Once you have agreed to move home by exchanging contracts or signing a tenancy agreement, you have entered into a legal agreement to move.
We encourage all parties to be as flexible as possible over this period and be prepared to delay moves if needed, for example if someone becomes ill with coronavirus during the moving process or has to self-isolate. You should not expect to move into any home where people are ill or self-isolating.
Your legal adviser should be able to help you to ensure that any contract you enter into has sufficient flexibility to allow the purchase to be delayed in the event that an individual in one of the parties contracts coronavirus or has to self-isolate.
Removal firms are able to operate, although they may need to adjust usual procedures in order to ensure moves happen as safely as possible. We encourage you to contact removal firms as early as possible in advance of your move.
You and your household should also try and do as much of the packing yourself as possible. However, where you are using a removals firm, you may wish to talk to them in advance to discuss packing and in particular, the arrangements for packing fragile items.
We ask that, where possible, you clean your belongings, with standard domestic cleaning products before they are handled by others, including removal firms. Whilst the removers are in your home, you should ensure any internal doors are open and seek to minimise your contact with the crew, maintaining a distance of at least 2 metres where possible.
All parties should wash their hands and avoid touching surfaces where possible to reduce the risk of transmitting the coronavirus. You should not provide refreshments but you should ensure they have access to hand washing facilities, using separate towels or paper towels if possible, which should be washed or disposed of safely afterwards.
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We appreciate that this is a very difficult time for all of our clients. We are here to support you through this as your Law Firm for Life.
For further information on residential conveyancing please contact Ruth Elkins or view our dedicated page.
