Moving house: 101 things to take care of

Are you moving? Then you’ve probably already noticed that you have a lot of practical things to take care of. To make it easier for you, we have made a list of the most important to do’s you need to get in order.

Moving: practicalities

Get your lease or purchase agreement in order.
Are you currently renting? If so, inform your landlord of your moving plans in a timely manner. Depending on your lease, you may or may not have to give notice.
For your new rental apartment or rental property, arrange for a place description. If something doesn’t work or there is damage to something, you can prove that it was so when you moved in.
Ask friends and family if they have any moving boxes you can use. Don’t have enough? Order your new moving boxes well in time so you definitely don’t have to wait for these!
If you have to park with a moving truck in front of your door for some time in a place that is a public parking or no parking, ask your municipality in time if you can post signs. That way you won’t experience any hindrance to parking. Especially when renting a moving elevator, this is very important.
Make sure your furniture arrives on time if you have hired a moving truck or moving elevator. Having a moving elevator come one more time can cost you a lot of money.
Once you have the key to your new address, it is best to have a spare key made right away.
Be insured while moving? Check in advance which moving insurance is best for you.

Ordered any new furniture or fun interior design items? Then be sure to check that you have entered your new address as the delivery address on any online shop.
Take meter readings so that you know clearly what was consumed by the previous owners/users.
In a rental apartment, sometimes there are appliances that do not belong to the tenants. Ask first which appliances belong to the rental apartment. That way you are sure not to buy them twice.
In your new home, measure all the rooms. For example, look at how long your curtains should be, whether each piece of furniture will fit through the door or window …
Contact the current residents to transfer any bills for water, electricity, … be transferred to your name.

The big moving day

A first cleaning in your apartment is best done before you move your first belongings. That way you can unload everything neatly into clean rooms right away.
When moving your refrigerator and/or freezer, it is recommended that you wait 24 hours before turning it back on. This is because problems may occur with the motor of the refrigerator or freezer if you do this earlier.
Make a card/sticker with your name on it for the doorbell. Then when items are delivered after the first day of moving, the right address will be called.

For additional tips to make your big moving day go even smoother, visit ‘Moving efficiently: tips & tricks’..

Moving: planning, planning and more planning

Choose a date for the big moving day well in advance. Ask friends and family who are coming to help to keep this day free.
Still need to paint or remodel? Schedule this well so your paint can dry and you can clean up all the dust from the works before your actual moving day.
Make a list ahead of time of which furniture will go in which room. Share this list with family and friends who are coming to help.

Moving to your new address

Don’t forget to declare your new address to the population department of your new municipality. The district agent will make a visit later to see if you actually live there. Will you continue to live in the same municipality? Then you still need to declare this to your municipality. Once you have made your change of address to the municipality and they have officially recorded the address, subsequent authorities will receive your new address through the National Registry: