale. Condition 6.1.2 says that if the money due on completion is received after 2pm, completion is treated as taking place on the next working day for the purposes of interest and compensation. Your contract can set a different time in its special conditions, so ask your conveyancer what yours says.
What time do you have to be out on completion day?
GOV.UK's guide for sellers says you are likely to have to move out by lunchtime, and suggests being packed and ready the day before. The Standard Conditions back this up: under condition 6.1.3, if a sale is with vacant possession and the seller has not left in time for the buyer to complete by 2pm, the seller is treated as the one in default.
For the van, that means loading the old home in the morning. Fantastic Services allows 2 to 4 hours for a studio and 4 to 6 hours for a 1 to 2 bed flat, so anything bigger needs the crew there early.
When should you book the van?
Exchange of contracts fixes the completion date, and GOV.UK says completion is often around two to four weeks later. Before exchange the date can still move, so the safest pattern is to ask firms for quotes and provisional dates early, then confirm the moment you exchange. GOV.UK's buyer guide lists telling your removal company the date as one of the jobs between exchange and completion.
Ask each firm what happens to a deposit if completion slips. If exchange and completion are on the same day, you will be booking without a fixed time, so choose a firm that can hold the van for longer.
How should the day run?
A typical completion day for someone selling and buying in one chain looks like this:
| When | What it means for the van |
|---|---|
| Morning | Crew loads the old home; keep keys, documents and valuables with you |
| Late morning | Seller's home empty; meter readings taken; keys left with the agent |
| Funds arrive | Seller's conveyancer confirms completion; the agent releases your keys |
| 2pm | Money received after this counts as next working day under the Standard Conditions |
| Afternoon | Van unloads at the new home |
Pack a box that travels with you, not in the van: kettle, mugs, phone chargers, bedding, toilet roll, any medicines, and the paperwork from your conveyancer. If the day runs late, that box is what lets you sleep in the new home.
If the van is loaded and the keys have not arrived, the crew waits, and a firm that charges by the hour keeps the clock running. A man and van costs £50 to £105 an hour for two people, with an average of £78, on Checkatrade's August 2026 figures, so an hour's delay costs about the same as an hour's work.
What if the keys are late?
Ask your conveyancer for updates through the morning rather than the agent, since the conveyancer knows when money has been sent. If completion will not happen that day, ask the firm whether it can keep the loaded van overnight, and what that costs, or whether to unload into a storage unit for a few days.
If completion does not happen by 2pm on the agreed date, the Standard Conditions let a party who is ready to complete serve a notice to complete, giving the other ten working days. That is your conveyancer's job, but it tells you how long a short delay can last.
Parking and flats: book them for completion day too
A van needs a legal space at both ends. You can apply for a parking suspension once you know the date, and of the councils in this site's parking table that publish a notice period, most want between 3 and 10 working days. With two to four weeks between exchange and completion, apply the day you exchange.
In a block of flats, book the goods lift and any loading bay with the managing agent for the afternoon at the new address and the morning at the old one. A studio flat move by man and van costs £150 to £320 and a 1 to 2 bed flat £300 to £550 outside London, on Fantastic Services' September 2026 guide, before any waiting time.
Common questions
Can I move in before completion?
GOV.UK's guide treats completion as the point at which you take ownership and can move in. Any earlier access would have to be agreed between the two conveyancers.
What happens if completion is after 2pm?
Under condition 6.1.2 of the Standard Conditions of Sale, money received after 2pm counts as completion on the next working day, but only for working out interest and compensation. It changes who pays, not whether the sale completes.
Should I book the removal van before exchange?
Get quotes and a provisional date before exchange, then confirm once the completion date is fixed. GOV.UK lists telling your removal company the date as a job between exchange and completion.
Is completion day the same in Scotland?
No. The Standard Conditions of Sale and the GOV.UK guides cover England and Wales. Scotland's system works differently, so ask your solicitor what time you will get entry.