How to choose a relocation agent in London

What kinds of provider will you meet?

Search for a relocation agent in London and the results mix four kinds of business. They do different jobs for different payers, so the first choice is the kind.

• Corporate relocation specialists and relocation management companies. They move staff for employers and often run the whole programme. The ARP, the UK trade body, describes corporate relocation specialists as firms that assist organisations to move their staff into and within the UK (ARP). If your employer has a provider, start there, because your policy may already cover the service.
• Home-search agents and property finders. These are the closest match for a private mover. The ARP describes property finders as helping individuals search for a home. The rest of this guide leans on this kind.
• Estate and letting agents with a relocation desk. A letting agent usually acts for the landlord, and the Tenant Fees Act guidance describes it as usually the person you pay the rent to (gov.uk). A relocation desk inside one can still work for you. Ask who is paying whom.
• Removal firms that sell home search as an add-on. Their core job is moving goods. Ask who does the search and how often.

Freelancers exist too, but our research found them rare. In British usage “agent” and “agency” are interchangeable for the home-search kind.

What should you check before you pay?

1. Trade body. The ARP was formed in 1986 and says members carry professional indemnity, public and employers liability insurance. It lists members by service, including destination service providers, property finders and school specialists (ARP). The ARP’s destination service provider filter listed 33 firms in our research on 5 October 2026 (ARP directory). EuRA’s directory listed 103 UK-based members, 32 of them tagged destination service provider (EuRA), and has a filter for holders of its EGQS+ certificate. Membership is not a government licence, so check the name on the body’s own list.
2. Redress scheme. gov.uk says letting agents and property managers in England or Wales must join a redress scheme, either The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme, and that an agent who does not can be fined up to GBP 5,000 (gov.uk). The 2013 Act defines “lettings agency work” to include things done in response to instructions from a person seeking a home to rent in England (section 83). So a home-search agent may be covered. Whether yours is, ask the agent for its scheme and membership number, and ask a lawyer if the answer is unclear.
3. The company. Search the name at Companies House: it shows the registered company, its officers and its filings, though Companies House says it does not check the accuracy of what is filed (Companies House). A trading name with no company behind it is a question to ask.
4. Visa advice. gov.uk says all immigration advisers must be registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) or belong to an approved professional body, and that you cannot get your money back from an adviser who is not regulated (gov.uk, find an adviser). If the agent talks about your permit, read who may give immigration advice in the UK first.
5. Reviews. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act came into force on 6 April 2025 with a ban on fake reviews (gov.uk, CMA). Read dates and wording, and compare more than one place.
6. City and language. Our research found far more agencies in London than in Manchester or Edinburgh. If you move to either, ask who does the viewings there and in which language.

Which questions should you ask?

1. What exactly is included, and how many viewing days?
2. What is the total with VAT, and when is each part due? Our guide on what a relocation agent costs shows what is published.
3. What happens if no flat is found? What is refunded?
4. Who is my consultant, by name, and how often will I hear from them?
5. Which redress scheme and which trade body do you belong to? What is your company number?
6. Do you work for me, for the landlord or for both? Do you take a fee from the landlord?
7. Who advises on my visa, if I ask, and are they registered?
8. Can I speak to a client who moved from my country in the last year?

What are the red flags?

• A fee, a deposit or the first month’s rent requested before there is a written scope or a signed tenancy. The government’s guidance says you should not pay rent before you sign a tenancy agreement, and that a holding deposit is at most one week’s rent (gov.uk).
• A payment to a personal account.
• A promise of a particular flat by a particular date. No agent controls a landlord’s decision.
• Advice on which visa to choose from someone who cannot give a registration number.
• No company number, no named consultant, or reviews only on the agent’s own site.

When is an agent not worth it?

If you have several weeks, can view in person, are flexible on area and your employer already offers a provider, you may not need to pay. If you land with days, not weeks, have a family, or your job starts next Monday, an agent may buy back time. Our guide on how to find a flat in London shows the do-it-yourself route and where it gets hard.

How does relofinder.com list agencies?

The directory lists agencies with an office in the country and ranks them by one number: the Google rating of the agency’s own listing, weighted by how many reviews stand behind it. Agencies can pay for introductions or for a profile labelled “Recommended · paid placement”, and never for rank. The method is on how we rank. To compare agencies for your move, open the United Kingdom directory or get matched: you send one request and one agency gets in touch. For the rest of the move, read moving to the UK: your first weeks, in order and relocation support in the UK.

What we could not source

We did not find a UK licence for the title relocation agent, and we did not confirm whether a tenant-side home-search service counts as lettings agency work in every case. The ARP and EuRA counts are those recorded in our research on 5 October 2026, and the directories change. We did not check Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. This guide is general information, not legal advice.