Updated
Four weeks out: paperwork and quotes
Confirm your notice period with your current landlord in writing and agree the handover date. Read your tenancy contract for the notice you owe and for anything about professional cleaning or repainting on exit.
Ask both building management offices — the one you are leaving and the one you are joining — what they require for a move. Expect some combination of a moving NOC, a refundable deposit, proof of settled service charges, and a service lift booking.
- Serve written notice and confirm your handover date
- Request the moving NOC requirements from both buildings
- Book surveys and get two or three written, itemised quotes
- Choose your move date, avoiding month-end if you can
- Start a list of anything you will not be taking with you
Three weeks out: bookings and disposals
Confirm your mover in writing and get the fixed quote and scope on paper. Book the service lift at both ends the moment your date is fixed; on popular buildings, the slot is the constraint rather than the crew.
This is also the week to sell, donate or dispose of anything that is not making the move. It is far cheaper now than as an extra half-truck later.
- Confirm the mover and the written scope
- Book service lifts and, if required, submit permits
- Arrange DEWA or local utility move-out and new connection
- Sell or donate surplus furniture and appliances
- Order packing materials if you are packing yourself
Two weeks out: packing begins
Pack the rooms you use least: storeroom, guest room, books, out-of-season clothes, decorations. Label every box with its destination room, not its origin room — that single habit shortens unpacking more than anything else.
Update your address on deliveries, bank records, insurance and school records. Arrange internet installation at the new home; providers rarely appear the day you ask.
- Pack low-use rooms and label by destination room
- Book internet and TV installation at the new address
- Update address details with banks, insurers and schools
- Photograph the current property's condition for your deposit
- Confirm parking and access for the moving vehicle
One week out: the details
Pack an essentials box for the first night: bedding, towels, chargers, medication, tools, kettle, mugs, toilet roll and a change of clothes. Keep it with you rather than on the truck.
Defrost the fridge at least twenty-four hours ahead. Empty and dry the washing machine. Dispose of anything a mover legally cannot carry: paint, aerosols, gas cylinders, flammables.
- Pack a first-night essentials box and keep it with you
- Defrost the fridge and drain the washing machine
- Dispose of paint, aerosols, gas and flammables
- Confirm crew arrival time and the lift window in writing
- Set aside keys, access cards and parking permits for handover
Move day and the day after
Be present at the start to walk the crew through the home and point out anything fragile or unusual. Keep valuables, passports and jewellery with you personally — not in a box.
At the new home, direct placement room by room and check items off the inventory before the crew leaves. Then take meter readings, test the water heater and air conditioning, and photograph the property's condition.
The day after, unpack the kitchen and bedrooms first, break down the boxes, and note any snags for your landlord in writing while everything is still fresh.