Moving in tips

Hello All,

I've been searching for tips/guidelines/checklist on moving into a new place. I've found some checklists for someone moving from one place to another in England but not for someone moving into their first place in England from another country.
Maybe someone can start a tips thread? Maybe this will be it
I'm used to getting your electric and water setup before even moving in, here I'm being told the letting agent will set that up for me? How will the letting agent know what electric package I want?
Also it seems landlords don't normally have the place professionally cleaned before a new tenant moves in?
How do you even go about paying the "required" council tax?
The easiest thing I have done so far in preparation for moving into my new place in two weeks is setting up a sky appointment
Anyone can steer me in the right direction on how I can make the move in smooth?

Remember that the letting agent does not work for you and is not your friend.   They have an interest in acting very casual about everything at the start, when all the things you need to care about should happen.  "Why should we do an inventory?  We are all friends here, it's never been a problem before.....". Trust me, you will need that inventory later on when you move out and they all of a sudden get very businesslike and want to charge you for everything.   Just off the top of my head, here are some things to protect yourself:

Be sure your deposit is in a protection scheme and you have documentation of that.  Also get a receipt.

Be careful about the bank transfer of the deposit,?transsfer a small amount first. 

Insist upon a detailed inventory and document everything.  Include all the things that are not professionally cleaned.   Take pictures of every spot on the carpet and hole in the wall. 

Note the numbers on the gas and electric meters and call the company yourself to report the figures.  Take a picture . 

Good luck!

The letting agency will give your meter readings to the gas/electric/water companies.  I agree with Jimbo.  Make note of these readings - with a photo!  Once you have the details, you can transfer them to your preferred provider.

They *should* have the place professionally cleaned before you move in.  Check your lease, as it's likely YOU will be expected to provide receipts of a professional cleaning upon checkout.  If the place is not in an acceptable standard when you move in - put it in writing and take photos. 

The council will send you a bill when you move in.  They'll find you straight away - don't worry!   

I think my biggest tip would be not to expect anything to be as easy as it is in the US.  In the US, as a tenant, you are valued and the landlord (for the most part) wants to keep you happy and the home in a high standard of living.  It's not at all unheard of for mold and leaks to be brushed off here as normal and acceptable.  In other words, renting here may test your sanity and patience.  If you get a good property and a good landlord, hold onto both!!

I've lived in places where the gas, Electricity and water was in my name, even when renting.  In that case, I guess you would set it up.  If you are giving these readings to the agency as KFDancer suggests, be careful that they are actually reported.  The agency would love for you to pay for the gap between tenants. 

You'll need a TV license.

You may want to call the council to be sure you've got all the bins you'll need. There's a wide variety of different recycling info and bins so you may want a pamphlet. 

Follow the rules about the bins and don't make a mess or the neighbors will go mental. 

How about parking?  Might be worth defining with the agency what is yours and getting a permit if needed. 

You'll need internet as well, better sort that. 

I'd avoid getting a land line if you can help it, most people just use their mobile. 

Did you ask about TV?  You might need to pay for cable.

I've lived in places where the gas, Electricity and water was in my name, even when renting.  In that case, I guess you would set it up.  If you are giving these readings to the agency as KFDancer suggests, be careful that they are actually reported.  The agency would love for you to pay for the gap between tenants. 

For me, the letting agency set everything up, but it was in my name.   

Often what happens is when the previous tenant closes their utility accounts, you get sent letters from the utility companies addressed to 'The Occupier' asking you to set up your new account.

Sometimes the meter readings will have already been given to them by the previous tenant on leaving and/or the letting agency, but it's always a good idea to check them yourself and take a picture... you may even be able to check them with the agent so you both see them, when you check into the property and get the keys.

I had a nightmare with electricity bills in my rented flat last year - it was a converted flat in an old hospital building and something got messed up with the meters... the readings were incorrect and way too high - and every flat in the building was affected. They tried to charge me for 2 years' worth of electricity in the first 6 weeks of moving in.

Unfortunately I hadn't been able to get meter readings when I moved in as the agent didn't know where the meters were and said they would do it the next day, so I spent almost a year trying to dispute extortionate charges. Turned out it was a faulty meter rather than the meter not being read correctly.


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I think horror stories like Ksand's are par for the course. 

Right now we are getting massively ripped off by Thames Water who are charging us an extortionate rate for water because we don't have a meter.  Just because they can.

I think horror stories like Ksand's are par for the course. 

Right now we are getting massively ripped off by Thames Water who are charging us an extortionate rate for water because we don't have a meter.  Just because they can.

I was just going to suggest trying to get a water meter if allowed to stateless.  When I lived by myself without a meter it was nearly £50/month.  When I moved in with my husband and his roommate (three adults) on a meter it was £6/month!

The letting agent may sign you up for absolutely crap electric company like Spark. Change it ASAP. They are really expensive! For about 2 weeks of electricity we got charged £75! That's nearly what we pay a month. So frustrating.

Not relevant for the OP, but for anyone who might be moving to Scotland, water is included in our council tax.  There's no separate water bill.   

Not relevant for the OP, but for anyone who might be moving to Scotland, water is included in our council tax.  There's no separate water bill.   

The more I hear about Scotland, the more I'm convinced it is heaven on earth. It's no wonder you guys want to protect your way of life!

