My buyer wants to move in before completion. Should I?

It sounds harmless, even friendly. The buyer loves the house, their rental is ending, and they ask if they can move a few things in, or move in fully, before the sale completes. The calm, steady answer is to treat this as a legal and financial decision, not a favour, because the risk sits almost entirely with you.

Why do buyers ask to move in early?

Most requests are genuine. A buyer's tenancy may be ending, there may be a gap in the chain, or they are simply keen to get settled. In a market where the average sale takes around five months, these timing gaps are common.

The reason still matters, because sometimes an early-move request is a sign the buyer's own position is shakier than it looks, for example a sale of their home that has slipped or finance that is not quite in place.

What is the risk of letting a buyer move in before completion?

Completion is the moment ownership legally transfers and the purchase money is paid. Before that point the home is still yours, whatever has been agreed. If you let someone live there first, you take on real and one-sided risk.

• If the sale falls through, the buyer is an occupier in your property and removing them can be slow and legally complicated.
• Once inside, a buyer may spot faults, lose urgency, and try to renegotiate the price or delay completion.
• Your buildings and contents insurance may not cover a property occupied by someone who is not the owner, leaving a dangerous gap.
• You could be liable if the occupier is injured in the home before completion.
• Your conveyancer, and the buyer's mortgage lender, may forbid early occupation outright.

What should I do if my buyer asks to move in early?

1. 1. Do not answer on the spot

   Say you will consider it only after taking advice from your solicitor, because this is a legal decision with real consequences.

2. 2. Ask why they need it

   The reason often reveals whether there is a problem in the buyer's chain or finances that you should know about.

3. 3. Check their commitment

   Establish whether contracts have exchanged, the deposit is paid, the solicitor is instructed and the mortgage offer is in hand, because talk is not commitment.

4. 4. Never give keys before exchange

   Do not allow any access before exchange of contracts, the point at which the buyer is legally bound to complete.

5. 5. Insist on a licence to occupy

   If you still consider it after exchange, only proceed with a solicitor-drafted licence to occupy and written confirmation that your insurer agrees.

6. 6. Keep the completion date fixed

   Hold the agreed completion date firmly so that early access cannot drift into an open-ended stay.

Is it ever safe to let a buyer in early?

Occasionally, and only under tight conditions. A licence to occupy is a written agreement, drafted by solicitors, that lets someone stay in a property they do not yet own, on strict terms about rent, bills, insurance and leaving if the sale fails.

Even then, do not consider it until after exchange of contracts. Exchange is the point at which both sides are legally committed and the buyer stands to lose their deposit if they walk away, so their promise finally has weight behind it. Before exchange, either side can still pull out, and letting a buyer in at that stage means giving up control for nothing in return.

Keys are the last thing you hand over, not the first. They stay with you until the home is truly sold.

A request to move in early is a good moment to move in step with your buyer rather than ahead of them. If they are committed enough to move in, they are committed enough to exchange first. ValuQ is a platform that gives UK homeowners free, side-by-side property valuations from competing local estate agents, built around the idea that the seller stays in control of their own sale from start to finish.