Are you moving house this year? If you’re heading to a new home and feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything you need to sort out before the move in date, don’t panic. We’re here to help.
We’ve put together a moving house checklist, both here onsite and as a downloadable, printable document, designed to take you all the way from two months before the move in date to the day of the move. Here’s everything you need to know when moving to a new home.
Quick Links – Find what you need
- Moving house week by week planning list
- Moving day things to do
- Moving day – essential packing list
- Moving house – downloadable and printable checklist
- Moving house FAQs
All you need to know when moving house in 2024
With the exchange of your new home completed and a completion/move-in date set, we’re sure you’re looking forward to stepping into your new property. There’s work ahead of you before you get to that moment, but we’re here to guide you through it so that everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Two months before you move
At the two month mark, there will be a few admin tasks you need to undertake and a few jobs to begin:
- If you are renting, make sure you’ve given notice to your landlord, using the proper process as in your contract. Make sure you also check how long your notice period is, since you will have to abide by that unless you have a break clause in your contract.
- Investigate the area you’re moving into further. While you’ll have done research before choosing where to live, this can be the point at which you find out the smaller things, such as restaurants, sports centres, supermarkets, etc.
- You can start decluttering at this point; it’s a lot easier to get rid of things you don’t need at your new place before you get there. Marie Kondo is a great person to look to for inspiration – check out our blog for some decluttering tips.
- Start notifying your landline and internet providers about your change of address.
- Start collecting free packing boxes from friends, family members, colleagues, or websites like Gumtree or Freecycle.
One month before you move
It’s one month to go, and it’s time to start packing and get everything sorted on the admin side.
- Organise your moving company – you may want to do this after you’ve started packing and got a better idea of how much stuff you need to transport. However, it’s always good to have a few companies in mind.
- Check how your moving van will be able to access your new home. Are there any parking restrictions at either of your addresses?
- Contact the HMRC and change your address. This may also be done through your company so check whether this is the case.
- Register to vote at your new address and register your household with your council.
- Research and purchase moving insurance to cover your belongings during the move.
- Make plans to transfer your home owner/rental insurance and contents insurance to your new property.
- Arrange a post redirection with the Royal Mail.
- Create a list of your home’s inventory and take photos of all your furniture so that you know the condition it’s in – just in case anything is damaged in the move.
- Start cleaning outside areas, such as the shed and garden.
Two weeks before you move
- Packing starts in earnest at this point. Anything that isn’t absolutely necessary for the next two weeks e.g. seasonal items and spare items like duvets or towels, can be packed. Make sure you label all your boxes with their destination room.
- Be careful about the food you buy from this point onwards. Make sure to cook all your frozen food – you won’t want to transport this during the move – and only buy what you absolutely need when it comes to perishable items.
- Make sure your car is serviced and checked so that you can trust it will keep you going during your move.
- Arrange for childcare or pet care for the day of the move, if necessary.
- Register for the GP in your new area and send copies of your children’s school records to their new school.
- Contact the DVLA to change your driving licence and make sure to also change the address on your Vehicle Registration Form.
- Request time off work for the moving day if need be.
- If you don’t think all your things will fit into your new house at first, look into booking a storage unit to hold some of your belongings until there’s space for them.
One week before you move
Not long to go now! Here are the final things that you need to take into account the week before you head to your new place.
- Confirm the exact date, time and location with your moving company and provide them with any directions they might need.
- Finish packing up the items that you haven’t stored yet. Make sure you also pack a bag or box that is full of your essentials, such as a change of clothes, blankets, snacks, and toiletries, so that you don’t need to rummage through boxes on your first night in your new place.
- Depending on the area, you may want to consider getting a locksmith organised to change the locks at your new property.
- Start disassembling any furniture you can so that it’s easier to load up into your van on the day of the move.
- If you’re renting your property, set up a time for a final walk through inspection with your landlord.
- Dismantle any shelving, take down any pictures, and remove any fitted items that are coming with you.
- Repair any scrapes, scratches, nail holes, or marks in the house you’re leaving.
- Remember to redirect your TV licence since it won’t automatically change to your new property.
Three days before you move
These are the last few tasks you need to carry out before moving day.
- Do your laundry so that you don’t have to cart dirty clothes to your new home.
- Label any spare keys and remove all old house keys from your keyring.
- Make a list of the contact names and numbers of people and services you’ll be needing to sort out in the first few days.
- Contact your utility companies e.g. gas, electric and water, to let them know of your moving date and new address. This will need to be done with at least 48 hours’ notice.
- Find out when you will receive the keys to your new home.
- Pack your documents and valuables in a separate box or bag so they don’t get lost during the move.
- Disconnect any appliances that you’re taking with you e.g. the cooker, washing machine, dishwasher etc.
- Throw away any leftover food that has an expired date. Make sure all of your long-lasting foods are packed carefully and tightly so they won’t spill.
- Take pictures of the back of your electronics before disconnecting them so you can set them up easily in your new place.
- Empty and defrost your fridge/freezer.
Moving Day Things To Do
The day is finally here and it’s time to move into your new place! Here are some of the most important things to do both at your old home and your new one.
- Instruct the packing of your moving van strategically – since your boxes are all labelled, you will be able to pack them in the van in sections.
- Do one last check of your home before you leave it, after everything has been packed into your moving van. Go through all the drawers and cupboards in every room and check the garage if you have one.
- Clean your home before you leave it.
- Make sure all windows and doors are locked and secured and make a note of all meter readings.
- Take photos of the empty rooms to serve as proof for the condition the property was in when you moved out.
- Don’t forget your moving bag with your essentials.
