Relocating and selling your house

If you're relocating for work or family, the big decision is the order you do things in: sell first and rent in your new area, buy first and carry two homes for a while, or keep your old home and let it. Each has a cost. Selling first avoids paying for two homes, but it can mean moving twice. Buying first is more convenient, but you'll need to afford both homes, and you'll usually pay higher-rate Stamp Duty until the old one sells.

This guide covers timing, the money (bridging loans, Stamp Duty, tax and employer help), selling from a distance, and when a quick sale is or isn't worth it. It's general information for England and Wales. The rules are different in Scotland.

Your options at a glance

Option	Good for	The catch
Sell first, rent in the new area	Knowing your budget, buying chain-free	Moving twice, paying rent, possibly storage
Buy first, sell later	Moving once, on your timetable	Two sets of bills, a bridging loan or two mortgages, higher-rate Stamp Duty until you sell
Let your old home	Keeping the home, covering the mortgage	Lender consent, landlord duties, tax, and selling later is slower
Sell to a cash buyer	A fixed date and no chain	The price is below market value

How much time do you have?

Start with your moving date and work backwards. A sale through an estate agent often takes several months from listing to completion, and longer if your buyer is in a chain (a line of linked sales, each depending on the next). Our guide to how long it takes to sell a house breaks down each stage.

• Several months: there's time to market the home properly and compare offers, especially if you rent at first.
• A few weeks: you'll probably need to move before the sale completes, so plan for selling from a distance, or look at buying first, letting, or a quick sale.
• Your employer has set a date: ask HR straight away what help the relocation package offers, because it can change the sums.

Selling first and renting in your new area

Selling first means you know exactly how much you have to spend, and you can buy as a chain-free buyer, which sellers like because there's less that can go wrong. Renting for a few months also lets you get to know the new area before you commit.

The downsides are the cost and upheaval: rent on top of everything else, two removals, and perhaps storage. In England, private tenants can now end a tenancy by giving 2 months' notice, but check the terms before you sign, especially in Wales.

Buying before you sell

If you find the right home before your old one has sold, you'll need to fund both, either with two mortgages or a bridging loan (short-term borrowing secured on property to cover the gap until your sale completes). Interest builds up until your old home sells, so a slow sale costs more. Speak to a mortgage adviser, and check any lender is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Stamp Duty in England. If you still own your old home at the end of the day you complete on the new one, you'll usually pay the higher rates: 5% on top of the standard rates, as of October 2026. If you sell your previous main home within 3 years, you can claim that extra back from HMRC. Claim within 12 months of the later of the sale or the filing date of your Stamp Duty return.

Land Transaction Tax in Wales. Wales has its own higher residential rates, which have applied since 11 December 2024 and start at 5% on the first £180,000. If you sell your previous main home within 3 years of buying the new one, you can claim a refund from the Welsh Revenue Authority.

Letting your old home

Letting can cover your mortgage while you settle in, and it keeps the option of coming back. Go in with your eyes open:

• Your lender's permission. A residential mortgage is for living in, so you'll need your lender's consent to let. Ask whether it changes your rate or fees.
• Landlord duties. Safety checks, deposits, repairs and tax on the rent all become your responsibility.
• Getting the home back is slower. In England, "no fault" evictions ended on 1 May 2026. To sell later, you'd normally have to give your tenants 4 months' notice, and that notice can't end before the first 12 months of the tenancy are up. Wales has its own renting law, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. See selling a house with tenants.
• Capital Gains Tax. Private Residence Relief always covers the last 9 months you owned the home. If you lived away for work, it can also cover any period you worked abroad, or up to 4 years working elsewhere in the UK, as long as you lived in the home before and afterwards (unless your job prevented it). Lettings relief only applies if you lived there at the same time as your tenants. Read do you pay tax when you sell your home? for more.

Employer relocation packages

Some employers help with the cost of moving for a job, but there's no legal requirement to. If yours does, HMRC lets it pay up to £8,000 of qualifying relocation costs without tax or National Insurance, when:

• you're a new employee moving area to start the job, or an existing employee whose place of work is changing
• your new home is reasonably close to the new workplace, and your old home isn't
• the costs are paid by the end of the tax year after the one in which you started the job at the new location

Qualifying costs can include selling your old home, buying the new one, removals, some items for the new home, and bridging loans. Ask HR what the package covers, what you need receipts for, and whether you'd have to pay anything back if you leave soon after.

Selling from a distance

You don't have to be there to sell. A few things make it easier:

• Choose an agent who'll hold the keys and do the viewings, and keep in touch by phone or email.
• Leave the home clean and clear. Empty, tidy rooms photograph and view better.
• Tell your home insurer the home will be empty. Cover can change when a home is unoccupied, so check what applies.
• Look after the home: keep the heating on low in winter or drain the system, and arrange for someone to check on it.
• Ask the council about council tax once it's empty. See council tax on empty homes.
• Take meter readings and redirect your post before you leave.
• Keep your solicitor's details handy. Most of the conveyancing can be done by post, phone and email.

The bills for an empty home add up. Our empty house costs calculator shows what a few extra months could cost.

When a quick sale makes sense, and when it doesn't

Selling to a cash buyer can fit a relocation: there's no chain, and the buyer can work to your moving date. But cash house buyers, including us, pay below market value, so you're trading some of the price for speed and certainty.

An estate agent sale is likely to get you more if your home is in good condition, sells easily locally, and you can wait a few months or rent at first. If getting the highest price matters most, start there.

A quick sale can make sense if your start date is fixed and close, the home needs work you can't manage from far away, or the cost of running two homes is mounting. Compare the figures with our cash offer vs estate agent calculator, and read cash buyer vs estate agent vs auction.

If you'd like to see a cash offer, we make one within 24 hours, pay your legal fees, and you choose the completion date, from as little as 7 days. Our offer is below market value, we explain how we worked it out, and there's no obligation to accept.

Moving abroad

If you're relocating overseas and selling your UK home after you've become non-resident, you must tell HMRC about the sale within 60 days of completion, even if there's no tax to pay. For tax years in which you, your spouse or your civil partner spent at least 90 days in the home, you generally won't pay tax, as long as you nominate it as your main home when you report the sale. HMRC's guidance on selling your UK home if you live abroad explains the rules, and an accountant can help.

A relocation checklist

• Fix your moving date and work back from it
• Get two or three valuations, and check recent sold prices nearby
• Ask HR what the relocation package covers, and get it in writing
• Decide: sell first, buy first, or let
• If buying first, check the Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax position and the cost of a bridging loan
• If letting, get your lender's consent and check your tax position
• Find a solicitor early, and get your paperwork ready (see documents needed to sell a house)
• Tell your insurer and the council once the home is empty
• Book removals, and budget for moving house costs