A removal is priced by the
last fifty metres
Not by the distance driven. This guide publishes what actually decides your bill: your town hall's permit, your street's access, and the real price with a date on it.
A full household move between the UK and this coast runs GBP 2,500 to 7,000. A local move within the province is EUR 350 to 800. What moves either outside its band is almost never the distance: it is whether the lorry can park at your door, whether there is a lift, and whether your town hall issues the permit in time. You need a permit at both addresses, not one. Origin and destination are two separate occupations of the public way, on two streets, often in two different municipalities, with two fees and two notice periods. Almost no competitor page says this.
The last fifty metres, line by line
The last 50 metresOn this coast a removal is priced by the last fifty metres, not by the distance driven. Volume sets the base rate; what turns EUR 400 into EUR 700 is whether the lorry can park at the door, whether there is a lift, and whether a furniture hoist is needed.
| Situation in the last 50 m | What it adds to the job | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| The lorry parks at your door, with a big lift | Nothing. This is the base rate, and it is what almost every online estimate quietly assumes. | Base rate |
| A carry of up to 10 metres | One more person, more time on the street, and the risk that the reserved bay is not respected. Same line item that covers arranging the street reservation. | +EUR 40 - 100 |
| A carry of 25 to 50 metres or more | The lorry cannot reach you: it is hand-carried or shuttled. In an old town this is not an option, it is the only method. | +EUR 80 - 250 |
| No lift, per floor | Stairs, and it applies at origin and destination. A third floor with no lift at both ends is six flights, not three. Other sources say EUR 10 - 15 per floor. Sources disagree: get it in the written quote. | +EUR 30 - 60 |
| A lift a sofa will not fit into | An external furniture hoist. It is the biggest single jump on this list and the one fewest people see coming. Each additional hour EUR 60 - 75. A full day runs EUR 75 - 380. | +EUR 120 - 180 first hour |
| Pedestrianised old town or single-lane street | A small-van shuttle, more trips and more hours. And the municipal permit stops being paperwork and becomes the bottleneck. | +EUR 120 - 250 |
| Friday, month end, July or August | Demand. It is the only factor on this list you can remove entirely by changing the date. | +15% - 25% |
Pick your real situation at both ends. The total is a range, not a quote: the quote has to come from the firm, in writing.
Operator-published ranges from 2026, not survey data. Always check against your written quote.
Ranges published by operators in 2026, not survey data. A removals price with no volume in cubic metres and no date is not data.
Roughly what it will cost
CalculatorBuilt on the verified bands published further down. It does not replace a quote: Spanish rules require one in writing before the move.
Built from the bands published on this page, each with a date and a source. It is not a quote: the law requires one in writing before the move.
The permit, municipality by municipality
The thing nobody publishesEvery town hall regulates street occupation for removals separately, and the differences are large. These are the six where we could read the ordinance; the full table is on the permits page.
| Municipality | What we verified |
|---|---|
| Torrevieja | Charged under the fiscal ordinance for space reservation. Proof of payment is part of the application itself. |
| Alicante | EUR 1.29/m2/day on first-category streets, down to EUR 0.39 on fifth. Monthly, EUR 39.00 down to EUR 11.70 per square metre. |
| Dénia | EUR 0.75/m2/day or part thereof, under the heading “parking reservations for removals”. A builder's skip, by comparison, is EUR 2.45 a day. |
| Jávea / Xàbia | Applications are made electronically and require public liability insurance and proof of payment of the fee. |
| Calpe / Calp | The ordinance names removals in its own title, so a permit is required. We could not read the specific tariff in the published text. |
| Orihuela y Orihuela Costa | This is the province's largest concentration of British and Irish owners, and where the most house clearances are commissioned remotely. |
We could not verify a current fee in the published ordinance. Confirm it with the town hall before you book a date, and ask for the amount in writing.
Get a quote for your move
Tell us where from, where to and roughly how much. If you do not know the volume, say so: it beats guessing.
What changes the outcome of your move
The four thingsYou need a permit at both addresses, not one. Origin and destination are two separate occupations of the public way, on two streets, often in two different municipalities, with two fees and two notice periods. Almost no competitor page says this.
You have seven working days from delivery to claim for damage that was not written on the completion document. After that no claim for loss or damage is admissible. It is the most useful and least published fact in this industry.
After that, no claim is admissibleThese are two different clocks and almost everyone merges them: 12 months living outside the EU, but 6 months of owning and using the goods (12 for vehicles). Merging them costs you the whole relief.
