selling

Moving house checklist: eight weeks, two weeks and moving day

A moving house checklist for sellers in England and Wales: what to do eight weeks out, in the last two weeks and on moving day, and who to tell.

5 min read
Last reviewed 4 November 2026
By Your Property Check team

Part 1 of 7

The short version

Moving is a lot of small jobs with a few fixed dates. The fixed dates come from your sale: exchange of contracts and completion. This checklist groups the jobs into eight weeks out, the last two weeks and moving day. The grouping is our suggestion, not a legal timetable, and your dates will move with your chain. It covers sellers in England and Wales. We read the GOV.UK pages on 4 November 2026. This page is general information, not advice.

GOV.UK says selling a home takes about 5 months on average, so treat "eight weeks" as the run-up to a firm date, not the start of the whole process. Our guide to how long it takes to sell a house explains the stages before that point.

Part 2 of 7

Know the two dates that matter

GOV.UK says that when contracts are exchanged, the agreement to sell and buy becomes legally binding, and usually neither side can pull out without paying compensation. Before exchange, an offer is not binding. Completion comes after exchange, when the buyer's solicitor or conveyancer transfers the money.

GOV.UK also says that on completion your solicitor or conveyancer pays off your mortgage and other secured debts, any estate agent fees, service charges and their own fee, and sends you the balance. You must leave the property in the state agreed in the contract. Book removals only once you have an exchange date, or you may pay for a date that moves. If you are moving to a new area, our free property check shows sold prices, EPC, crime, flood, planning and council tax for any UK address or postcode.

Part 3 of 7

The checklist

When	Task	Who to tell	Source
About 8 weeks out	Gather the documents your solicitor will ask for: title deeds, tenure, planning and building regulation certificates, guarantees, electrical checks	Your solicitor or conveyancer	GOV.UK: Preparing to sell
About 8 weeks out	Ask your lender how much you owe and whether early repayment charges apply	Your mortgage lender	GOV.UK: Preparing to sell
About 8 weeks out	Budget for estate agent and legal fees, removals and repairs	Yourself	GOV.UK: Preparing to sell
About 8 weeks out	Decide what stays and what goes, and clear out what you will not take	Your buyer, via the sale paperwork	Our fixtures and fittings guide
4 weeks out	Get removals quotes and book once you have an exchange date	Removal firms	Practical step
2 weeks out	Update your driving licence address. DVLA does not charge, and GOV.UK says you can be fined up to £1,000 if you do not tell it	DVLA	GOV.UK: Change your address on your driving licence
2 weeks out	Register again at your new address	Your electoral registration office	GOV.UK: Register to vote
2 weeks out	Tell HMRC your new address, online or through its app	HMRC	GOV.UK: Tell HMRC about a change of details
2 weeks out	Tell your council, banks, insurers, employer, doctor and anyone who sends you post	Each organisation	Practical step
Moving day	Take meter readings, photograph them, and leave keys as agreed	Energy suppliers, estate agent	Practical step

Where the source column says "practical step", we found no GOV.UK page that sets out the rule, so treat it as sensible practice and check with each organisation.

Part 4 of 7

Eight weeks out

Start with paperwork, because slow paperwork delays sales. GOV.UK lists title deeds, tenure information, planning permission and building regulation certificates, FENSA or CERTASS certificates for windows, guarantees and warranties, electrical checks and, for a flat, fire safety information. Your conveyancer will also send you property forms to complete. Our guide on fixtures, fittings and contents helps you decide what is included in the sale, which avoids disputes late on.

Ask your mortgage lender for a figure and whether moving the mortgage or repaying early costs anything. Our guide to early repayment charges when selling explains what to ask. Budget for the costs GOV.UK names: estate agent fees, legal fees, removals, essential repairs and, in some cases, Capital Gains Tax. Our guide to what it costs to sell a house breaks the main costs down.

Part 5 of 7

The last two weeks

This is the stretch for telling people. Use the official services rather than writing to each department.

DVLA: GOV.UK says changing your licence address costs nothing and can be done online, and you should receive the new licence within a week. If you own a vehicle you must also update the V5C log book.
Voter registration: GOV.UK says a change of address means registering again, which takes about five minutes online.
HMRC: GOV.UK says you need to tell HMRC if your address changes, through the online service or the app.
Council tax: The GOV.UK Council Tax page does not cover moving, so ask your council how to close your account and whether you owe or are owed anything. Your council also needs to open one at the new address.
Utilities and broadband: Book the stop and start dates with each supplier. We could not load an official page on this, so ask each supplier what it needs.

Redirecting post for a period is a common extra safeguard, but check the provider's terms yourself.

Part 6 of 7

Moving day

Read and photograph every meter on the day, because those readings are your evidence when final bills arrive. Check the property against the contract, since GOV.UK says you must leave it in the state agreed. Leave the keys as your estate agent or solicitor has arranged, and keep your phone on until your solicitor confirms the money has arrived. Completion often depends on every link in a chain, so allow for a delay.

Part 7 of 7

If something slips

Keep a short list of people to ring if the date moves: your solicitor, the removal firm and the buyer's agent. Moving a removals date usually costs less than losing a sale to a rushed completion.

Our take

Build the plan around exchange, not the offer

GOV.UK says the sale is binding once contracts are exchanged, so that is the date to plan around. We think the usual mistake is booking removals too early, and the page advice to wait for an exchange date is the part most worth following.

Your Property Check helps you look at the place you are moving to. Our free property check covers any UK address or postcode: sold prices, EPC, crime, flood, planning and council tax, so you can see the area before the removals van does.

Check an address

Our opinion, drawn from the facts on this page: not advice and not a forecast. We earn from OfferCheck reports and from introducing sellers to cash buyers, so weigh it with that in mind (see our disclosure). We are not authorised or regulated by the FCA.

Questions, answered

Frequently asked questions

What should be on a moving house checklist?

Paperwork for your solicitor, a mortgage figure, removals, change of address with DVLA, HMRC, your electoral registration office and your council, meter readings and a plan for keys. Our table above gives the order.

When do you tell the council about moving?

We found no GOV.UK page that sets a deadline for this, because the Council Tax page does not cover moving. Contact your council as soon as you have a firm completion date and ask what it needs.

Do you have to tell DVLA when you move?

Yes. GOV.UK says you must update your licence when your address changes, that it costs nothing, and that you can be fined up to £1,000 if you do not tell DVLA.

Do you need to register to vote again when you move?

Yes. GOV.UK says a change of address counts as a change of details, so you register again with your new details. Registering online takes about five minutes.

What happens on completion day?

The buyer's solicitor sends the money. GOV.UK says your solicitor pays off your mortgage, estate agent fees and their own fee, and sends you the balance. You must leave the property as the contract agreed.

Where this comes from

Sources

Last reviewed 4 November 2026 by the Your Property Check team. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. For your own situation, speak to a conveyancing solicitor or another qualified professional.