The Sims 4: Moving Tutorial

Moving a Sim out or Moving Households into a New House

Moving an entire Household of Sims in The Sims 4 is fairly easy, but moving out a single Sim can be confusing for new players. This tutorial for managing Households will cover both of these concepts - so you can kick out a recently divorced Sim, a teen, or just move the family to a nice home you found in the Gallery and placed in your Neighborhood.

Moving a Sim Out in The Sims 4

Moving one or more Sims is perhaps the most confusing part for players unfamiliar with the game, so I'll start with that. You may need to do this with a Teen who has grown up, or when Sims have broken up and no longer want to live together. To do this, press Esc to bring up the main menu and select 'Manage Worlds'.

Now, select the Home of the Sim you'd like to move out. Click the '...' button and select Manage Household.

This screen will come up. Here you have two options. If you want to simply remove a Sim from the game, you can go into Create-a-Sim and delete anyone. But, if you want your Sim to live on in the Neighborhood, you must select 'Transfer Sims Between Households'.

Pick the Sim(s) you want to move out, but realize that Children can't live without an Adult (although Teenagers can!). You have the option to 'Create a New Household' at the top, should you not want to move the Sim into an existing household (like throw Teen Cassandra Goth in with the Pancake household to get rid of her). Most will want to pick 'New Household' as this will let you pick where the Sim(s) will live.

With 'New Household' chosen and the Sim placed on the right, you will then be taken back to the map. If you want your Sim to move into a home in the Neighborhood, pick 'Manage Households' at the top right corner in the map view. You will see your Sim either under Played or Unplayed Households. Pick the Sim, then Move Household onto Lot (the Moving Truck icon) and select OK.

Now you can select where that Sim will live. You can use Control + Shift + C to bring up the cheat console and type freerealestate on to give them more options on where to live, but that is up to you. A single Sim will only have $20,000 having left the household, so normally will need to live in one of the starter homes. Once you have picked where that Sim will live, you've successfully moved that Sim out of your home. You can then click on the Household you want to play - either playing the new Sim in their new life, or resuming play with your previous household. The Sims 4 lets you switch between Households at any time through 'Manage Worlds', allowing you to play any Sims in the Neighborhood at any time and saving all that progress in one save file.

Moving a Household of Sims

Moving to a New Home
To begin, click your Sim's phone and select 'Move Household' under the travel category.

You will be taken to the map, where your funds will determine what homes you can afford. Homes you can afford will be in green, while homes you can't afford are yellow. If you want to cheat, you can at this point press Control + Shift + C and type the command freerealestate on. This makes all houses free.

A Warning on 'Sell Furniture': If you plan to sell your Sim's furniture, it is advisable to place anything you want to keep in your Sim's Household Inventory by going to Buy Mode, and clicking/dragging those things to the inventory. When you elect to Sell Furniture, it means everything - not just furniture - so if you have a large garden, you should preserve those plants, along with any awards you want to keep. So, if you don't want to lose stuff, go back to your household and take care of this before moving your Sims to their new house.

Affording Houses Tip: A home you can't afford can be made affordable by clicking it, and selecting to either sell your own furnishings or buy the house unfurnished.

If a house is not vacant, as many are not, you may select to either Move In with those Sims or Evict them. Evicting them will place them in Household Management, where you can then select a home for that family.

Once you've chosen a home, you will get the option to either keep your furniture or sell it to make more funds available. Remember what was said about about the Sell Furniture option, and select what you want. You will also get to choose between keeping the home furnished or buying it unfurnished. If you purchase it furnished, you can immediately sell the things you don't like to recover some money.

When you're done, your Sims will be in the new home. You can find your belongings in the Household Inventory (bottom left button in Buy Mode).

Moving Lots

Learn to move lots around in The Sims 4 by going to our Lot Placement Tutorial.

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Comments (40)

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New
Moonsays...
Omg, I'm not gonna saty long...but I've been searching everywhere! Noone and nothing tells me how to own two lots at the same time but with one family (household) only! Do you know!?Sad
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New
Stephensays...

That is not yet possible.

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New
Bsays...
You can still visit and play other households mid-game. So it's kinda the same thing.
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New
JoyLeasays...
I'm not good with comp so need help. How can I rename a lot.
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New
Joyce L Noettlsays...
so sorry but I'm 82 just learning computers bye won't be on again
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New
Heathersays...
Aww Joyce it's okay! At least you tried technology. Applause! Grin
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New
Skyesays...
if you want to rename a lot, you first go on to 'manage worlds' then you go on the the house you want and then you click build then when you are on the lot click 'more info' then you will be able to find the rectangle that has the name in it and you can then change it. Smile
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New
Rhyssays...
Is there a way, when you move one sim out of a household, that you can take heavier items (stuff that goes in family inventory) with them?
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New
Darcysays...
From my understanding the household inventory stays with the original household, so you would just have to leave the Sim you want to keep the stuff in the original household and put everyone else into a new household.
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Regular
Alexsays...
I just moved house, before I moved I selected 'keep furniture' then moved to a plot of land where I built my own house, where is my furniture because at the moment, all that is in my house is the baby cot and walls, but my furniture is not in my inventory, WHERE IS IT??
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Admin
Playalotsays...
It should all be in the family inventory you access when going into build mode.
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New
Riversays...
I've been having trouble with my home. You see, I moved to a bigger lot because the lot I was on was already out of space. I moved into a 50x40 lot and brought my old home via downloading from my library. The problem is that rather than letting the house exist where ever I wish, it only allows it to exist in the middle of the lot. I can move the house as a whole, but it doesn't allow any door to be considered the front door, which means I can't get any of my sims in or out of it. When it's in the middle I can't really do add what I'm planning to add because there's no room to build. Any suggestions on how to fix it?
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Admin
Playalotsays...
There is an option when in build mode to rotate the entire lot. It looks like a cross and is located to the left of the bulldoze icon in the top build tools menu in the middle of your screen.
With this you can rotate the whole lot and place it anywhere you like. Any portions that become highlighted yellow will basically be 'cut off' when the placement is finalized.

To make a door the front door, click on it in live mode and change it to the front door. if it already is the front door the game will tell you. Smile
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New
Tomsays...
I don't know what happed but I started to panic but it turned out to be ok i am just wondering how it happend I have a family on a lot and some how I have a other family on the same lot when I mean 2 different family's i mean to different saved games if this makes any scene
Admin: So you have accidently saved your game twice? If that is the case when you go into the menu to load a game you can delete the second copy from there.
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New
Sephinasays...
So I didn't realize that all the sims age even when you don't play them and I want to start a new neighborhood. I have progressed a few of my sims. Can I move them to the new neighborhood. And I mean a new world where the goths are old etc. Because they aged as well. I learned to stop the age but it's too late.
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Admin
Playalotsays...
To start a new game with sims just save them to your library and then you can place them into a new game easily through Manage Worlds.
To move sims within the same game (that you are not actively playing) use Manage Worlds to evict them. Find them in Manage Worlds unplayed sims menu and move them into a house where ever you want them. Carl has all the details on this page of the guide.
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Regular
Annasays...
Can your sim move in to a sim you did not creates house.I am a new at this gameGrin
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Admin
Playalotsays...
So you want your sim to move in with another sim? You can do this once you have actually placed your sim into a game by putting them on their own lot. Then go to Manage Worlds>Manage Households and follow Carl's directions from there. Smile
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New
Tamsays...
I really confuse. Sims can't move in to a venue lots right? But I have an unplayed household lives in the library at willow creek. The lot marked by book sign (library) and the grey diamond above that. Is this a bug? If it's not, please can you tell me how to do that? My latest expansion pack is Get Together.
Thank you Smile
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Yes, you are correct sims can not live on community lots. Did you change the lot type at any point? To fix this I would evict the household in question and then go and change the lot type around a few times and end up back with it being a library. If that doesn't fix it try evicting the household first then deleting cache files and repairing your game.
Deleting Cache files
Repairing Your Game
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New
Tamsays...
I really sure I didn't do anything with that lot. When I first installing a new pack my game was updated and have no CCs and mods. I'll try repairing my game thanks for the reply Smile
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Regular
Mariasays...
I have moved a sims out of the household and placed him on a new lot. The thing is, I don't wanna play this sims anymore but just let him live his life Tongue How can i do this so he can get married, have babies etc? When I move a sim to another lot, they don't have a family or anything. They just get old and die, so the sims I do wanna play don't get any relatives from the sims that have been moved out.

