Animal Crossing New Horizons - How to move buildings


Animal Crossing New Horizons moving buildings

When you get to your new island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, some buildings and areas will already be set up. Of course, the majority of the organizing will come from you thereafter.

However, as you continue learning the ins and outs of island living, some of your previous choices when it comes to the organization of the island might not be what you want now with your newfound knowledge.

Sometimes buildings just aren't in the right place in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Even if it was you who decided where they went, you can easily change your mind after a while, and you may want to change their location. With that being said, we're going to show you how to move buildings!

Read more - How to get apples in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Moving buildings in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Moving a whole building is not easy, and you will need to be patient.

You will need to follow quite a few steps to be able to rearrange the layout of your island. We recommend that you are sure that you want to move the building before you start, as the steps can be pretty costly. There is no way to reverse moving a building without having to pay out and do the steps all over again.

Prepare

There are a few simple steps that you need to follow before you will be able to move a building.

  1. Clear the area where you want to place the building - if the area is cluttered or filled with plants, you will not be allowed to put anything there.
  2. Save up plenty of Bells - Moving buildings can be very expensive; even the cheaper ones will set you back thousands of Bells.
  3. Upgrade Resident Services to the maximum upgrade - This will be the solid building with Tom Nook and Isabelle at separate counters. If you've upgraded it enough, you should get these options when speaking to Tom Nook:
Animal Crossing New Horizons Construction Consultation Counter
click to enlarge

If you have these options, you will be able to move on to step two.

Talk to Tom Nook

When you are speaking to Tom Nook in Resident Services, you need to choose these options to be able to move a building:

  • Let's talk infrastructure
  • I want layout changes

You will then be able to choose which building you want to move. The only island buildings that you will not be able to move are Resident Services and the airport. However, if you want to move your own home, then you will need to follow a different set of choices:

  • About my home...
  • I want to relocate

Moving the building

Each building type will cost 10,000 Bells to move apart from your home, which will cost 8,000 Bells.

If you have chosen to move a villager's home, then Tom Nook will call them to Resident Services to see if they will allow you to move them. Once they agree to it, he will give you a moving kit that you can use to mark where you want the building to be moved to. If you are moving a facility building, you will simply be given the moving kit without talking to another character first.

Once you have the kit, head to the area where you want to move the building, choose the kit from your pockets and lay it out. After you lay the kit out, you will be given three options:

  • Let me imagine it - this will give you a preview of what the building will look like once it has been moved to the marked location.
  • This is the spot! - This will instantly mark the location without giving you a preview.
  • I need to rethink it - This will put the moving kit back in your pockets so you can try another location.

After you have confirmed where you want to move the building, the moving kit will rope off the area so that you will not accidentally place anything on it that may obstruct construction. All you must do is wait until the next day, and the building will have been moved.

Re-shaping your island the way you want is one of the many things you can do in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. If you're interested in more New Horizons content, we have a guide that will show you how to get perfect fruit and one on how to get DIY recipes.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Animal Crossing New Horizons and Guides page.