Moving In Checklist 2026: Everything to Do Before, During and After Completion (Part 12)

Part 12: The Complete Moving-In Checklist

This is Part 12 of 12 in the "Buying Your First Home — Month by Month" series. ← Part 11: Exchange of Contracts — What Happens and What to Do

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Completion day is the culmination of months of saving, mortgage applications, surveys, conveyancing and negotiation. The moment you collect those keys is genuinely one of the most significant financial milestones of your life — and also one of the busiest administrative days you will ever have.

Most first-time buyers are so absorbed in the excitement that the practical checklist falls away. Meters go unread. Council tax registration is forgotten. Address updates pile up. And then the bills arrive at the wrong address, the energy company overcharges, and the mortgage direct debit appears at an unexpected time.

This guide is your complete action plan: before completion, on the day, in the first week, and in the first month. Work through it systematically and your first few weeks of homeownership will be considerably less chaotic.

Before Completion Day: The Final Preparation Checklist

Several tasks need to be completed before you collect the keys. Do not leave these until the morning of completion.

Confirm buildings insurance is active

Buildings insurance must be in force from exchange of contracts, not completion. If you exchanged three weeks ago and have not yet arranged buildings insurance, you have been uninsured during that period — meaning any damage to the property between exchange and today would be your financial liability.

Before completion day, log into your buildings insurance policy and confirm:

• The policy is active and the address is correct
• The sum insured reflects the rebuild value (not the market value) specified in your mortgage offer
• The excess is acceptable — typical excesses are £100–£500
• You have your policy number and insurer's emergency contact number saved

If the policy was arranged but you are uncertain it is active, call the insurer directly. Do not assume.

Arrange contents insurance

Buildings insurance covers the structure; contents insurance covers your possessions. A furnished two-bedroom home typically contains £20,000–£40,000 of contents. A single water leak can destroy carpets, furniture, white goods and electronics worth thousands.

Arrange contents insurance before your furniture arrives. Average annual cost for a first home with £30,000 of contents: £120–£200/year (2026 rates). Multi-policy discounts are available from most insurers if you combine buildings and contents with the same provider.

Notify your solicitor of your bank details

Your solicitor will need to transfer any surplus funds from your completion account after all fees and costs have been settled. Confirm your bank account details with them in the final week before completion.

Organise removals

If you are using a removal company, confirm the booking, the access time and the address. Most removal companies want payment before or on moving day. Confirm:

• Whether they supply packing materials or whether you need to arrange these
• Whether the quote includes disassembly and reassembly of large furniture
• Whether they have insurance for damaged items in transit (most reputable companies do)

Average removal costs for a two-bedroom flat in 2026: £400–£800 for local moves, £600–£1,200 for longer distances. Same-day completion and move-in (the most common scenario) requires the removals vehicle to be ready to go the moment you have keys — which typically means an afternoon start once funds have cleared.

Request time off work

If you have not already done so, book completion day and at least one day after it as annual leave. The admin mountain is real. Trying to manage meter readings, energy suppliers, council tax and broadband on a lunch break is not realistic.

Completion Morning: What Is Happening Legally

On completion day, the following sequence happens in the background:

1. Your solicitor draws down your mortgage advance from the lender (this will have been requested 3–5 working days earlier).
2. The solicitor combines the mortgage advance with your deposit already held since exchange.
3. The full purchase price is sent via CHAPS to the seller's solicitor.
4. Once the seller's solicitor confirms receipt, they authorise the estate agent to release the keys.
5. Your solicitor pays SDLT to HMRC — this must happen within 14 days of completion and is handled automatically.
6. The solicitor submits the Land Registry application to register you as the new owner (processing takes 2–12 weeks).

Keys are typically released between 11am and 2pm. If funds are delayed (CHAPS can be affected by cut-off times), key release may push later in the day. Your solicitor will keep you updated.