Thanks! Smile
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Admin
Playalotsays...
There are mods that allow this to happen but the vanilla game has no story progression. Smile
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New
Lindsay Laffertysays...
hi! so i just got the sims 4 and i am really confused on how to move around. when i get to the neighborhood map it does not show any clubs, cafes, gyms, or anything! i don't know how to get to places by myself or with a date. the only way i am able to go to a bar or whatever place I'm going to is by starting a group event with my club or if someone invites me out. so any advice or help would be so great! thanks!
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Admin
Playalotsays...
To get into Map View either hit the 'M' key or select 'travel' on a sims phone. This will take you to your current world's view where you can see all the neighborhoods in the world. Choose a lot to travel to by clicking on it's icon.

To see the other worlds in the game click on the world globe icon on the top left of your screen when in the current world view. This takes you to the 'World Select' page where you will see large round icons of Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, Newcrest and other worlds depending on which packs you have. Click on a world to travel there.
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New
CLAIRE BEAR RAWRsays...
i thought teens could live alone!Was i wrong?HuhScaredCryingShocked
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Admin
Playalotsays...
You are correct, teen sims can definitely live alone. They can not be manipulated through Manage Worlds>Household Management though as the game will tell you that a teen household is not allowed. You can download teen only households from your library or gallery or start a new game with a single teen or multiple teen household.
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New
Dennisesays...
Hi everyone! I need help. My sim married another sim and after the wedding, a manage household option popped up. I moved my sim to the guy's place. The game resumed at the guy's lot as I expected. But I don't know where my properties are. I went through my sim's and the household inventory but I couldn't find them. There were no options like sell or pack your furniture when I was moving my household. My sim is a doctor and she left all her stuffs in her past house. :( Do you think all my properties were sold as I moved in to a new family?
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Yes, you can only own one residential property and one retail property at a time. The career items will still be available for you to buy in the build/buy menu.
The furniture and career items will still be in the original house which you can visit in-game if a sim is living there or view in build mode but your sim will need to replace whatever was left behind for her current lot.
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New
Dennisesays...
Aww that's kinda disappointing cause it turns out neither my sim nor his husband have funds to replace the things she left. Should've thought of it before I moved her in. Is there any way I could get it again even through cheats? Thanks btw for the answer!
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Sure... you can use the money cheat or kaching/rosebud. If you used the money cheat, after purchasing the missing items you could then cheat the money back down to the amount she had... that way it wouldn't seem like such a cheat after all you intended to bring all the items anyway. Smile
There are unlock cheats too so you can purchase all sorts of career items.
Cheats Guide
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Regular
Emmasays...
Is there a way to move your sims/family into a new house in a different world? Startee building a house in a different wild and I want them to live there
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Sure, sims can travel to all the worlds by the map or by using 'travel' on the phone. For example your sims can live in Willow Creek and travel to every other world you own to use a gym or a cafe or to fish and then go home to Willow Creek at night to sleep.

So moving your whole household to another world is easy, just the same as moving to another lot within a world. So use the 'move household' interaction on the sims phone and choose a lot on whatever world you want. If you don't want a house on the lot then click on the drop down menu and choose 'bulldoze lot'. That way you can actually choose a lot that your sims can't afford as empty lots are cheaper than ones with houses on. If the move doesn't go as expected, quit without saving and have another read through Carl's guide. Smile
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New
Megssays...
I started a new game and created a new household, how can I move my old household from the other game over to my new game to John the new household? If that makes sense

Please reply, need help urgently
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Just save your family to your library then quit out and open your new game. Go into your library again and select the family and add them to your current household or place them into their own house.
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New
judithsays...
so I have been working on a house because I was planing to move in (no one lives in it) but I cant because no one lives in it!!!!!Mad how can I make someone live in it or can I even move in Crying
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Senior
Playalotsays...
Using Manage Worlds menu you can manipulate any lot. Evicting sims or moving them in. If your sim lives in another house you could also use your sims phone to 'Move household' and move your sim into the new house that way. If your sim can not afford it you could use the 'free real estate' cheat.
guide to cheats
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New
Charlottesays...
Just wondering, I want to move my YA sim out of my family household because I want her to start living her life independently (I want to control her and stop controlling my family!!!). Can I move my YA sim into another town/neighborhood and still have the family as family members/contacts and invite them over/call them etc? Because I really want to move my YA sim to another town but I don't want to lose connections with her family and not be able to invite them over/go back home etc.????
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Moving out sims does not destroy their friendships or relationships in any way. TS4 has been designed for playing across multiple worlds so it doesn't matter at all where all the different family members are living as they can all travel to each others lots or travel to another lot altogether to met and have fun. Smile
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New
Evelyn Brackneysays...
I just got two expansion packs from the sims web sight. what if I have to reinstall them because of computer problems. how do I get them without a serial number. or did you send me one(serial Number), and I missed it.?
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Senior
MrsFlynnsays...
Sims 4 and other EA/Origin games are connected to your Origin account. So you won't loose access to the games you have purchased. Download and install Origin on your computer and the games should be in the Games Library tab in Origin.

