Use this checklist as a working document. Add an owner, your own target date and a link to the confirmation for each task. Mark an item complete when the relevant arrangement is confirmed, not simply when you have sent an enquiry.
The stages below are dependencies, not a promise that every move can be completed in a fixed number of weeks. If you need the explanation behind a task, use the complete relocation guide.
Stage 1: establish the move
- List everyone moving and the intended arrival window.
- Separate confirmed dates from provisional dates.
- Check the appropriate entry, residence and work arrangements for each person through official guidance.
- Identify specialist immigration, tax, legal or healthcare questions that need an individual answer.
- Confirm the employer’s office address, attendance pattern and start date where relevant.
- Obtain written details of any relocation contribution and expense-approval process.
- Decide who is responsible for each workstream: housing, departure, children, finances and travel.
Checkpoint: can you explain what has been agreed and what could still change the timetable?
Stage 2: prepare the budget and brief
- Build a monthly London budget including costs beyond rent.
- Build a separate moving budget, including overlap and temporary accommodation if needed.
- Record which figures are confirmed and which need quotes.
- Confirm when funds and reimbursements will actually be available.
- List essential housing requirements separately from preferences.
- Map work, school and regular household journeys.
- Compare a manageable shortlist using the area decision guide.
- Agree which compromises are acceptable before viewing homes.
Checkpoint: does the search brief fit the whole budget and routine, rather than just a target rent?
Stage 3: prepare applications and family arrangements
- Ask agents which evidence they need for your circumstances.
- Prepare the rental document checklist.
- Confirm how right-to-rent checks will be completed.
- Obtain legitimate employer and previous-landlord contact details where applicable.
- Ask how missing UK credit history will be assessed before a holding-deposit commitment.
- For children, confirm the admissions route, year group and address evidence with the relevant authority.
- Request school records and identify who will handle any support-transition questions.
- Investigate childcare and school-day arrangements separately from the place application.
Checkpoint: are you relying on a school or rental outcome that has not been confirmed?
Stage 4: before committing to a home
- Verify the property, agent and payment recipient.
- View the home or arrange appropriate checks and specific feedback.
- Compare layout, condition, access, furnishings and journeys with your brief.
- Obtain the agreement and a written breakdown of permitted payments.
- Check the current rules for the tenancy type through the overseas renting guide.
- Resolve questions about terms with the agent or an appropriate adviser.
- Confirm the start date, key handover and delayed-arrival arrangements.
- Record what happens to any holding deposit.
Checkpoint: do you understand what you are agreeing to, who receives payment and what remains conditional?
Stage 5: before travelling
- Recheck travel documents, permissions and booked dates.
- Confirm where everyone will stay on arrival.
- Organise departure housing, utilities, insurance and provider notifications.
- Decide what to ship, store, bring or replace, with arrangements confirmed by the relevant provider.
- Discuss ongoing treatment and medicine questions with your clinician.
- Keep important records securely accessible during travel.
- Maintain access to money, essential accounts and authentication methods.
- Keep a short list of arrival contacts and handover details offline.
Checkpoint: if a flight or delivery changes, who needs contacting and what is the fallback?
Stage 6: arrival and the first days
- Collect keys and confirm who handles repairs or urgent property issues.
- Review the inventory and record condition, discrepancies and meter readings.
- Confirm bills and provider responsibilities for the actual address.
- Test your first work or school journey.
- Contact the relevant admissions team or school about outstanding steps.
- Arrange GP registration and investigate other healthcare arrangements as needed.
- Check banking, connectivity and household essentials.
- Keep copies of confirmations in one secure place.
Checkpoint: can the household carry out its essential daily routine?
Stage 7: review and settle
- Review the budget against actual costs.
- Follow up incomplete accounts, references or registrations.
- Check deposit-protection information where applicable using official guidance.
- Review the practical fit of commuting, childcare and household responsibilities.
- Update relevant providers when address or contact information changes.
- Remove tasks that no longer apply and assign owners to anything still open.
A simple way to track progress
- Confirm office location — Owner: person moving for work. Target: before area shortlist. Evidence: employer email. Status: open / confirmed.
- Verify rental requirements — Owner: applicant. Target: before holding deposit. Evidence: agent’s written list. Status: open / confirmed.
- Confirm school application route — Owner: parent or guardian. Target: before school-dependent decisions. Evidence: admissions response. Status: open / confirmed.
These are examples, not tasks completed for a real household. Store personal records privately; you do not need to send this table through a website enquiry form.
Turn the list into your own plan
A free one-hour consultation can help identify which decisions matter most in your circumstances. Your free personalised pack is prepared afterwards. Talk to Us. Further paid support is optional.
Sources checked: 22 September 2026.
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