What to bring to the estate agent:

• Photo ID (passport or driving licence)
• Your solicitor's contact number
• Your buildings insurance policy number
• A charged phone

At the Property: Do This Before You Unpack Anything

The moment you enter the property, run through this checklist — before any furniture comes in.

1. Take all meter readings

Photograph every meter with the timestamp visible:

• Electricity meter — record the reading in kWh. If your property has a smart meter, note both peak and off-peak readings if applicable.
• Gas meter — record in cubic metres (m³).
• Water meter — not all properties have one; if present, record in cubic metres. If there is no water meter, your water bill will be based on the rateable value of the property.

Submit these readings to the energy supplier on the same day via their app or online portal. Keep a screenshot confirmation. These are your official "move-in reads" and protect you from inheriting the previous owner's consumption.

2. Locate the essential controls

Find these before you need them urgently:

• Consumer unit (fuse box) — usually in a hallway, under the stairs or in a kitchen cupboard. Identify which circuit breaker controls which rooms.
• Stopcock (water mains shutoff) — usually under the kitchen sink or near the front door. Know how to turn it off; a burst pipe in the first week is more common than you'd think.
• Gas meter and isolator valve — typically in a meter cupboard outside the property or under the stairs.
• Alarm panel — get the code from the estate agent notes or seller's handover pack.
• Boiler — locate it, turn it on, confirm it produces hot water and heating. Note the make and model. Locate the user manual (often tucked beside the boiler).

3. Check fixtures and fittings

Compare the condition against the Fixtures and Fittings Form (TA10) signed at exchange. Confirm that all agreed items are present: fitted wardrobes, curtains, white goods, light fittings and any other items the seller agreed to leave.

If anything is missing, contact your solicitor immediately — before the practical elements of completion are fully wound down. Once the seller has vacated and time passes, it becomes significantly harder to recover missing items.

4. Photograph all existing damage

Before any furniture enters, photograph every wall, floor, ceiling, door and window. Note any scuffs, chips, cracks or stains. These photographs timestamp the pre-existing condition and protect you from any future dispute with a neighbouring property or landlord (for flats) about when damage occurred.

5. Count all keys

Collect from the estate agent: front door keys, back door keys, garage keys, window lock keys, post box key, and any fobs (parking, communal entrance for a flat). Confirm the number matches what was listed in the sale documentation.

The First Week Admin Checklist

The first seven days after completion are dense with administrative tasks. Work through these in order.

Register for council tax

Contact your local council within 24–48 hours of completion. Council tax liability begins from completion day, and while late registration does not trigger a penalty per se, it creates backdated bills that can be a shock weeks later.

Find your council via gov.uk/find-local-council. Most councils offer online registration. You will need: your completion date, the property address, and your personal details.

Discount checks:

• Single occupancy: 25% discount
• Full-time students: full exemption in most councils
• Low income: Council Tax Reduction (means-tested — apply via your local council)
• Severely mentally impaired resident in the household: various discounts apply

Council tax bands in England for 2026/27 range from approximately £1,400/year (Band A) to £4,200/year (Band H) depending on your local authority and band. Use our calculator to estimate your bill.

Update the electoral roll

Register your new address at gov.uk/register-to-vote. This is not just a civic duty — electoral roll registration at your address is one of the most effective ways to build credit history at a new address and is checked by most lenders, credit card companies and utility providers. Do this within 48 hours.

Notify HMRC of your new address

If you are employed (PAYE), update your address via your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account. HMRC sends P60s, tax code notices and correspondence to your registered address — a tax code error sent to the wrong address can go unnoticed for months.

If you are self-employed, update your address in your Self Assessment account at the same time.

Set up or transfer utilities

If the previous owners had a supply contract with a major energy supplier, your energy may already be active under a "deemed contract" — but this is typically an expensive standard variable tariff. Use your completion day meter readings as the starting point and switch to a competitive tariff immediately. Under Ofgem rules, energy switches complete within 5 working days.