A firm may exclude the transport arbitration board in writing, and it has to do so before the service begins. If it does not, and you are claiming under EUR 15,000, the board has jurisdiction: free, no lawyer, binding award. Look for that clause before you sign.
The pages that settle a decision
Where to startWhat removals from the UK to the Costa Blanca cost
Per cubic metre, part load against dedicated vehicle, and the hotel-night arithmetic that decides between them.
Moving back to the UK from Spain
Everyone optimises the inbound leg. The return has its own relief, its own deadline and its own way of going wrong.
Customs in both directions
The Spanish change-of-residence relief and UK ToR1, with the distinction most pages get wrong.
Permits, municipality by municipality
Fee, notice period, legal hours and ordinance for each town hall. Torrevieja grants no centre permits in July or August.
How to check a removals firm is legal
MDP, MDL and tax heading 757, with the link to the national registry where you can look it up in two minutes.
Damage claims: you have seven working days
The statutory deadline almost nobody publishes, what to do on delivery day, and why the arbitration board is free.
The UK corridor, in pounds
Verified pricesRanges published by operators in 2026, not survey data. A removals price with no volume in cubic metres and no date is not data. Exchange rate used: GBP 1 = EUR 1.17, checked 5 August 2026.
| Item | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Full house move, per cubic metre | GBP 120 - 200/m3 | SECONDARY |
| A single cubic metre on its own The minimum-charge effect. It is why small moves look extortionate per unit. | GBP 250 - 600/m3 | SECONDARY |
| Part load, around 5 m3 | GBP 650 - 1,250 | SECONDARY |
| Part load, general range | GBP 700 - 2,000 | SECONDARY |
| Shared load or groupage | GBP 1,500 - 3,500 | SECONDARY |
| Dedicated vehicle | GBP 3,500 - 7,000 | SECONDARY |
| Full household, door to door | GBP 2,500 - 7,000 | SECONDARY |
| Three-bed house, around 30 m3 | upwards of GBP 6,000 | SECONDARY |
| Part-load saving against a dedicated vehicle Most sources cluster at 15-30%. | roughly 10-35% | CONFLICT |
| Road transit time Publish by service type, never as a single number. | 4-14 days; 3-7 days driven | CONFLICT |
The questions that come first
Frequently askedHow much do removals to the Costa Blanca cost?
A full household move from the UK is GBP 2,500 to 7,000 door to door, or GBP 120 to 200 per cubic metre. A part load of around 5 m3 is GBP 650 to 1,250. A local move within the province is EUR 350 to 800.
How long does a removal from the UK to Spain take?
Sources give different numbers because they describe different services: 3 to 7 days driven direct, 4 to 14 days door to door, and about 4 to 5 days for a well-run part load. Publishing one number would be misleading.
Do I pay customs duty bringing my furniture to Spain?
Not if you qualify for the change-of-residence relief. These are two different clocks and almost everyone merges them: 12 months living outside the EU, but 6 months of owning and using the goods (12 for vehicles). Merging them costs you the whole relief. The change-of-residence relief is claimed on the import declaration (DUA) itself. There is no separate prior application in Spain, whatever other pages imply.
Do removal firms need a permit to park in Spain?
You need a permit at both addresses, not one. Origin and destination are two separate occupations of the public way, on two streets, often in two different municipalities, with two fees and two notice periods. Almost no competitor page says this. We verified the fee in the ordinances of Alicante, Denia, Torrevieja and Guardamar. Everywhere else we say plainly that we could not verify it.
What happens if my goods arrive before my ToR1 is granted?
Going the other way the trap is different: UK ToR1 relief must be granted before the goods arrive. With no reference number a household shipment is treated as a commercial import. Duty of 2.5 to 25% plus 20% VAT applies. On a GBP 30,000 household shipment the VAT alone is around GBP 6,000.
Is my furniture insured during the move?
Third-party liability cover is not insurance on your furniture: it covers damage to third parties. What protects your contents is goods-in-transit cover based on a valued inventory, and items worth more than EUR 600 must be listed separately.
When is the cheapest time of year to move to Spain?
January and February, then October and November. Month end, Fridays and July-August are the three expensive moments. Mid-month, Tuesday to Thursday, October to April is when the same move costs less and there is availability.
How do I know the firm I have been given is legitimate?
A removals firm's legality is checkable by you: the national transport registry publishes authorisations in force. Anyone charging to move other people's goods needs MDP or MDL; MPC is own-account transport and does not qualify. You can look it up in the public transport registry.