Moving House in Leicester
A practical guide to moving in and around Leicester, covering parking suspensions and permit zones, terraced streets and city flats, the weekends to avoid, and what a local move costs. Written by the team at Simply Moving, a removals company based in Leicester.
- Parking suspensions explained
- Terraces, flats and new builds
- Dates to avoid in the city
- 2026 local prices
Parking on moving day
Parking is the thing most likely to slow a Leicester move down. A removals lorry needs roughly the length of two cars at the kerb, more with the tail-lift down, and on plenty of city streets that space has gone by 8am.
If your street has marked parking bays and sits inside the city boundary, you can ask Leicester City Council to suspend one or more bays for the day. Suspensions are bought online through the council’s MiPermit system, and the cost depends on how many bays and how many days, which you’ll see when you apply. The council needs time to put the signs up, so apply three to four weeks ahead if you can. Residents’ permit zones, like the ones across Clarendon Park and Stoneygate, are the most common reason Leicester customers need one.
Outside the city boundary, in Oadby, Wigston, Glenfield or Birstall, the roads are run by Leicestershire County Council, and most residential streets there have no marked bays at all. A word with the neighbours the evening before usually does more good than any cone.
Yellow lines are trickier. Short loading stops are allowed on many of them, but a full house move takes hours, so if the only space outside your door is on a yellow line, we’ll go through the options with you at the survey.
Terraces, city flats and new builds
A lot of Leicester is Victorian and Edwardian terracing, off Narborough Road and Hinckley Road in the West End, across Highfields, and in Clarendon Park around Queens Road. The houses are lovely and the stairs are not. Front doors open straight onto the pavement, hallways are narrow, and the stairs often turn halfway up, so big wardrobes and some sofas have to come apart to get out, and bed frames nearly always do. Back gates onto the shared alleys (the jitties, as plenty of people in Leicester still call them) help with garden furniture but are rarely wide enough for much else. If you’re moving out of a terrace, tell us about anything that came in through a window or in pieces, because it’ll leave the same way.
City centre flats are the opposite problem. Buildings around the railway station, St George’s and the Cultural Quarter usually have a lift, but it needs booking, the loading bay may be shared with shops, and some managing agents want a certificate of insurance from the removals firm a few days before. Ask the building manager about all three as soon as you have a date.
New-build estates bring their own quirks. At Hamilton, Ashton Green and New Lubbesthorpe the roads are wide, but parking courts and private drives can be tight for a lorry, and sat-navs don’t always know the newest streets. If your postcode is brand new, send us the plot number and the developer’s site plan.
When to move, and when not to
Late June and early July are busy in the city because so many student tenancies end around then, especially near the University of Leicester and De Montfort. Mid-September is the same in reverse. Streets in Clarendon Park, the West End and around Welford Road fill with cars and hire vans on those weekends, so avoid them if you have the choice.
Match days matter too. When Leicester City are at home, Filbert Way and the roads off Aylestone Road get busy for a few hours either side of kick-off, and Leicester Tigers home games do the same around Welford Road. Then there’s Diwali. The lights switch-on and Diwali Day bring road closures along Belgrave Road and the Golden Mile, usually in late October or November.
Saturdays around Fosse Park and junction 21 of the M1 are slow at the best of times.
For the removal itself, Fridays and the last week of any month are the busiest days, because that’s when most completions happen. A midweek move in the middle of the month is easier to book and usually cheaper.
What a move in Leicester costs
Guide prices for 2026, for moves within Leicester or to a nearby Leicestershire town, with you doing the packing.
| Home | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| One-bed flat | £350 to £550 |
| Two-bed house | £450 to £750 |
| Three-bed house | £600 to £950 |
| Four-bed house | £850 to £1,400 |
| Five-bed and up | £1,200 and up |
A full packing service adds £200 to £600 for most homes. Our guide to removals costs in Leicester goes through what pushes the price up or down, with access and parking near the top of the list.
Moving with Simply Moving
Simply Moving is a removals company based in Leicester, and most of our work is in the city and the towns around it. Every move starts with a survey, at your home or by video, and you can choose a fixed price or an hourly rate charged in half-hour steps. Fixed price suits most house moves. Hourly suits smaller jobs where you’re not sure how long it’ll take.
There are a few things we don’t do, such as disconnecting electrics, disconnecting gas cookers (that needs a Gas Safe engineer) or mounting TVs and shelves at the new house. Packing, storage and taking furniture apart and rebuilding it are all things we can add.
To get a quote, phone 0800 043 5393 or send the form on our contact page with both addresses and your moving date. Someone from the team will call you back to arrange the survey.
Moving in Leicester: common questions
Do I need a parking suspension for my move?
Only if there’s nowhere legal for the lorry to stop close to your door. Marked bays and residents’ permit zones are the usual reasons. We’ll tell you at the survey.
How far ahead should I apply for one?
Three to four weeks if you can, so the council has time to sign the bays.
Which parts of Leicester do you cover?
All of the city’s LE postcodes, from the centre and inner suburbs (LE1 to LE3) to Beaumont Leys (LE4), Hamilton and Humberstone (LE5), and Syston, Birstall and Thurmaston (LE7). We also cover Oadby and Wigston (LE2 and LE18), Glenfield and Braunstone Town, and the rest of Leicestershire.
Can you move me on a Saturday?
Yes, subject to availability. Saturdays book up first, so ask early.
Is it cheaper to move midweek?
Usually. Tuesday to Thursday in the middle of the month is the quietest time for most removals firms, and Fridays and the last week of the month are the busiest.
Do you move people into Leicester from further away?
Yes. Our long distance removals page covers routes, timings and prices for moves from elsewhere in the UK.
Relocating business premises in Leicester rather than a home? See our Leicester office removals service.