Comparison sites (Uswitch, MoneySuperMarket) aggregate the available tariffs. In June 2026, the best fixed tariffs are typically 5–10% below the Ofgem Price Cap, which is set at £1,849/year for a typical household from April 2026.

Redirect your post

Set up Royal Mail redirection at royalmail.com/redirection. A 3-month redirection costs approximately £33.99 (2026 rates); a 12-month redirection costs approximately £70.99. This is essential — financial institutions, pension providers, DVLA and subscription services will continue sending post to your previous address for weeks or months.

Alongside the redirection, directly update your address with:

Change the locks

Change the front door cylinder within the first week. The previous owners may have given keys to family members, neighbours, cleaners, tradespeople or letting agents — you have no way of knowing. A new cylinder costs £30–£80 from a locksmith and takes approximately 30 minutes.

This is one of the most overlooked items on moving-in checklists. It is also one of the simplest.

Arrange TV licence and broadband

Apply for a TV licence at the new address if you will watch live television or use BBC iPlayer (tvlicensing.co.uk). The annual cost is £174.50 (2026/27 rate, set from April 2026).

For broadband, contact your current provider about transferring your service — most offer a home move service, though a new installation may be required. If switching provider (which moving home allows you to do without an early termination fee), allow 2–4 weeks for Openreach to install a new line, particularly in high-demand postcodes.

Your First Mortgage Payment: What to Expect

The timing of your first mortgage payment catches many first-time buyers off guard.

How lenders structure the first payment:

Most lenders collect by direct debit on a fixed day — usually the 1st or the 15th of the month. If you complete mid-month, your lender calculates "stub interest" (interest on the mortgage for the remaining days of the completion month) and either collects it separately or adds it to the first regular payment.

Worked example — completion 20 June 2026:

In practice, the stub interest is often collected on or shortly after completion day, separately from the monthly direct debit. Your lender's completion pack will confirm the exact amounts and dates — read it carefully. Set up a direct debit monitoring alert in your banking app so the payment does not come as a surprise.

Setting up your mortgage account

Log into your lender's online portal within the first week and:

• Confirm your direct debit is set up correctly (payee name, bank account, amount, date)
• Note your 10% annual overpayment allowance and when the allowance resets
• Save the mortgage account number and lender's customer service number
• Set a calendar reminder 6 months before your initial deal period ends (to begin remortgaging research)

Making your first overpayment

If your budget allows, consider making a small overpayment in the first month — even £50 or £100. This establishes the habit and has a disproportionate long-term impact because overpayments in the early years of a mortgage reduce the capital on which future interest is calculated.

On a £220,000 mortgage at 4.65% over 25 years:

• A £100/month regular overpayment from month one saves approximately £16,200 in total interest and reduces the term by approximately 3 years and 4 months.
• A £50/month regular overpayment saves approximately £8,800 and reduces the term by approximately 1 year and 10 months.

First Month: Building Your Home Financial Foundation

Rebuild the emergency fund

Moving costs, deposit, stamp duty, conveyancing fees and the general expense of furnishing a new home typically depletes savings significantly. Your first financial priority in year one is to rebuild an emergency fund of £3,000–£5,000 earmarked specifically for home emergencies.

Why this figure:

• Boiler replacement: £2,500–£4,000
• Emergency roof repair: £500–£2,000
• Burst pipe and water damage: £500–£3,000
• Appliance replacement (washing machine, fridge): £400–£900

These costs arrive without warning. An underfunded emergency fund means using credit cards — which at typical 2026 rates of 23–30% APR will cost significantly more than the repair itself. Keep the emergency fund in an easy-access savings account (not your LISA, which carries a 25% withdrawal penalty on non-qualifying withdrawals). In June 2026, easy-access savings rates are paying 4.0%–4.5% AER — your emergency buffer earns competitive interest while remaining instantly accessible.

