Moving home checklist: things to do when moving house

As long as you start preparing with enough time in hand, it’s possible to get everything in order and leave some room for errors and setbacks too.

Our moving house checklist will give you all you need to think about when you’re moving. Find out what you need to start doing, beginning at eight weeks before you move.

Moving home checklist

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7-8 weeks before you move house

It’d help to make the moving process a lot smoother if you were well underway with your prep around eight weeks before the move date. Nothing’s stopping you from starting even earlier, of course, but we’ll begin our advice from here.

Around two months before you move, you should:

• Request any time off work: If you need to, you should book your days off as early as you can, to avoid any difficult conversations with your boss closer to the time.

• Check who’s available to help you move: Start getting in touch with friends, family and moving professionals to see who can help you on moving day. Once you have found someone who is available and within your budget, book them for your moving day, sometimes these services get booked up far in advance!

• Declutter and earn from your unwanted items: Is there anything you currently own that you want to sell or donate? Moving can be a great opportunity to cut down on all the items you own — not only will it make moving easier, but you could put some money towards your moving expenses.

• Take measurements: Note down the floor plan dimensions of your new home and request another viewing so you can go around with a tape measure. It’ll save you a lot of hassle when buying new furniture, and you could earn some money by selling existing furniture that won’t fit.

I’m renting

• Furnished or unfurnished: Make sure you plan for whether your new property is furnished or unfurnished. Properties labelled ‘furnished’ could only mean small items or white goods, so make sure you know what you’ll need to buy beforehand. Some rental properties don’t even come with white goods, so you should factor that into your plans too.

It’s really important to firm up a lot of the admin before going ahead with the actual move. You’ll want to avoid any chance of a missed measurement, unexpected fee or booked-up removal company, and prevent frustrating problems further down the line.

By getting the boring bits done first, you can concentrate on the exciting parts of the move. You’ll certainly thank yourself later on.

5-6 weeks before you move house

This is where things should start to pick up a bit. Five to six weeks before moving, you’ll want to make a start on any of the labour that’s needed, and ensure you’ve booked most of the services you’ll need for the move.

By this time, you should also have a very good idea of where you’re moving to, what amenities and leisure activities are available in the area, and what’s within walking distance of your new home.

Here are our recommendations of what to do five-to-six weeks before you move:

• Collect moving boxes and tape: Start to collect as many boxes as you can — try supermarkets, fast food restaurants, the local industrial estate, the tip, and reach out to friends, family and neighbours, and start saving those Amazon boxes. If all else fails, you can always purchase a few online.

• Research your new community: Start getting excited about your new neighbourhood! Make sure you know loads about the local area, nearest parks, nearby supermarkets, local history and fun or interesting things to do.

• Prep your pets for the move (if applicable): If you have pets, you’ll need to decide where they will be or how they will travel on the move-in date. Some owners may prefer to organise daycare for their animals, or leave them with friends and family. If you require short term care or transportation equipment for your animals, consider sorting this ahead of time.

• Draw up a moving inventory: Write a detailed inventory list of all the valuables and fragiles that you own — and their current condition — before they go in the moving truck.

• Organise important documents: You might need proof of identity or some paper records for any correspondence with estate agencies or solicitors, so be sure to dig them out and keep safely.

I’m renting

If you’re renting your new property, you should also keep note of the following things five to six weeks before your move:

• Request a breakdown of final payments: Confirm the final payments you need to make with your landlord before you move out, and make sure you know the exact deposit amount that you initially paid. If you live with housemates, ensure you all know what you’re owed to avoid any awkward conversations later on. 

• Start on repairs and fixes: Check to see if anything's been slightly damaged or altered since you moved in. You could save more of your deposit by repairing them before moving out. This includes filling in any holes in the wall you might have made for hanging things up.

3-4 weeks before you move house

One month before you move, you need to ensure that everyone knows you’re moving. Insurers, utility suppliers, banks, couriers and loved ones should be aware of your new address, and any planned correspondence should start being sent there.

By this point, you should have the following covered:

• Begin packing: Start to gradually pack away items that you know you won’t need for the next month. It’ll make things so much easier when crunch time approaches.

• Share your new address: Send your new address out to friends, family and contacts so they know where to reach you.

• Contact your home insurer: Notify either your homeowners or renters insurance company that you’ll soon be moving out.

