You have the keys, the boxes are everywhere and the kettle is the only thing you can find. Amid the chaos there is a short list of admin that really does need doing in the first week, plus a few things almost everyone forgets.
Sort the essentials before the first night
Some jobs cannot wait for the dust to settle. Take meter readings the moment you arrive, ideally with a photo of the meter and the date, so your first bill starts from the right number. Tell your energy supplier and water company you have moved. Register with the local council for council tax and check whether you need a new bin collection or parking arrangement.
Set up broadband as early as you can, because installation slots book up and a fortnight without it is nobody’s idea of fun. If you have children moving schools, confirm the start date and the uniform list. None of this is complicated. It is just easy to lose in the noise of a move. Check the smoke alarms work and find the stopcock while you are at it, because the first week is exactly when you want to know where it is, not the night a pipe decides to leak.
Redirect, update and tell the right people
Your address is scattered across dozens of accounts, and every one of them needs to catch up. Start with a Royal Mail redirection to buy yourself time, then work through the accounts that matter most.
- Money: banks, building societies, credit cards, your mortgage lender and any savings such as Premium Bonds.
- Vehicle: your driving licence and V5C logbook with the DVLA, plus car insurance and breakdown cover.
- Home: buildings and contents insurance, which may need re-rating for the new property.
- Health: your GP, dentist and optician, and update the NHS if you are moving out of area.
- Work and state: your employer, HMRC and anyone paying you a pension.
Insurance deserves a closer look than a simple address change. A new postcode, a different type of property or a longer commute can all move your premium, so it is worth checking the cover still fits rather than letting it roll over.
The bits almost everyone forgets
Two documents get overlooked in nearly every move, and both matter. The first is your will. If it names your home, refers to it by address or was written with your old circumstances in mind, it may need revisiting. Buying a property is one of the classic moments to check a will still does what you intend.
The second is a lasting power of attorney. If you have a registered LPA, the Office of the Public Guardian holds your address details, and out-of-date information can cause delays exactly when an attorney needs to act. Updating your address with them is a small job that saves a future headache. You can find the current process on GOV.UK. It is also worth telling the people who matter, the family member who is an executor or attorney, so they know where you now live and where your documents are kept.
Keep a record so you are not doing this again next time
Moving reveals just how much of your life is tied to your address, and how easily a few accounts slip through. The way to make the next move easier is to keep a single list of everyone you told this time. A year from now, or three years from now, that list is gold. You will not have to reconstruct it from memory and half-remembered logins.
Tick each account off as you update it. The ones you miss tend to be the low-frequency ones, the loyalty schemes, the old savings account, the insurer you only hear from once a year. A written record catches them. It also helps whoever else lives in the house, because a move is rarely one person’s job and two people working from the same list avoid doing the same task twice or, worse, assuming the other one did it.
Where FamilySafe fits
FamilySafe gives that record a permanent home. You keep your accounts, documents and key contacts in one secure place, update the address once and share what your family needs to know. It is free to start. Next time you move, the list is already there waiting, and the will and the LPA are not the things you forget.
