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A moving house checklist works best when every task has a date, a person responsible and a clear next step. For a London move, the main appointments often need to fit together: collecting keys, getting access to the building, meeting the movers and handing back the old property.
Use this timeline to organise the weeks before your move and the first few days afterwards. The suggested timings are planning prompts, not fixed deadlines. If you have less notice, start with the tasks that depend on other people. Your provider’s instructions and your agreed property dates take priority.
Start with one shared moving plan
Create a note or sheet with five columns: task, person responsible, target date, confirmation reference and status. Give each task one owner, even if two people will help. Mark an appointment as confirmed only when you have a time and a contact.
Keep three dates separate: when you can first enter the new property, when your belongings will travel and when you must return the old keys. They may be different. If one is still uncertain, write down who will confirm it and when you will follow up.
Four to six weeks before: arrange the appointments
- Check the property handovers. Ask your landlord, agent or other relevant contact about key collection, check-in and check-out arrangements. Record any time windows.
- Plan the transport. Send your mover both addresses, your likely date, an inventory and the access details. Explain whether the date is provisional. Ask how date changes are handled before confirming a booking.
- Contact building management. For a London flat, ask about lift reservations, service entrances, moving hours and the person who can provide access on the day.
- Investigate loading arrangements. Check with the relevant council or road authority what is permitted at each address and whether anything needs arranging ahead. Put the responsibility for checking this in your plan.
- Check service appointments. Ask your broadband and other household providers about their moving process, any installation visit and the dates they can offer.
Keep booking details together so a change to one appointment can be passed to everyone affected. Our house removals inventory guide explains what to list for a transport enquiry; this checklist is for organising the timetable around it.
Two to three weeks before: organise address updates
Make an address-change list using your own bills, accounts and regular deliveries. Record the effective date each organisation needs and save confirmation of completed changes. Avoid putting passwords or full account details in a shared moving checklist.
- Energy, water, broadband and other household services.
- Your council, bank, insurers, employer and pension providers, where applicable.
- Healthcare providers, schools or childcare settings you use.
- Subscriptions, online shopping accounts and regular deliveries.
- Driving and vehicle records, if relevant to you.
For Council Tax, tell the relevant council about your move and follow its process. GOV.UK explains how to contact the council for your new address. Moving within the same borough still changes the property on your account.
Drivers should treat licence and vehicle-record updates as separate tasks. DVLA’s change-of-address guide covers the driving licence, the V5C for a vehicle you are the registered keeper of, and other applicable records. Updating one does not update them all.
Consider Royal Mail Redirection and check its current eligibility and setup arrangements. Continue updating senders directly rather than treating redirection as a permanent address change.
One week before: check the gaps between appointments
Read your plan from the start of moving day to the finish. Look for any point when someone needs a key, a phone call or access that has not yet been arranged.
- Confirm who will meet the movers at collection and who will open the destination.
- Reconfirm lift and building access arrangements, including the contact to call if an entrance is locked.
- Tell the mover about changes to the load, access or work requested since the quote.
- Arrange time for cleaning and the old-property handover after loading, if needed.
- Plan how children, pets and anyone who needs assistance will travel and be looked after.
- Check that your own travel plan works independently of the belongings’ transport.
If your new keys might be released later than expected, agree a communication plan and discuss the mover’s arrangements for waiting or rescheduling. Our guide to delayed keys on moving day covers that situation in more detail.
For the packing itself, use our guide to packing for moving house. Keep it alongside this timetable so the packing deadline matches the collection time.
The day before: prepare your handover folder
Keep the moving plan, booking details, key-collection instructions and important contact numbers accessible on your phone, with a paper copy if helpful. Charge your phone and put a charger in the bag that stays with you.
Set aside keys, identification, essential documents, medication and valuables. Clearly separate anything that must not be loaded. Decide where the first-night bedding, toiletries and basic kitchen items will travel so you can find them without opening every box.
Check the next day’s weather and access messages. Send any material change to the mover; do not assume a message to the letting agent also reaches the driver.
Moving day: use this final checklist
- Brief the team. Identify the items to move, anything staying behind, the destination rooms and the agreed work.
- Record readings. Take dated meter readings at the old and new homes where applicable, and keep a copy for your suppliers. Check their moving instructions; Citizens Advice explains the energy-supply steps.
- Walk through the old property. Check cupboards, behind doors and any separate storage areas against your list.
- Complete the handover. Follow the agreed process for keys and fobs. Keep the handover record with your other moving documents.
- Check the delivery. Direct belongings to their rooms, check the inventory and raise any concerns promptly with the mover.
- Make the first evening manageable. Locate your essentials and keep entrances and walking routes clear while unpacking.
During the first week: close unfinished tasks
Work through the outstanding items on your house moving checklist. Check that address updates and service appointments were completed, send any required meter readings and keep final bills and confirmations together. Review delivery addresses before placing your next online order.
Mark tasks as complete only when the result is confirmed. For example, “broadband requested” and “broadband working” are different stages. Leave a follow-up date beside anything still waiting for a response.
Plan the transport for your London move
JP Man & Van can discuss home removals in London around your inventory and access arrangements. Send your moving details or call 07925405549 with your date, both postcodes, floor levels and the help you need. Mention which appointments are confirmed and which are still provisional.