Moving house, whether to upsize, downsize or when you’re buying your first property, is fantastic but there can be a lot to think about. It’s not as simple as finding your dream property, having your offer accepted and then organising your move. There is a lot to do behind the scenes.
One element of home moving that it can be easy to forget about is updating your address and redirecting your post – although hopefully your estate agent will remind you!
In the excitement of packing to move into your new home, it can be easy for such tasks to slip by the wayside, only for you to realise days or even weeks later that you still have a fair bit of admin to do.
So, we’ve put together a list of the key people and organisations you’ll want to notify about your forthcoming move to make it a little bit easier.
As these are property-related, these are probably the easiest ones on the list to remember. Just make sure you don’t forget any. You’ll need to let your electricity, gas and water suppliers know about your move, as well as provide any final meter readings on the day you move out.
While not strictly a utility, we’re also including your local authority for your council tax in this part of the list, because it’s related to the property you’re leaving. The good news is that you might be due a partial refund of your council tax depending on how you pay it.
You also need to ensure your house insurance policy is updated to not only provide your new address but to ensure that you are sufficiently protected in your new home.
At the top of this list is the DVLA, because you will need to change the address listed on your driver’s licence. If you have a vehicle (or multiple vehicles), you’ll also need to update the registered keeper information in the V5C vehicle log book .
Of course, don’t forget to update your address with your car insurance provider as well. If you have separate breakdown cover, they will also likely need your new address.
Even though most of us are paperless with our banking and use apps these days, our banking providers still hold information like your address on file, so make sure you update this so that no important documents go missing.
Think beyond just your bank account and credit card provider. Do you have any store cards that will also need to be updated? What about your pension? You’ll also need to notify HMRC once you have moved into your new property.
This is not only important for your tax, but also for payments like child benefit or the state pension.
Even if you’re staying in your local area and therefore don’t need to move to a new doctor’s surgery or dental practice, you still need to ensure they have your correct address. This is especially important for notifications about routine health screening that is provided by the NHS.
This is far from an exhaustive list of all the people and organisations you’ll need to notify when you move – and it can feel like a lot to do. Our advice is to begin by writing a list of everyone you need to tell. Then break that down and work through the most important first.
Setting up a redirect for your post with Royal Mail is a really good idea, because it means you’ll still get your mail and you can use this as a reminder of other places where you need to update your personal details.
