The gap between homes is normal
Leaving one place before the next is ready happens constantly. A chain breaks, a tenancy ends, a purchase slips, a renovation runs long, or you simply sell before you have found somewhere to buy.
It feels like a crisis and it is really a logistics problem with two halves: where you sleep, and where your belongings live. Solve them separately and the whole thing gets much easier, because the answers are rarely the same place.
Where people actually stay
With friends or family. Cheapest, and the most common. Works well for weeks, less well for months, and best when everyone has agreed an end date rather than a vague intention.
A short let. More expensive per month than a normal tenancy but flexible, and it gives you a proper address. Worth checking the deposit and notice terms carefully, since short lets vary enormously.
A serviced apartment. Priced above a short let, includes everything, and often works out sensibly for four to eight weeks once bills, furniture and utilities are counted.
A hotel. Only for very short gaps, though for a week between completions it can beat the alternatives on hassle.
House sitting. Occasionally an option if you are flexible about location and dates.
Whichever you choose, do not size your accommodation for your possessions. Renting a two bedroom flat because you own furniture is far more expensive than storing the furniture and taking a room.
Take one suitcase and store the rest
The most useful thing to get right. Work out what you genuinely need for the length of the gap and store everything else.
For a stay of a few weeks:
- Clothes for the season, plus anything for work
- Toiletries, medication with dosage details, chargers
- Laptop, documents, passports, and anything irreplaceable
- One box of kitchen items only if you are self catering
- Whatever keeps children and pets settled, which matters more than your own comfort
Everything else goes into container storage, collected from the old address on the day you leave, held while the gap runs, then delivered to the new address when you have keys. No depot trips, and no imposing on anyone's spare room with a sofa.
Two practical points. Load anything you might want mid gap last, so it sits at the front of the container. And allow a few working days of notice for access, since containers are stacked in a warehouse rather than sitting in a corridor.
Our guide to deciding what is worth storing covers the sorting, which is worth doing now rather than later. A gap is the natural moment to dispose of things you were going to move twice.
The admin nobody thinks about
Living somewhere temporary creates a few loose ends worth tying.
Post. Set up a Royal Mail redirection to the temporary address, and a second one later to the permanent one. Two redirections is less painful than a year of chasing letters.
Council tax at your host's. Worth telling them. If they live alone and claim the 25 per cent single person discount, another adult moving in normally ends it. Better raised by you than discovered on a bill.
Contents insurance. Your possessions are in storage rather than a home, so check what covers them. Ours are insured to a standard limit per container with additional cover available, but check what your own policy says about goods held elsewhere.
An address for referencing. If you are renting next, agents will want an address history. A gap staying with friends is normal, but say so upfront rather than leaving a hole in the paperwork.
Deliveries and subscriptions. Change the default delivery address on the accounts you use, since that is where most misdirected parcels come from.
GP and prescriptions. For a long gap, make sure repeat prescriptions can still reach you.
Staying with people without straining the friendship
The part nobody writes about, and the reason a lot of gaps go badly.
Agree an end date at the start, even a provisional one. Open ended stays are what create resentment.
Contribute. Bills, food, or simply cooking regularly. It costs little and changes the dynamic entirely.
Keep your belongings out of communal space. This is exactly why the furniture goes into storage rather than a hallway. A guest is easy. A guest plus eleven boxes in the living room is a different proposition.
Have somewhere to be. Work from a cafe or an office occasionally rather than being permanently present.
Say thank you properly at the end, and mean it.
When the gap ends
Book the return delivery as soon as you have a confirmed date, allowing the notice period. If the new place is smaller than the old one, consider having containers returned in stages so the house fills at a manageable pace, and keep the rest stored until you have decided what fits.
If the gap has taught you that you own more than you need, which it frequently does, that is a good moment to act on it rather than moving everything twice.
Frequently asked questions
What do I do with my furniture between houses? Container storage is the usual answer. Belongings are collected from the old address, held securely for as long as the gap runs, and delivered to the new address when you have keys.
Where can I stay between moving out and moving in? With friends or family, in a short let, a serviced apartment or a hotel, depending on the length of the gap. Do not rent a larger place simply to house your furniture, since storing it is far cheaper.
How long can belongings stay in storage? As long as you need, with no maximum, provided the account is paid. Set a review date at the start so a short gap does not quietly become years.
Can I get to my things while they are in storage? Yes, with a few working days of notice. Containers are stacked in a warehouse, so pack anything you might want near the front before it goes in.
Does staying with a friend affect their council tax? It can. If they live alone and claim the single person discount, another adult moving in usually ends it. Mention it early so it is their decision rather than a surprise.
Should I redirect my post twice? Usually yes, once to the temporary address and again to the permanent one. It costs less than the time spent chasing missing letters.
Talk to us
RMV Storage & Removals handles gaps between homes across London, with container storage collected from your door, house and office removals, man and van work and packing materials, across every area we cover including Wembley and North London.
If your dates do not line up, tell us when you have to be out and roughly when you expect to be in, and we will work around the uncertainty. Get in touch.
Written by Riki Migliori, Director at RMV Storage & Removals. Originally published January 2018. Fully reviewed and updated summer 2026.