Whilst the prospect of moving to your next home is thrilling and exciting, it can also be quite a stressful ordeal if all steps haven’t been prepared for and dealt with. One key aspect to not overlook that will help reduce the stresses of moving is the admin, in particular informing people that you’ve got a different address.
Whilst it seems obvious to inform people like your close friends and family that you’ve changed your address, there will undoubtedly be some contacts that get missed. Make sure to get in touch with everyone you need to inform in advance to your move date with our list below.
Authorities and government
- Local council
You will need to get in touch with your local council office to inform them of a change in address. It’s important to keep your council in the loop as each one will have different procedures in place. You’ll also need to apply for council tax for your new area. - Electoral roll
You’ll need to re-register for the electoral roll in your new local area by visiting the gov.uk website. That is if you have moved to an entirely new area. - Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
If you are in benefit of funds from the government, then you will need to inform the DWP about a change in address which falls under their ‘change of circumstances’ process. - HM Revenue and Customer (HMRC)
A change of address will affect your tax information and credit so naturally HMRC will need to be informed of your new address. - Royal Mail
You will need to get in touch with the Royal Mail services to get your mail redirected from your previous address to your new one to avoid the new tenant of your old home from receiving your important documents.
Employment
It’s your responsibility to inform your employer of any changes to your contact information, including your home address, so that they can keep accurate records for your payroll and other related work documents.
Considering work bodies like HMRC will be using your national insurance number to identify you, you’ll need to update national insurance about a change of address too.
- Employer
- National Insurance
Leisure
- Paper-based subscriptions (magazines, newspapers)
Unless you’d like the new tenant of your previous address to receive your monthly subscriptions of OK! or Your Dog Magazine, then we’d suggest checking what printed magazines you’re subscribed to and changing the address of these so they’re sent to the correct address - Clubs and gym
If you’re moving quite a distance away from any gyms or clubs you’ve signed up to, you’ll need to inquire about cancelling a subscription with these. However if your new address isn’t far from your old one and you plan on still attending these, then you will need to get in touch to update your address. - Charities
If you’re active with charity involvement then you’ll need to inform each respective one of a change of address so that they can send letters and other promotional mail to your new address. - Pet health / veterinary services
If you have a pet that is registered with a local veterinary and/or microchipped, then your vets will need to be informed of a change of address – if your pet was to unfortunately go missing, they will need the correct address to return them to.
Home
- Mobile phone and landline
You’ll need to inform your mobile phone service provider about a change of address so that your bills can be sent out to you. If you own a landline, you will also need to inform your provider so that they can issue a new phone number if needed. - Broadband / Internet
If you’re moving to a completely different area, then you might actually want to look into changing broadband providers as you might be able to get a cheaper deal but if you do decide to stick with your current internet service provider, then let them know that you have a different address so they can send your bills to the right one. - TV licence
You will need to inform TV licensing of a new address up-to 3 months prior to your move considering your licence will no longer be valid once you’ve moved.
Maintenance
Let any maintenance or carer individuals know if you’re changing address so that they can continue to provide their services without having to go back and forth from an old address to your new one.
- Cleaners
- Carers
- Gardeners
Health
Depending on where you’re moving to, you may need to look at re-registering with new healthcare institutes, however if you’re staying with the same GP, dentist and/or opticians, then make sure you let them know of a change of address so they can continue to send documents to you without the risk of sending sensitive information to your old home’s new tenants.
- GP, doctor surgery, hospital
- Dentist
- Optician
Vehicle
Keep the DVLA updated on a change of address so they can keep your records accurate with your contact details. There is a 5-step process to follow when you change your address for the DVLA.
If you’re registered with a breakdown service such as the AA or RAC, then you will need to inform them of a changed address too so they can send out letters to your place of residence after a vehicle breakdown visit.
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA)
- Breakdown cover
- V5C log book
Education
If you’re still in a form of education when moving to a new address, then you will need to let your education centre know so that they can make sure your contact details are correctly updated and so they can continue to send tuition fee documentation to your address.
Alternatively, if you have children who attend school, college or university, then you will need to inform their learning centre so that they update both your child and your contact info for admin and safety reasons.
- School, college, university
- Alumni networks
Money and finances
Make sure you let your bank know of your new address once you’ve moved, especially if you receive your bank details by mail, to prevent identity theft. Don’t forget to inform credit card companies you might be with too.
Keep your personal pension provider informed if you change your address. Either contact the government pension service or get in touch with your pension service directly if you have a private pension to ensure that your letters are sent to the correct address.
- Bank or building society
- Pension
- Loans
- Credit cards
- Loyalty cards
- Stocks or shares
Insurance
When moving, you’ll be relocating to a different area which will factor your various different insurance covers. Companies will likely evaluate your new locale and might either increase or decrease your insurance costs depending on the circumstances of your new address. Additionally, your insurance companies will need your new address to update contact info and for mailing bills to you.
- Car
- Home
- Pet
- Life
- Health
- Travel
Utilities
In addition to letting your service provider know of your new address, make sure to also take readings of your utilities to have as evidence so that you don’t mistakenly pay too much for your bills when you move.
- Gas
- Electricity
- Water
Legal
Just like with banking details and health information, any letters that come through from your solicitors or accountants will be private and sensitive so make sure to change your address to avoid these documents being sent to the wrong person.
- Solicitors
- Accountants
Leave no stone unturned when thinking of who you need to tell when you move house. Considering a lot of important information gets sent directly to your home address, it’s crucial to make sure you don’t forget to notify anyone and everyone you can think of with your new address.
Need more support or guidance on who else needs to be notified when you change address? Get in touch with one of our property experts today.