- After you’ve moved into your new place, make sure to return the keys to your old property to the relevant party, check to see if your utilities are working, and make sure to check your moving van for anything that’s not been unpacked.
Now it’s time to take a breath, relax and enjoy your new home.
Moving Day Essentials – Packing List
Although some of these are very obvious, we’re also seen situations where they are missed. After a long day hunting around in boxes is not what you need. Here’s our list of essentials to keep separated and on your person on the big day:
- Important documents (e.g., passports, marriage license, birth certificates, any records containing bank account information)
- Credit cards
- Medication
- Phone and charger
- Laptop and charger
- Toilet paper
- A change of clothes (one for each member of your household)
- Snacks and water (for kids and pets)
- A child’s special toy or blanket (if they can’t bear to pack it)
- Jewelry
- Flashlight
- Tape measure
- Toolbox
- Trash bags
- Paper towels
- Cash
- Any other valuables, heirlooms or irreplaceable items
Moving into a new house downloadable checklist
As we promised, not only have we provided you with this checklist on our website but we’re also giving you a downloadable version of the checklist so you don’t need to worry about your internet connection when you’re moving in, and also an Excel checklist so that you can tick off every step along the way and tailor it to your own processes.
Printable checklist for moving home
Moving Home Ultimate Checklist -PDF
Excel moving home checklist
Titan Storage – Moving House Checklist – Excel Sheet
Moving home FAQs
Everyone has questions about moving home so we’ve compiled the most important ones so that you’re as prepared as you can be for your moving day.
Who do I need to notify of a change of address?
When moving house, there are a number of organisations who need to know about your change of address. The most important ones are:
- Your employer
- National Insurance (which may be done through your employer)
- Your local council for council tax
- The electoral roll
- The DVLA
- Your utilities providers, whether you want to stay with the same company or not
- Your GP and dentist
- Your bank(s)
Possible other address changes which may or may not be relevant to you include your gym membership, your magazine or newspaper subscriptions, and club or society registrations.
Find out more about this in our blog.
How do you forward your address when moving?
When moving to a new house, a post redirection ensures you don’t miss any post before you’ve updated all of your addresses. This is also a great way to check if you’ve missed off any people who need to be notified of your change of address.
To set up a post redirection, simply visit the Royal Mail website. You can include multiple names, perfect for if you’ve recently changed your name, and also multiple people.
How do you organise moving house?
Organising moving to a new house doesn’t have to be daunting, especially if you use our handy moving house checklist. We’ll be able to guide you through all the steps from two months before your move-in/completion date all the way up to moving day.
Simply download the checklist using one of the links above, or bookmark this page on your web browser for easy access during the months ahead.
What to do after moving into a new house?
When you move into a new house, the first thing you do before you unpack your van is to take photos of the rooms to future proof their condition. While this is less important when you’ve bought the house, compared to if you’re renting it, it’s still good to have a visual of what the room looks like without any furniture in it so that you can plan your layouts.
You will also need to check to see whether your utilities are working – if you’ve followed our checklist, your suppliers should have transferred over your utilities to your new property or new suppliers will have taken over. If your utilities aren’t working, make sure you have the numbers for the suppliers on hand so you can follow this up.
After that point, you can start unpacking if you wish, or take a moment to breathe and rest after the hectic morning. If you’ve packed an essentials box, unpack that at least because then you can enjoy the snacks and maybe a cup of tea.
You can then think about setting up your appliances, such as your fridge, so you can get it up and running for food storage.
Where do I go to change my address on my driver’s licence?
When moving house, you will need to change your address on both your driver’s license and your vehicle registration form.
You can do both with help from the Gov.uk website. Your driver’s licence address change can be done for free online here.
You will have to send your Vehicle Registration Form away to change the address on it. Find out more about how to complete that process here.
How long does it take to pack up a large van?
The time it will take you to pack up your van will depend entirely on the size of your house and the number of belongings you are packing up.
On average, if you have help from moving experts, these are the times you would be looking at:
- For a one-bedroom flat, you would be looking at around four to five hours. However, this may increase depending on how many belongings and how far away your new address is.
- For a two-bedroom house, we’d expect the packing and moving process to total around six to eight hours, depending on travel time.
- For a three-bedroom house, the average time that movers will take to complete the move from the house to a new property is around eight to nine hours.
- For a house with four bedrooms or more, you could see the moving time taking longer than a day, which is where it might be appropriate to secure storage for belongings that you can’t transport to your new property.
Last-minute questions to ask the sellers
Before you wave goodbye to the old owners of your new home, you may find it beneficial to ask them a few last-minute questions, so you know the lay of the land in your new property.
- Where is the main stopcock (to shut off the water) located?
- Where can I find the gas and electricity meters?
- Where is the thermostat?
- Which companies supply the gas and energy, water, home phone, and internet/broadband?
- Do you have any tins of paint that are the same colour as the walls?
- Where did any fixed furniture and tiles come from e.g. in the kitchen and bathroom?
- Do you have any instruction manuals or warranties for electrical items in the property?
- Do any surfaces need special cleaning products e.g. granite countertops or wooden floors?
- What day are the bins collected?
If you’re moving into a new home and need the assistance of a storage unit to help look after your belongings until you have space for them, we’re happy to lend a hand at Titan Storage. With 24/7 access, 365 days of the year, you’ll be able to retrieve any items you realise you need whenever you need them and, with our personalised security pin, you’ll be safe in the knowledge that only you can access your belongings. With monthly based payments, you can store for as long or short a time as you need.
If you’d be interested in a quote for storage, click here and find out what will work best for your home move. Check out our unpacking guide and 5 tips to make your move stress free.
Moving with a dog? Keep their tails wagging whilst you’re packing.
Editor Note: Article last updated 28th December 2023
