When you come to moving house, it might seem like there are a million and one things you’ll need to remember to do. This can be particularly stressful if you’re moving house on your own, or if you’re moving with children and pets. 

You’ll need to give notice to all your utilities, arrange your utilities for your new home and inform the relevant contacts of your change of address, which is before you’ve even considered measuring up and packing up, amongst other things.

However, if you prepare for a house move far in advance, it can become an exciting process with minimal stress. To make the process of moving house as simple and organised as possible, we have created a checklist for any tenant or homeowner to follow.

☐ Confirm moving date

Once it’s agreed that you have secured your property, whether it’s rented or if you are due to own it, you’ll need to confirm the moving date. Choose a date that works best for you and those involved in helping you move, as you’ll want to book a few days off from your work.

To make the move as stress-free as possible, you might want to consider your moving date to be a few days earlier than you are required to leave your existing property. This gives you several days or weeks to move, minimising the stress and rush to move into your new property.

This also means you have more time to give your existing property a deep-clean before handing back the keys.

☐ Give notice to your landlord 

If you’re renting, you’ll need to give notice to your landlord (or Leicester lettings agent) as soon as possible. You’ll also need to make sure that you provide enough notice, as agreed in your rental contract.

This is so that your landlord has enough time to market the rental property and to find a new tenant, whilst giving them enough time to arrange the end of tenancy steps.

☐ Measure up

For most people, moving house can be incredibly exciting, so it’s understandable if you’re pro-actively homeware shopping and planning where each of your items will be placed in your new home. Something we strongly advise is to go back to the new property shortly before you are due to move, to take measurements and to take photos of the home. 

The benefit of doing this is that you’ll be able to plan the decor and pre-order furniture that fits perfectly in the property. If you’re particularly organised, you might like to draw an accurate floor plan draft of the home, which can be helpful if you’re thinking of extending parts of the house.

☐ Have a clear-out

You’ll be surprised how much clutter we accumulate over the years, whether it’s something which is thrown to the back of an empty cupboard or clothes which haven’t been worn in over six years. 

Having a clear-out before you start packing is essential in ensuring an easier moving process. It’s also the best time to have a thorough clear-out as there’s likely to be items you never knew you had!

☐  Order new furniture

With any new home, you might need to order new furniture or white goods. If this is the case, you’ll want to start ordering far in advance, to secure a scheduled delivery date which works around your move. 

It also might be a good idea to request a time-slot for your delivery if you’re looking at having your deliveries arrive on days you’ll be busy moving back and forth between both homes.

☐ Give notice to existing utility providers

If you’re in charge of your home utilities, you’ll need to contact all relevant suppliers and provide them with your notice. We recommend giving as much notice as possible, although you should give at least 48 hours notice.

For electricity, you’ll need to read your meter on the day you move out and make a note of this, before giving your supplier the readings. This is to prevent any misunderstandings or confusion with your final bill, as the new tenant or homeowner moving into your existing property will be using the same electricity provider when they move in.

☐ Consider a removal company 

Many homeowners and tenants make the mistake of giving themselves too much work when it comes to moving. You’ll be surprised just how much easier it is to use a removal company, as well as how cheap they can be. 

Some assume that removal companies charge by weight, although they usually charge by the hour. As with any paid-for service, you’ll want to compare quotes from different removal companies. 

☐ Pack everything

When it comes to packing, you’ll want to dedicate several days. A great idea is to write a plan of which rooms will be packed up, and when. This is ideal if there are several rooms which won’t be used during the last few days (or weeks) of your time at the current property, such as a guest room or a garage.

When moving into your new property, you’ll need to unpack one room at a time. This is why it’s highly recommended to assign your cardboard boxes to each room, then labelling boxes with which room the contents will need to be moved to. 

☐  Order food shop

As unloading boxes and organising rooms can take several days, you might be pushed for time in doing a big food shop. For this reason, ordering your food shop online is one less thing to worry about, and saves precious time so you can get on with organising your new home.

☐ Pack an essentials box 

We recommend having an ‘essentials’ box for bits and bobs you’ll need throughout moving day. These are essential items which will save you rifling through other boxes trying to locate. 

In your essentials box, you might consider packing tea, coffee, sugar, milk, mugs, a kettle, snacks, toilet roll, kitchen roll and your phone chargers. If you’re planning on cleaning before unpacking, you’ll want to consider packing some cleaning products, a vacuum cleaner and some bin bags.

You’ll also need to pack items you’ll be using in the morning of your move, which includes toothbrushes, toothpaste, shower gel and any other essential toiletries.

☐ Deep clean before the move

Before handing back the keys to your existing property, you’ll want to have a deep clean ready for the new tenants / homeowners to move in. This will include dusting and cleaning down all surfaces, hoovering all floors and mopping any hard floors. 

☐ Looking after your pets and children

If you have a furry friend or young children, it’s recommended to find someone to look after them during the moving process. This makes the moving process less stressful and means you can get on with unpacking without them getting in the way. It might even be worth putting your pet in the kennels for 24 hours.

☐ Change addresses 

Two to three days before moving, you should start changing over your addresses. This will include informing your bank, workplace, insurance companies, the electoral roll, DVLA and your national insurance. In order to receive any important letters from your doctors’ surgery, you’ll need to inform them of your move. If you pay for a TV licence, you’ll need to change over the address to your new one, as you can receive a fine for not updating.

If you have a pet, you should also inform the vets of your change of address and get them to update your pet’s chip.

☐ Change doctors

Once you have moved home, you might need to consider changing doctors if your postal code prefix has changed. Have a look nearby at local surgeries and take a look at their local reviews and whether they have any vacancies. All surgeries will have a catchment area, so you’ll have to make sure your new home is located within this area.

☐ Post redirection services

With a wide range of suppliers and organisations to inform of your change of address, it can be a big worry to think there might be something you’ve forgotten to change.

Royal Mail offers a postal redirection service (for a small fee) which means that all mail will be forwarded onto your new address. Not only does this mean no important mail gets missed, but it does protect against identity fraud too.

☐ Arrange new utilities

When you move into your new home, you’ll most likely be using the utilities that the previous tenant or homeowner were using. If you want to keep these utility suppliers, you’ll need to give them a call and inform them that you’ve just recently moved in and would like to set up a direct debit. 

However, if you’d like to change suppliers, it’s recommended to visit a price comparison website to compare gas and electricity deals. If you decide to switch, you should call up the new supplier and arrange the switchover date, before contacting your existing suppliers to let them know you’ll be switching.

Getting Off to the Right Start With Open House 

Open House aims to take all of the stress out of the buying experience for first-time buyers by providing a personal dedicated service. Through buying a property with us, you will be given all the best information and Leicester property evaluations to ultimately discover the home of your dreams. 

If you’re looking for a Leicester lettings agency to help you find a rental property, our friendly property experts have years of experience when it comes to letting and renting properties so they will be able to answer any questions you have and make sure you are getting the best quality services. For more information on how we can help you, get in touch with one of our friendly team today.