What to arrange after moving: a checklist for the first weeks

After the move you register the new address and check that your contracts and insurance are right. Deal first with anything that has a deadline. Tax matters and maintenance come after that.

Keep the meter photographs, the contracts and the documents from the transfer together. You use them to check the start dates and the first statements.

Register your address and check it went through

You can register the move with your new municipality from four weeks beforehand. If you do it afterwards, the deadline is five days after the date of the move.

Then check that your address is recorded correctly in the Personal Records Database (BRP). Pass the new address on yourself to anyone who does not receive it automatically. Registering with the municipality does not replace those changes of address. The preparation is in the moving checklist.

Check energy, water and insurance

Check that your energy and water contracts are on the new address and run from the right date. Pass your meter readings to your supplier within five working days. On the day of the transfer, photograph the meters and keep those photographs until your first annual statement adds up.

Check that buildings and contents cover is set to the new address and the agreed date. If you are renovating straight away, check whether your policy requires you to report that.

Update your tax details

Owning a home and having a mortgage change your tax return. Mortgage interest and certain financing costs are deductible under conditions. The deed of purchase and the transfer tax are separate items.

Use your mortgage details and the settlement statement to work out what to enter. Check with the tax authority whether requesting or adjusting a provisional assessment makes sense for you.

Keep a file on the house

Put the purchase agreement, the deeds, the valuation, the policy and the warranty details together. Add the invoices for renovations and installations.

Check which municipal and water authority charges were settled at the transfer and which assessments you can expect yourself. Allow for different payment moments.

Make a maintenance list

Note damp, draughts, leaks and anything else you notice. Report damage that can get worse straight away. Use the structural survey to separate urgent work from later improvements.

If a repair point says only "in due course", ask the surveyor or the contractor when that work will need attention. Use the first weeks to find out which furnishing you actually need. The furnishing checklist helps with that.

What to do now

• Register your move within five days and check your address in the BRP.
• Check the start date of your energy, water and insurance contracts.
• Keep the meter photographs from the transfer and check your first statement.
• Set a reminder to review your provisional tax assessment.