Romford moves are the opposite of inner London ones
If you have moved within zones one and two, Romford will surprise you. The problems are different, and mostly easier.
Havering has a housing stock built largely between the wars and after it: 1930s semis and detached houses through Gidea Park, Emerson Park and Rise Park, later estates around Harold Hill and Collier Row, and terraces closer to the town centre. Most of it has a driveway, a garage or at least a front path, and a great deal of it has a loft and a shed.
That changes the shape of a removal in two ways.
Access is usually straightforward. A van can often park on the property, or at least outside it. No permit, no bay suspension, no fifty metre carry, no third floor with a tight turn on the landing.
Volume is usually higher. A three bedroom Romford semi with a loft, garage and shed holds considerably more than a three bedroom flat in Hackney. The loft alone frequently adds a vehicle load nobody accounted for.
The practical consequence: quotes here turn on volume rather than access, which makes the survey even more important. Show the surveyor the loft and the garage, because that is where the surprise lives. Our guide to what happens in a pre move survey covers what to show and what to ask.
Why people are moving here
Romford has been on the Elizabeth line since it opened, which put central London within a straightforward direct journey and changed the calculation for a lot of families priced out of inner boroughs.
Add space, gardens, parking, schools and a market town centre with a charter going back to the thirteenth century, and the flow is fairly predictable. People arrive from east and inner north east London wanting more room, and people leave for Essex proper wanting more still.
Both directions are easy from a removals point of view. The A12 and A127 give quick access east and west, and the M25 at junctions 28 and 29 puts most of Essex and Hertfordshire within a straightforward run.
The local practicalities that do affect a job
Not everything here is easy.
Town centre flats. The newer blocks around the station and the town centre have the same constraints as inner London: loading bays to book, lifts to reserve, and building management to notify. Ask before you book the crew.
Narrow older streets. Parts of the town centre and the older terraced streets are tight for a large lorry, which can mean a shuttle vehicle or a longer carry.
Traffic timing. The A12 and the Gallows Corner junction are slow at peak times. An early start is worth more here than in most places, particularly if you are moving west into London rather than out towards Essex.
Harold Hill and the larger estates. Access is generally good, but distances between the parking spot and the front door can be longer than they look on a map.
What you may need
Romford removals for a whole property, priced on volume and access after a survey, including dismantling, wrapping, transport and reassembly.
Romford man and van for a flat, a single room, or a few items, charged by the hour. Our guide to how a man and van booking works explains where the line falls.
Romford packing services, full or partial, with materials delivered.
Romford storage, containers collected from your address and returned wherever you choose. Useful here for the common pattern of downsizing out of a family house, or bridging a gap while a chain sorts itself out.
Romford handyman for dismantling, reassembly, shelves, blinds and the small jobs at either end.
The loft, the garage and the shed
Worth its own section, because in Havering this is where moves go wrong.
Three things reliably get underestimated: the loft, which people forget is full; the garage, which usually contains tools, paint, bikes and garden equipment; and the shed, which contains everything else.
Two practical points. Paint, petrol for the mower, gas canisters and similar cannot go on the van, since removal firms cannot carry flammables. Decide what happens to those well before the day. And a loft cleared into the middle of the house on moving morning is the classic cause of a job overrunning, so empty it a week ahead.
If the new place is smaller, which it often is when people downsize within the borough, container storage buys time to decide rather than forcing choices on the day.
Beyond Romford
The same service runs across the surrounding areas, so a move within or out of Havering is one job: Hornchurch, Upminster, Harold Wood, Dagenham, Becontree, Chadwell Heath, Seven Kings, Ilford, Gants Hill, Hainault, Chigwell, Buckhurst Hill and Loughton.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a removal in Romford cost? It depends on volume, access and distance rather than the postcode itself. Romford properties often hold more than equivalent inner London homes because of lofts, garages and sheds, so the survey matters more than the bedroom count.
Do I need a parking permit for a removal van in Romford? Frequently not, since much of the borough has driveways or unrestricted parking. Town centre streets and newer blocks are the exception, so check both addresses once you have a date.
How far in advance should I book? Four to six weeks, and as soon as you exchange if the date is confirmed. Fridays, month ends and the summer months fill first.
What cannot go on the removal van? Flammables, which covers paint, aerosols, gas canisters and petrol for the mower, plus plants and perishable food. This matters more here because garages and sheds usually contain several of them.
Can you store things if the new house is smaller? Yes. Containers are collected from your address, held at our monitored facility, and delivered to whichever address you choose, which suits downsizing where decisions are better made after the move.
Which areas around Romford do you cover? All of them, including Hornchurch, Upminster, Harold Wood, Dagenham, Ilford, Chadwell Heath, Chigwell, Loughton and every other London postcode.
Talk to us
RMV Storage & Removals has moved households across London and Essex for over fifteen years, with house and office removals, man and van work, packing services and materials, handyman jobs and container storage delivered to your door, across every area we cover.
Tell us the postcode, the number of bedrooms and whether there is a loft, a garage and a shed, and we can give you a realistic idea before the survey. Get in touch.
Written by Riki Migliori, Director at RMV Storage & Removals. Originally published September 2017. Fully reviewed and updated summer 2026.