Rental moving in checklist

21yrold

Hi guys,

I'm moving in to a rented house May 1st (fingers crossed anyway)!!!

I was just trying to find a run down on things I should do when we move in?

I have :

Take photos of everything and check itinerary, save onto SD card with time stamp etc

Check the meters and give the suppliers a ring, I can change supplier after a month or so is this right?

Ring up the council to set up council tax

The phone line looked as if it was Virgin media when we viewed the house, Not sure if we want that yet, might just stick with freeview...I've been paying tv licence for years, so I can just swap this over to my new address.

Find the stopcock!!

Is there anything else you can try and think of which might be useful, or is there is a list of things you should be checking which I cant find can you let me know?

benjus

21yrold wrote: »

Take photos of everything and check itinerary, save onto SD card with time stamp etc

Guess you mean "inventory". This is important, as it will be key later on when you move out and want your deposit back. Unless the place is impeccably clean, make sure that the inventory does not state "cleaned to a professional standard". A place I moved into a few years ago was trying to claim this - I pointed out some cobwebs and the inventory clerk crossed it out.

Photos: the photos may be useful, but time stamps are useless unfortunately, as you can set the clock on your camera/phone/computer to anything you like. If you really want to be covered, print the photos out and send them to yourself by special delivery in a sealed special delivery envelope from the post office and keep it unopened. That's probably overkill though.

johnmcga

A few thoughts:

- Be absolutely ruthless going through the inventory, flag up anything you disagree with, no matter how small. Take your own copy before sending the amended version back to your landlord / letting agent.

- Consider getting a spare set of keys cut, if you don't have one already. If you only have a set each then it's handy to have a spare. (Note: this might be against the terms of your contract, I don't know, but you could do it anyway for peace of mind.)

- Replace any smoke alarm batteries and find out where your fuse box is, in case any of the switches trip leaving you in the dark!

- Figure out what broadband service you want and book the installation now. There could be a 2 - 3 week wait for an engineer appointment, so this can help reduce the time you have without a connection. If your move falls through, you can usually cancel (check this though).

- Start packing up and cleaning your existing place. The last time we moved we vastly underestimated how long it would take to clean the place to the same 'professional' standard as when we moved in.

jbainbridge

If the LL or LA have 'promised' to do something before you move in make sure it is done ... once you're in they may be less inclined to bother!

giraffe69

Check the meters and give the suppliers a ring, I can change supplier after a month or so is this right?

I'd take a photo of the opening readings and contact the supplier to give them. You will be in a deemed contract with whoever the supplier is but you can initiate a change if you want immediately. It may take 3 to 6 weeks. Worth doing immediately as the existing supplier will put you on their standard (i.e not very favourable to you) rate.

The phone line looked as if it was Virgin media when we viewed the house, Not sure if we want that yet, might just stick with freeview...I've been paying tv licence for years, so I can just swap this over to my new address.

If the phone line is VM you don't yave to take their TV service and can use freeview if that is you preference but continue with VM for phone and broadband.

dodger1

Keep a copy of the original advert. My daughter thankfully did this as the original advert said includes white goods with the photo showing a washing machine and fridge freezer.

On moving in, neither were there so a quick phone call to the agent had them replying saying no that wasn't correct and supplied a copy of the advert which had been changed the day after daughter had agreed to the let. Daughter then replied attaching the original advert, they then gave in but it took a month for the goods to arrive.

21yrold

Hi,

Thanks for the replies...I knew i had to take meter readings for sure for the energy bills.

I've looked at internet, BT I think gives me the best deals...Virgin seems to have become expensive! £42 a month BT is with everything included we want, with £230 cash back in total...So happy with that.

On that note...I might order this today, when I've spoken to them so it can be put in the house quicker, this is a standard thing to do right?

They are removing a unwanted sofa bed this weekend, That's all we wanted to get rid of to be honest!

Lord_Baltimore

21yrold wrote: »

On that note...I might order this today, when I've spoken to them so it can be put in the house quicker, this is a standard thing to do right?

It might be better to wait until you're in given that, according to your OP, you're moving in on May 1 "fingers crossed".

You seem organised and will be a delightful tenant I'm sure. Well done and good luck!

LEJC

You may need to inform other utilities such as water, council tax and television licence

johnmcga

21yrold wrote: »

On that note...I might order this today, when I've spoken to them so it can be put in the house quicker, this is a standard thing to do right?

Whether it's a standard thing, I don't know, but I've done it with no problems. I would just check with the supplier that:

- They won't actually do any work on the line until after 1 May (you don't want to disrupt the current tenant's service).
- You can cancel the installation and contract if the move falls through (last time I moved I ordered broadband from O2, and they were fine with this, although they've now become part of Sky).
- They won't send your router or any equipment to the new address before you move in.

21yrold

I've ordered BT, Activation is for May 1st (1st available date )!!

There's no current tenant, I have set the delivery address for BT to my house (edit *my current house as no one will be at that address of course lol), installation to be done by myself, plug and play really !!!

Yes, Water/Council tax/Gas are on my list...TV licence is already in my name, just need to change the address on that

I prefer to get things in place and prepare, always seems less hassle...I'm sure some things will go wrong but can deal with the problems a bit easier if things are in place !

I've requested a copy of the contract now, we are going to sign the contract on Tuesday evening and pay the rest of our deposit...So i wanted to check that over before we signed.

If no one minds I might keep asking a few more questions and generally just babble on about the move haha!!