Moving home? Your complete financial checklist

Moving house is a stressful time, but it doesn’t end once you and all your furniture are in your new home, then you need to start informing businesses of your move.

After you move house it’s important that you let everyone from the taxman to your insurance company know your new contact details. Fail to inform some and you could face a fine.

Here’s a checklist of everyone you need to inform and how to do it.

Royal Mail

First things first, set up Royal Mail redirection. This will mean your post is sent from your old address to your new for a couple of months while you sort our telling everyone.

Also, consider leaving some stamped address A4 envelopes at your old address. Many companies don’t use Royal Mail anymore so some post could still go to your old address, this way you are making it easy for the new occupiers to send it on to you.

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HMRC

You need to tell the taxman when you move. If you pay tax via PAYE then your employer should inform HMRC of your new address details, but if you are self-employed you need to do it. Failure to do so could result in a fine if it means you miss a tax deadline because you didn’t receive the warnings.

You can change you address online at the Government Gateway website.

Your employer

Give your employer your new address so that they can inform HMRC if you pay tax via PAYE, and also so they can update their records.

Energy provider

Make sure you tell your energy provider at your old property that you are moving out, and what day you’ll leave. Then make sure you give them your new address and final meter readings so they can calculate and send you your final bill.

You also need to inform the energy provider at your new property that you have moved in. The details of who supplies the property should be in your property information pack, if you have bought it, otherwise ask the landlord.

Most energy firms have a ‘Moving Home’ section on their website where you can fill out the needed information.

Water company

You need to let the firm that provides your water know who you are and when you moved in, so they know who to bill. Again, if you are renting ask your landlord if you need to do this. If you are buying then the info about who provides your water should be in your legal documents.

Telephone, Internet and TV provider

If you have a landline telephone, or a paid TV package then you’ll need to let those companies know you are moving so you stop being charged at your old property and can set up new services at your new home.

You also need to get your internet service set up at the new property. Try to do this as early as possible as there can be a wait before you are up and running.

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TV Licensing

Make sure you tell the TV licensing firm when you move home. If you have a licence then you should be able to move it to your new property in order to avoid a fine for not being licenced.

You can use the change of address form on the TV Licence website.

Banks and building societies

Tell any bank or building society where you hold a current account or savings account straight away that you have moved. Otherwise a bank statement sent to the wrong address could provide a criminal with an easy way to steal your identity.

If you bank online you can usually change your address via your personal banking homepage. Otherwise call them and change your details.

NS&I

If you have National Savings & Investments (NS&I) savings accounts or Premium Bonds you need to inform them of your new address details.

You can do this by logging into the NS&I website and going to ‘Your Details’.

Credit card provider

Let all your credit card providers know your new address straight away as a bill that goes astray could lead to you missing a repayment and damaging your credit score, or you losing a promotional interest rate.

You should be able to do this via your credit card’s website otherwise give them a call.

Local council

You need to let your local council know when you change address or move into or out of the area. This is so they can stop or start billing you for council tax.

Check your local council’s website for details of how to tell them you’ve changed address.

Insurance companies

You need to change your address on all your insurance policies. This could result in a refund, or increased premium for some policies such as car insurance. But, make sure you do it quickly otherwise you could find your policy is invalid when you go to make a claim.

Pet microchips

If you have a dog they have to be microchipped by law now so make sure you inform the microchip firm of your new address. That way you stand a much better chance of being reunited with your pet if they run off.

Pension provider

Make sure you keep your pension providers up-to-date on your contact details. A whopping £3bn is currently sitting in lost pensions, and one of the key reasons this money gets lost is because people forget to keep pension firms up-to-date with their contact details.

DVLA

If you have a driving licence you need to inform the DVLA of your change of address. Failure to do so can result in a £1,000 fine as the DVLA needs to have up-to-date contact details for all drivers in case a fine is issued.

You also need to make sure your car is registered to the correct address.

The DVLA website shows you how to update your address details.

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Subscriptions

Inform any company you buy a subscription from, whether it’s a wine club, food delivery or magazine subscription. Otherwise you could be paying for something that never makes it to your home.