8 weeks before: budget and shortlist
- Request quotes from three vetted removal companies and insist on a home or video survey rather than a phone estimate.
- Check Goods in Transit and Public Liability certificates and note the per-item limit.
- Decide whether you want packing included; full packing typically adds 25–40% to the crew cost.
- Start a moving folder for quotes. Solicitor letters and meter photographs.
6 weeks before: book and declutter
- Confirm your remover in writing. Including start time. Crew size and what happens if completion slips.
- Book storage if your sale and purchase dates do not line up.
- Begin decluttering room by room and book council bulky waste collection early. Slots fill in summer.
- Tell your children's school and register with a new GP and dentist if you are moving area.
4 weeks before: paperwork
- Set up Royal Mail redirection for at least six months.
- Notify your bank. Insurer. Employer. DVLA. TV licence and utility providers of the date.
- Arrange buildings insurance on the new property from exchange. Not completion.
- Apply for a parking bay suspension or waiting dispensation at both addresses.
2 weeks before: pack the bulk
- Pack everything except daily essentials. Labelling each box with its destination room.
- Photograph the back of your TV and computer cabling before disconnecting anything.
- Run down the freezer and finish opened food that cannot travel.
- Confirm the crew's arrival time and share access notes. Gate codes and lift bookings.
Move week and move day
- Pack an essentials box: kettle. Mugs. Tea. Phone chargers. Medication. Toilet roll. Bedding and tools.
- Take final meter readings and photograph them with a timestamp.
- Keep passports. Deeds and jewellery with you rather than on the lorry.
- Walk the empty property with the crew leader before signing the delivery note.
- At the new house. Check the inventory. Locate the stopcock and fuse board. And test the boiler.