• Contact your bank: Let your bank(s) know that your address is changing so your documents can stay up-to-date. Nowadays it’s quite easy to change your billing address online.

• Give notice to your utility suppliers: Tell your gas, electricity and water suppliers that you’re moving, and follow the instructions they may give as a result. You might need to find new suppliers as a result.

• Give notice to your broadband provider: Find out if your broadband provider supplies your new address. If it does, you can decide whether to stay on your current plan or switch to a new one if you’re out of contract. If it doesn’t, you might have to pay an early termination fee. Learn more with our broadband and moving home guide.

• Give notice to your TV provider: Similarly, find out if your TV provider can service your new address. If you’re a Sky customer, you might need to book an engineer to install a satellite dish at the new property. Ensure the address for your TV Licence is up to date too.

• Arrange council tax: Inform your council tax account of your new address so you’re paying the amount that you should be.

• Buy moving insurance: Make sure you have insurance for the items that are being moved, in case any of them break or go faulty while being transported.

• Order new furniture: Order any new furniture you need in advance — just keep in mind the measurements of the house you’re moving into.

I’m renting

• Renting inventory checks: Arrange a date for going through the check-in inventory of your new home, and update the inventory list with any changes to your current rented property too. Take pictures of anything that isn’t as it should be to prove you are not the cause of any damage, or have fixed anything that you might have.

• Update your contents insurance: If needed, you can carry your contents insurance over to your new property so your items remain covered during (and after) the move.

Check back in with Uswitch soon for a more detailed guide on all the people you need to notify that your address is changing.

1-2 weeks before you move house

No one needs to tell you how busy this time will be. But amongst all the chaos of moving, it’s important to keep track of everything you need to do as you get ready for the big day.

Don’t feel too disheartened if a couple of things slip by — it’s bound to happen with all that’s going on. But here’s a reminder of what you should have done a week or two before you move:

• Pack your non-essential items: It’s time to start packing away the items you don’t need in the run up to the move. Think books, decorative items, seasonal clothes, and infrequently used kitchenware such as blenders, jars and special occasion glasses. It'll help you get a good chunk of packing out the way before your moving date.

• Pack a two-week bag: You might want to go even further, and pack a separate bag full of essentials so it’s clearer what you need to pack away beforehand.

• Clean and clear white goods: If you’re moving white goods, you’ll need to make sure that they are empty and clean in time for moving day.

• Register with your new GP: Reach out to your new local GP surgery to register and transfer over your medical records in time for your arrival.

• Cancel or transfer gym memberships: Work out whether you need to cancel or transfer your gym membership. If you’re with a nationwide chain, you could move your subscription to another location. But if you attend an independent gym, you might have to look elsewhere.

• Enrol on your local electoral register: Make sure your vote will still be counted by registering with your local constituency.

• Take final meter readings: On the day you move, take and submit your final electric, gas and water readings for your old property, and take the first readings for your new one.

• Clean your new house: If you can get into your new home early, make sure it’s clean and tidy before moving all your furniture (and family members) in. Considerate property owners might clean the home before you gain access, but there’s no guarantee of that.

• Pack your moving day survival kit: Ensure you have essential items to hand on moving day so you don’t get caught short. This includes:

• A change of clothes

• Toiletries and toilet paper

• Bin bags

• Cleaning products

• Phone charger(s)

• First aid box

• Drinks and snacks

I’m buying

• Stamp duty payment: After completing the purchase, you have 14 days to pay any Stamp Duty that you owe.

• Insure your new home: Make sure you’ve sorted out home insurance for your new property.

I’m renting

• Organise an exit clean: It’s customary to give your rental property a thorough clean before moving out. Some landlords will cover the cost of a professional clean, but there’s every chance that responsibility will fall onto you. So you should either make the time to do a proper clean yourself, or make space in your budget to pay for a professional clean yourself.

Nick Baker, broadband expert at Uswitch comments:

“There seems to be a never-ending list of things to do when you’re moving home, and so much of what you need to get done takes place online. 

“The best thing you can do to make your move easier and help get you settled into your new home quickly is to organise your new broadband service as soon as you have your move in date. A lot of the time you won’t need an engineer to set up your service, but if you do you’ll want to book them in at least two weeks in advance. 

Then you can shop for new furniture, set up your council tax, Skype with family to give them a virtual tour, or just sit down to watch Netflix after a long day of moving and unpacking boxes.”