Moving house: Can you move house during lockdown?

COVID-19 has put a pause on ordinary life for all Britons, as many freedoms and privileges have been curtailed in the fight to stop the spread. Moving house is an important enormous step, and the Government has not put any formal restrictions on buying and selling or letting yet.

If you are already in the process of moving and have sold your house or terminated your lease and therefore can no longer remain in your existing home, then it can be assumed that under current rules it would be classed as essential.

However, if you are only considering moving at this point, it would be unwise to continue until after the COVID-19 pandemic is finished.

It would also be breaking social distancing rules if you were to go and look around a property.

Many estate agents have closed their offices to comply with self isolation and social distancing practices.

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It may still be possible to speak with a letting or sales agent regarding a move.

Last night Boris Johnson announced that all non essential trips would be banned, enhancing police powers to stop and issue fines to people who flouting the rules.

All non-essential shops have been ordered to shut down, weddings cancelled and religious gatherings banned.

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Mr Johnson thanked the “huge numbers” of Britons who have complied with the government’s advice so far but said “the time has now come for us all to do more”.

“From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction – you must stay at home,” he said.

“Because the critical thing we must do is stop the disease spreading between households.

“That is why people will only be allowed to leave their home for the following very limited purposes – shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible, one form of exercise a day – for example a run, walk, or cycle – alone or with members of your household, any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person; and travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.”

It comes after ministers and union leaders condemned members of the public who had ignored the social distancing guidelines.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock accused the rulebreakers of being “very selfish”.

“Until we get a grip on the spread of this virus with the kinds of measures we have taken, then we can’t start to get our way out of it as a country,” he said.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said people ignoring the guidance were “insulting” NHS workers.

“Don’t be foolish and think social distancing applies to someone else, not to you and your family. It’s insulting to brave healthcare staff on the front line,” he said.

“NHS and care employees are putting their lives in danger every day at work. This is so we can all stay safe at home with our loved ones.”

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the time was right to enforce lockdown measures otherwise Britain could face a similar or worse crisis than Italy.

He told MPs: “People are going to shops, parks, beaches, holiday homes as if nothing has changed.”

According to the latest figures, there have now been 6,650 confirmed cases of coronavirus reported, with 335 deaths across the UK.

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