How to Install and/or Reinstall Sims 4

1. Log into your Origin Account with the username and password you used to purchased the game with.
2. Click on the Games Library tab, right-click on the Sims 4 and select Download. This will allow you to download base game and choose which packs you want to download/install.

The download process includes any bonus items for registering different game versions/guides.

** There should be no need for the game code, as Origin already has that information and purchased games should be there once you log in.
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Regular
Nicolesays...
Okay, I feel a little silly asking this on here instead of making a thread or something Blushbut how can you move a household to a new town without losing progress? I've searched this many times and it's mostly all about Sims 3, but I have Sims 4 so that doesn't help much. Sad I'm not really worried about wishes or furniture, mostly family trees and relationships. I'm trying to keep the tree going as long as possible, but the current town all of my sims live in is full so I have no room for a new generation. I want to move my current household to a town so I have more room to continue without losing the tree, relationships, skills, and their job progress(my sim has got pretty far in the writing career Grin) any suggestions?
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Senior
MrsFlynnsays...
To move your household, have your main Sim use his/her phone, select the Car button and choose Move Household.

You will be taken to the Manage Worlds map. Choose which world/town you want your household to live in. Then choose a house or lot to move to. :)
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New
Charlotte Robbsays...
Hello, I dont know what ive done, but whenever i try and play sims it just has the select a new household bit, but i dont want to move house, i want to stay in my old house? When i am selecting a house to move into, my old house is there, but it wont let me move into it, as apparantly it is occupied, even though i only have 1 family of sims, so i dont know who is occupying the house, all i want to do is just not move house and go back to my old house, please can you help?
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Admin
Playalotsays...
I'm a little confused about what exactly is going wrong for you. Whenever you load up the game you will always be taken to the map screen so you can chose which household you want to play. If you want to just continue with the last household you played then just chose their house, you don't need to move them anywhere.
Are you seeing the Map Screen when you load your game?
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New
Anciiisays...
When I move my sim to a different lot is there a way to transfer the items you got from your job; posters, small things, rugs?
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Anything that can be dragged into a sims personal inventory can be moved with them. Anything else, no. If it is the moving sim that has unlocked the career rewards etc then that sim will be able to buy the item again in their new house.
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New
NeeeedHelpsays...
OMG I just did this and the people I moved out are gone!!! I don't be know what to do! They just got married and i wanted In a seperate house
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Don't panic you will be able to find your sims in the Manage Worlds>Household Management menu. Look under 'Played Sims'. From there you can move them onto any lot.
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New
Niyasays...
Im playing Sims 4 and have three families within Newcrest. From the main startup page my sister created a family and planned to place them in Newcrest, but when she went to move them in to Newcrest, none of my households or retail stores or homes were there. I went back to check my households still existed and they do but they won't show up. Can someone tell me how to change this if it's possible!? I want my sisters household and mine to be in the same neighbourhood. Can I put the new household into the gallery and when I go onto my family, place them there? Please help :)
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Admin
Playalotsays...
I suggest saving all the lots and families you want in one game to your library.

Start the game and download and place the lots and house the sims where you want them. 'Save As' a name you and your sister will recognize and remember to 'load' that game when you want to play this save file and not just 'play'.
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New
BWsays...
You may want to edit this cause teens don't need an adult, they can live on there own or even care for toddlers and children. I have tested and played these instances.
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Admin
Playalotsays...
You still need an adult in the household if you want to use the in-game 'Invite to Move In' option as this in-game option does not appear on teen sims. But yes, in a recent update patch the ability for teens to live either alone or with other teens or with children or even toddlers became availabe. Carl will be updating this page soon.


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