The Complete Student Moving Checklist

Before You Move: The Admin You Can't Leave Until Moving Day

A lot of this needs sorting weeks before you move in, not the day before.

• Confirm your tenancy start date actually matches when you can move in. Sounds obvious, but mismatched dates between when you can access the property and when your rent starts is a genuinely common, avoidable cost.
• Get your guarantor sorted and confirmed in writing. If you don't have someone who qualifies, don't leave this until the last minute - see our guide to guarantor options if you don't have a UK guarantor for who can stand in and what they're actually liable for.

• Read your tenancy agreement properly, including what type it actually is. Since the Renters' Rights Act came into force in May 2026, most private tenancies are now periodic rather than fixed-term - this materially changes your rights around giving notice, which matters more than people expect. See our tenancy agreement guide.
• If you're an international student, confirm your Right to Rent check is done before you're relying on moving in.
• Sort contents insurance. Your landlord's insurance covers the building, not your belongings - they're two separate things, and a lot of first-time renters assume otherwise. See our guide to student insurance in halls vs private renting.
• Confirm whether bills are included, and if not, agree upfront who's setting up gas, electricity, water, and broadband, and how you'll split them.
• If you're a full-time student sharing with working professionals, sort your council tax exemption certificate from your university before you move in, not after - it saves a genuinely stressful conversation with your council later. See our council tax guide for students.

Moving Day Itself

• Photograph every room before you unpack anything. This is your single best piece of evidence for getting your full deposit back later - direct before-and-after comparison is more persuasive than anything else in a dispute.
• Note any existing damage, however minor, and get it acknowledged in writing. A scuff mark that isn't documented on day one can quietly become "damage you caused" eight months later.
• Take meter readings (gas and electric) on day one, with photos. This protects you from being billed for usage that happened before you moved in.
• Check smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are actually working, not just present. Test them yourself.
• Locate the stopcock, fuse box, and boiler instructions before you need them in an actual emergency, not during one.
• Confirm you've been given the number of keys you were promised.

Your First Week

A few things are genuinely easy to forget once you're settled in and distracted by everything else that comes with starting somewhere new:

• Register with a GP near your new address. You don't want to be doing this for the first time when you're actually ill.
• Update your address with Student Finance or your student loan provider.
• Register to vote at your new address, if you're eligible.
• Set up mail redirection, if you need it.
• Submit your council tax exemption certificate to the local council, if you haven't already.
• Have an honest conversation with your flatmates about house rules, cleaning, and how bills will actually work - don't assume it'll sort itself out. See our guide to settling in with flatmates.
• Save emergency contacts somewhere you'll actually find them: your landlord or accommodation provider, where to get help with accommodation problems if something goes wrong, your new GP, and NHS 111 for anything out of hours.

Don't Forget, Ongoing

• Know your actual notice period rights. See our guide on paying rent over summer for exactly what changed under the Renters' Rights Act and what it means for you.
• Log any repairs or issues as they happen - dated photos and a one-line note each time, not just relying on memory months later.
• Keep your tenancy agreement and move-in inventory somewhere safe, both digitally and physically. You'll want both if a dispute ever comes up.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the single most important thing to do before moving in?

Confirm your deposit is actually protected in a government-approved scheme - it's free to check, takes two minutes, and protects you legally from day one.

Do I really need to photograph the property on move-in day?

Yes - it's the single strongest piece of evidence if there's ever a dispute about your deposit later. A few minutes of photos can save a genuinely stressful argument months down the line.

What should I do in my first week that I might not think of?

Registering with a GP and updating your address with Student Finance are the two most commonly forgotten - neither is urgent in the moment, which is exactly why they get missed.

Is there a downloadable version of this checklist?

You can bookmark this guide and work through it section by section. For tracking rooms while you search, our Student Hub also includes a free room search tracker template.