Moving house
The list, the letters and the meter readings. 6 templates, all free to fill in and print.
A move is mostly a list. The part people regret skipping is the evidence: meter readings at both properties on the day, and photographs of the condition of each. Everything else is telling people where you have gone — bank, employer, doctor, insurer, school, licence, and the subscriptions that will otherwise keep posting to the old address. Do the address changes in a single sitting with a list in front of you rather than as each one occurs to you, and note the reference each company gives you, because the second call is always about the first one.
A move is a logistics problem wearing a paperwork problem. The boxes are the visible half. The invisible half is the list of organisations that will keep writing to your old address until you tell them otherwise, and the readings you should have taken on the day. People underestimate the address list badly. It is not four or five entries. It is banks, cards, insurers, employer, pension, the tax authority, doctor and dentist, vehicle registration, driving licence, schools, subscriptions and every account with a delivery address saved in it. The other classic mistake is leaving without photographing the meters, which turns a routine final bill into an argument you have no evidence for.
Build the list before the boxes
Start a moving checklist as soon as a date looks real, and work backwards from it rather than forwards from today. The fixed points are the ones with lead times: notice to a landlord or the completion date, the removal booking, time off work, disconnection and reconnection of broadband, redirection of post, and any parking permit or lift booking a building requires. Everything else fits around those. Keep a home inventory list alongside it, a room-by-room record of what you own, with photographs of anything valuable and the serial numbers of electronics. It takes an afternoon. It tells you and the removers what is meant to arrive, and it is the document an insurer will ask for if a van is stolen or a box is dropped.
Read the meters, photograph the meters
On the day you leave the old property and the day you take the new one, photograph every meter face with the reading visible: electricity, gas, water, and heat if the building has a communal system. Send the readings to the supplier the same day, in writing, and note the date and time you took them. This single step prevents the most common post-move dispute, where a final bill arrives based on an estimate from a supplier who never visited. If an estimated bill does arrive, a meter reading dispute letter sets out your reading, the date you took it, the photograph as evidence and the figure you believe is correct. Do the same for any prepayment balance, and photograph the boiler and stopcock while you are there.
Tell everyone, in a sensible order
A change of address notification is the same short letter sent many times, so write it once and reuse it: old address, new address, the date the change takes effect, and your account or reference number for the organisation you are writing to. Do the ones with legal or financial consequences first: bank and cards, insurers, employer and payroll, pension, the tax authority, vehicle registration and driving licence where your country ties them to an address, and your doctor. Then the ones that lose you money if missed, such as subscriptions, deliveries and memberships. A postal redirection service buys you a cushion but is not a substitute; it expires, and it updates nobody's records. Keep a tick-list, because you will do this over several weeks.
Settle in and settle the bills
Once you are in, register with local services and check what the property is assessed for. Many countries and local authorities run discounts or exemptions on local property or council tax, for single occupants, students, empty properties or people in particular circumstances, and they are applied for rather than granted automatically. Find out what your own local authority offers and apply with the date you moved in, because backdating rules vary. A short note to neighbours introducing yourself, or warning them about a removal van blocking access, costs nothing and stops the first conversation being a complaint. Finally, keep the whole move in one folder: contracts, meter photographs, the inventory, the removal firm's terms and any damage notes. Claims and billing corrections both run to deadlines.
The order to do it in
- Fix the date, then work backwards booking removals, time off, broadband and any building lift slot.
- Photograph and record every meter at both properties on the day, and send readings in writing.
- Make a room-by-room inventory with photographs and serial numbers before anything goes into a box.
- Send change of address notices, doing banks, insurers, employer, tax and licensing authorities first.
- After moving, apply for any local property tax discount you qualify for and file everything together.
Common questions
Who do I need to tell when I change address?
Work in order of consequence. Bank and cards, insurers, employer and payroll, pension provider, your tax authority, vehicle and driving licence records where your country links them to an address, and your doctor come first. Then schools, utilities, subscriptions and anything with a saved delivery address. Some are legal obligations with deadlines, particularly vehicle and residence registration, so check what applies where you live.
What if my final utility bill is based on an estimate?
Send the supplier your actual reading with the date you took it and the photograph of the meter face, and ask for the bill to be corrected. Most suppliers reissue on evidence. If they refuse, a meter reading dispute letter creates a formal record, and your country or state will have an energy ombudsman or regulator for unresolved billing complaints once the supplier's own process is exhausted.
Should I make a home inventory before moving?
Yes, and it is quicker than it sounds. Photograph each room, list anything worth insuring, and note serial numbers for electronics and appliances. It gives you a check against what actually arrives, supports a claim against a removal firm if something is damaged, and is the document a contents insurer asks for after a loss. Store a copy somewhere that is not in the van.