Review your home insurance annually

Buildings and contents insurance are annual contracts. Do not let them auto-renew without checking the market — insurers typically offer the best rates to new customers, not existing ones. Diarise a review three weeks before each renewal date. Switching providers at renewal takes approximately 10 minutes and commonly saves £50–£150/year compared to the auto-renewal price.

Register appliances and warranties

Within the first month, register any appliances included with the property (if new-build) or purchased new for the move. Registration activates manufacturer warranties and ensures you receive recall notices. Most manufacturers allow registration online and it takes under 5 minutes per appliance.

For new-build homes, register your snagging defects with the developer in writing within the first two years. Under the NHBC Buildmark warranty (or equivalent), the developer is obligated to rectify defects reported during the first 2 years from legal completion. Structural defects are covered for 10 years. Document everything in writing — email is sufficient.

Practical UK-Specific Tips

1. Check your council tax band independently

Council tax bands in England were set based on property values in April 1991 — and approximately 400,000 homes are estimated to be in the wrong band. Check your band via the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) at gov.uk/council-tax-bands and compare with neighbours. If your band appears inconsistent with comparable properties on your street, you can challenge it. The VOA accepts challenges and successful appeals result in backdated refunds going back to when you moved in.

2. Water meter opt-in may save money

If the property does not have a water meter and your household has fewer people than it has bedrooms, switching to a water meter often reduces the water bill. Most water companies in England and Wales allow free installation on request. You have a statutory right to revert to unmetered billing within 12 months if the meter turns out to be more expensive. Anglian Water, Thames Water and Southern Water all offer the switch online.

3. Notify DVLA about your new address within 30 days

Updating your driving licence address is a legal requirement when you move. Failure to notify DVLA within 30 days of a change of address can result in a fine of up to £1,000. The update is free and takes approximately 5 minutes at gov.uk/change-address-driving-licence. If you own a vehicle, also update the V5C registration document.

4. Check whether you qualify for Warm Home Discount

If your property is heated by electricity and your household income is below a threshold (approximately £31,000 in 2025/26), you may qualify for the Warm Home Discount Scheme — a £150 credit applied directly to your electricity bill each winter. Eligibility is checked automatically by HMRC and the DWP for some households, but others need to apply via their energy supplier. The 2026/27 scheme opens in autumn 2026 — register your interest with your supplier early.

5. Set your mortgage remortgage reminder now

The single most expensive mistake new homeowners make is missing the end of their initial deal period and defaulting onto the lender's Standard Variable Rate (SVR). In 2026, typical SVRs are running at 7.5%–8.5% — compared to the best 2-year fixes at approximately 4.2% and best 5-year fixes at approximately 4.0%. On a £200,000 balance, the difference between 4.3% and 7.8% is approximately £540/month in additional mortgage costs.

Set a calendar reminder 6 months before your deal expires. For a 2-year fix taken in June 2026, that reminder is December 2027. For a 5-year fix, December 2030.

The Series: What You Have Covered

This is the final instalment of "Buying Your First Home — Month by Month." Across 12 parts, the series has taken you from deposit savings through to the administration of your first weeks as a homeowner:

Owning your first home is one of the most significant financial decisions most people make. The process is long, paperwork-heavy and occasionally stressful — but it is navigable. With realistic expectations, sound preparation and a systematic approach to the administrative mountain of moving in, the outcome is one of the most rewarding milestones of adult financial life.

Good luck in your new home.

Sources

• HM Land Registry: Registration process and timelines
• HMRC: SDLT — when and how to pay
• gov.uk: Register to vote at new address
• gov.uk: Find your local council — council tax registration
• Valuation Office Agency: Check your council tax band
• DVLA: Change address on driving licence
• Ofgem: Energy price cap April 2026
• Ofgem: Switching energy suppliers
• NHBC: Buildmark warranty for new-build homes
• TV Licensing: Register at new address
• Royal Mail: Post redirection service
• DWP: Warm Home Discount Scheme