I'm laughing at this thread, because it's all true.
Letting Agents are the devil's work, I swear.  I'm a really easy going person and I get along with so many people and I forgive easily. There are two people on this planet that I absolutely cannot stand and I think are the most evil, power hungry, talk to you like you're 2 years old in small words, dickhead, jackass, manipulative people on the planet (Well, besides Donald Trump, who if I met in person, I'm sure I would have three people on my list).   
The first one is a letting agent and the second is the current chairman of our allotment society.   
This horrible cow of a letting agent ranks numero uno on my list of people who I never, ever, ever, ever want anything to do with ever again.  I could fill pages and pages and pages up of grievances for her. 

I've had a wide variety of experiences renting though.
I had one private landlord, flat obtained through a solicitor, but the landlord handled everything, who was not great.  He didn't service the gas boiler ever, (and is supposed to yearly for safety's sake),  for example. I was in hospital for a week in February. I came home and it was a Friday night and I had no heat or hot water.I phoned him and he made me find an emergency boiler person.  So I did, which made me so angry, but at least he paid for it all.   He had a nasty emergency repair bill where if he actually did anything upfront, would have been easily avoided. 

I rented a flat off Gumtree, on the other hand, private landlord and he was fabulous.  He actually cared about me as a person living in his property and was extremely fair and equitable.   He was so nice too.   
I also rented a room off spareroom,  in a house (1 female, me, and 5 men, that was fun  ), and that landlord was great too.   It was cheap rent, but the house was in good condition and she kept all common areas clean and tidy.  When one of the blokes moved out, she moved me to the best room in the house.

The more I hear about Scotland, the more I'm convinced it is heaven on earth. It's no wonder you guys want to protect your way of life!

I'm with you!  Why can't we have the SNP down here?  I can't vote anyway but I would loudly support a party like that. 

From my painful experience. Please double-check the accuracy of this. moneysavingexpert forums are the best place for lots of details about renting.

As jimbocz said, your deposit should be put into a protection scheme. All high street letting agents should do this. If there is a dispute getting your deposit back you can take it to arbitration in the scheme. They should give you a certificate proving this and you can double-check it by going to the scheme website.

When you move in document everything. Photograph every wall, inside the oven (letting agents obsess of the state of the inside of ovens), state of the lawn, every scratch, ding, location of any furniture, any marks on carpets, etc. Even make a video and upload to YouTube as a private video for safekeeping.

They should give you a document to inventory everything. Here you must list every little scratch, problem, etc. Even list if the wall paint has only been touched up (e.g. where repairs were made, picture hook holes filled and painted, etc.). Be super-picky about the state of the place here. Then sign it, make a copy and give it to them. Keep this copy safe (protip: if you use gmail or similar scan and email a copy to yourself then archive the email). They should send you a copy back that they have signed. This is called a "dual-signed inventory". This document is the key to getting all of your deposit back. Keep this copy safe also.

As I understand it (double-check this), without producing this dual-signed document the landlord is not able to withhold any of the deposit for any reason. This document is the first thing the protection scheme will want to see at arbitration.

When it comes to moving out make sure all repairs are made. E.g. my dogs scratched a glass window at the back door. I had that professionally fixed. If there was any furniture, rugs, etc. make sure to return them to the exact same location as they were when you moved in (yes, I had a landlord try to pin this one on me!). Then take photos of everything and a video, same as before.

When you turn your keys in the letting agent won't even bother to look at the dual-signed inventory, they will just "try it on" and ask you to pay for a bunch of stuff. They will hope that you have long forgotten about that document! Hold your ground. Remind them of what you wrote on the dual-signed inventory. If it's on there and they are complaining then they can't get you to pay for it.

IIRC it is the landlord's responsibility to paint the walls and paint has a lifespan. I believe in a rental it is 3-5 years. So if they try to get to you pay for repainting tell them that the dual-signed inventory shows the poor condition of the wall paint when you moved in, and it's probably at the end of it's lifespan, therefore not your problem.

I never went as far as arbitration because my method I outlined above got me 100% of my deposit back. It took a bit of back and forth but I got there (do everything by email so there is a written record of what was said). I was determined from picking up the keys that I would get the entire deposit back and made it my mission. This is because with the first place we rented moving to the UK we had a bad experience and saw what cretins these people can be.

Reminder - fair wear and tear is expected and not your responsibility.

IIRC if you damaged something and they have to replace it, they can't ask you to pay the full amount. They can only get from you the value remaining. E.g. if it was 10 years old, and expected lifespan is 12 then they can only ask you to pay for 2/12th of the cost (double-check this as I am a bit hazy here).

You are absolutely correct! The landlord and agencies act like their doing you a favor This irks me so much Also the nonchalant attitude over a business transaction EXCEPT when it comes to collecting their fees "Oh professional cleaning isn't required as you see the landlord kept the place to a high standard neat and tidy" How do I know the landlord doesn't dig in their nose and flick it or have intimacies on every carpet in every room? Their logic amazes and angers me

The letting agency will give your meter readings to the gas/electric/water companies.  I agree with Jimbo.  Make note of these readings - with a photo!  Once you have the details, you can transfer them to your preferred provider.

They *should* have the place professionally cleaned before you move in.  Check your lease, as it's likely YOU will be expected to provide receipts of a professional cleaning upon checkout.  If the place is not in an acceptable standard when you move in - put it in writing and take photos. 

The council will send you a bill when you move in.  They'll find you straight away - don't worry!   

I think my biggest tip would be not to expect anything to be as easy as it is in the US.  In the US, as a tenant, you are valued and the landlord (for the most part) wants to keep you happy and the home in a high standard of living.  It's not at all unheard of for mold and leaks to be brushed off here as normal and acceptable.  In other words, renting here may test your sanity and patience.  If you get a good property and a good landlord, hold onto both!!