Moving House Checklist

Now you’ve agreed to move into your new place, you’ll need to give your current landlord notice about the move. It’s usually a month’s notice, but check your existing tenancy agreement to be sure.

Your landlord is responsible for insuring the building, but you may want to cover your furniture and other belongings with contents insurance.

If you’re moving into a bigger place, you’re going to need new furniture. You’ll want to leave plenty of time for this before the move. For example, sofas can take several months to be delivered, and you don’t want to spend the first few weeks in your new home sat on the floor!

Top tip: if you know your moving date, it’s a good idea to have things delivered to your new address. It’ll save you room in the moving van and the extra heavy lifting…

Try to avoid taking any clutter with you to your new home by having a big clear out. It’ll save you plenty of time when it comes to unpacking after the move.

Top tip: while you might not want some of your old stuff, someone else might. You could make a bit of money by selling it, or help someone by donating it.

You’re going to need plenty of boxes to pack your stuff. It can be hard to guess how many you’ll need, so it’s best to collect boxes and pack in stages.

Top tip: avoid paying for boxes by saving any packaging from deliveries. You can also ask your local supermarket for spare boxes. They’ll normally give them to you for free.

While there’s no danger of your energy and water being cut off, you do need to let your suppliers know that you’re moving. If your previous tariff has expired, you should consider switching energy suppliers to save money on a new tariff.

If that new home of yours hasn’t got internet access, you may as well be moving into a cave… Don’t forget to let your broadband provider know you’re moving to avoid this from happening. If you’re already tied into a contract, you should be able to just transfer your package to your new address. If you’re out of contract, you should find out what new packages and speeds are available in your new area. Just enter your new postcode and we’ll show you what’s available.

You’ll need to let your car insurance provider know that you’re moving, so they can update your policy. If you move without telling them, and then need to make a claim, your policy will probably be void and any claim rejected.

Final moving dates can be confirmed quite late on, so you’ll want to at least let your work know when you’re hoping to move and get the time booked off in principle. Once the date’s confirmed, you can then confirm it with them, too.

Once you know your moving day, you should book a professional removals company or, if you’re doing it yourself, a hire van. It’s a good idea to get a few quotes to compare prices, and you should book this as soon as possible to avoid places being booked up.

Top tip: if you’re doing the move yourself and hiring a van, it’s a good idea to get one with a tail lift. This will make moving heavy furniture and appliances much easier.

If you have a landline that you use, you might want to take that number with you. Get in touch with your phone provider to arrange the redirect for you.

This is something most people forget, which leads to letters and parcels being lost to old addresses. To avoid losing potentially important or valuable deliveries, contact Royal Mail to have your post re-directed. You can pay to have this done for a three, six or 12-month period, while you get yourself sorted and can update your address everywhere.

If you’re going to be handling the move yourself, you should think about packing once you have a moving date (even a rough one). Avoid a mad rush at the last minute by spreading it out over a few weeks. Start with the inessentials that you don’t need day-to-day, leaving the rest until the final few days.

Top tip: clearly labelling and grouping your boxes is hugely helpful and will make moving day and unpacking much easier.

If you’ve got young children or pets, you’ll want someone to look after them on moving day. Whether it’s friends, family, a babysitter, cattery or kennels, it’ll be much easier to move without having to worry about them.

Top tip: you’ll want to give whoever’s looking after them plenty of notice. Dog and cat-sitting services can book up quickly, and you’ll also need to supply various documents for them, such as vaccination information.

Before you move into your new home, it’s worth asking the landlord for some useful information, such as where certain things are located:

• Boiler
• Stopcock for the water supply
• Fusebox
• Gas and electricity meters
• Thermostat and/or central heating settings

It’s normally a good idea to give your neighbours a heads up about the move. Moving home is always a busy day, so your neighbours will appreciate the notice about vans and any extra people who will be there. You might also want to talk to them about parking arrangements, to ensure that any vans etc. will be able to access your home.

Any appliances that can cause a mess will want to be disconnected well before the move starts. Washing machines will need to be disconnected and drained, while freezers will need to be defrosted. You don’t want to be doing these things on the day of the move, as it takes time and makes a mess.

Moving day can be hectic, which means you might not start unpacking properly on that first day. Having a clearly labelled, separate box filled with the essentials you’ll need for that first night can be a life saver. Think toiletries, chargers, a change of outfit and some basic kitchenware.

Top tip: get your bed set up as soon as possible on moving day. You don’t want to be putting it together at 11pm, when you’re exhausted after a long day of moving.

From friends and family to your favourite shops and service providers, you’ll want to let them all know you’ve changed your address. Most can be done online, so here’s a list of some of the essentials:

• Banks, credit card and loan providers
• Insurance providers
• DVLA
• Utility suppliers (energy, broadband, TV, phone etc.)
• Employers, benefits services or pension providers
• HMRC
• Schools, colleges or university
• Local council
• GP, dentist and vets
• TV licensing
• Memberships and subscriptions (gyms, magazines etc.)
• Shops and online retailers