First home checklist: everything to sort in your first month

Moving into your first home is one of the best feelings — and then roughly 48 hours in, you realise nobody gave you the list of things you were supposed to do. Council tax, meter readings, boiler servicing, changing the locks — there is a lot of practical admin that comes with ownership that does not come with renting. This is that list, roughly in priority order.

Week one priorities

These are the things that are time-sensitive or carry a penalty if left too long:

• Take meter readings on move-in day. Gas and electricity, photographed with a timestamp. Register them with your new supplier. This protects you from being billed for energy you did not use.
• Contact your energy supplier. Let them know you have moved in. If the previous owners were with a supplier you do not want, you can switch — but take the readings first regardless.
• Register for council tax. Your local council will start charging from your move-in date. Contact them to register and set up a payment plan. If you are a single occupant, you are entitled to a 25% single person discount — apply for it immediately.
• Redirect your post. Royal Mail redirection takes a few days to activate. Notify banks, HMRC, your employer and your GP of the new address.
• Update your driving licence and V5C if you own a vehicle. The DVLA fine for not updating your address is up to £1,000.

Utilities and energy

First home ownership means you now control your energy deal. Once you have registered with the existing supplier, compare rates and switch if a better deal exists. Comparison sites (Uswitch, MoneySuperMarket) do this in a few minutes. Do not assume the previous owners were on the best tariff.

• Broadband. Book installation as soon as you have a confirmed move-in date — lead times vary from a few days to three weeks. If you are moving to an area with full fibre, compare providers before defaulting to BT or Sky.
• Water. Usually no action required — water transfers automatically. Check whether a water meter has been installed; if not, and you use less water than the average household, it is worth requesting one.
• TV licence. Your licence from your old address does not carry over automatically. Register at your new address if you watch live TV or use BBC iPlayer.

Council and admin

• Electoral roll. Register to vote at your new address at gov.uk/register-to-vote. This also affects your credit score — lenders use electoral roll data to verify your address.
• GP registration. Register with a local GP practice before you need it.
• Update your bank and financial accounts. Including your pension provider, any ISAs, and student loan records if applicable.
• HMRC. Update your address in your personal tax account at gov.uk. This matters for self-assessment if you are self-employed.

Security

Change the locks. You do not know how many copies of the keys exist or where they have been. A locksmith visit for a standard front and back door typically costs £100–£200.

• Locks. Replace cylinder locks with insurance-rated ones — look for BS3621 kite-marked locks, which most home insurers require for external doors.
• Window locks. Check that all windows have working locks. Insurance policies often require them on ground-floor and accessible windows.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Test existing ones. Carbon monoxide detectors are required in any room with a solid fuel appliance and recommended near gas boilers.
• Stop tap. Find it — usually under the kitchen sink or in a utilities cupboard. Know how to turn off the water supply before you need to in an emergency.
• Electricity consumer unit. Know where the fuse box is and how the circuit breakers work. Label any that are not labelled.

Insurance

Buildings insurance should already be in place — your mortgage lender required it from exchange. Check the sum insured is sufficient (it should be the rebuild value, not the market value) and that the policy is registered at your new address.

Contents insurance covers your belongings. It is not mandatory but strongly recommended. New-home discounts are common and coverage is often cheaper than people expect.

Boiler and heating

If you do not already have the boiler service history, ask for it. A gas boiler should be serviced annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer. If there is no recent service record, book one promptly.

• Find out the age and model of the boiler. If it is over 10–12 years old, familiarise yourself with the cost of replacement.
• Bleed the radiators if any are not heating fully at the top — a radiator key costs a few pounds from any DIY shop.
• Check that the boiler pressure is in the correct range — usually 1–1.5 bar when cold.
• Locate the stopcock for the heating system and the boiler reset button.

Garden and outdoor space

• Check boundary fences. You are responsible for maintaining whichever boundaries are marked with a T on the title plan.
• Find out what bins you have and what day they are collected. Check the council website for your collection schedule.
• Outdoor taps — know whether yours has an isolating valve that should be turned off in winter to prevent freezing.

By the end of month one

The things that catch new homeowners out most often are: not taking meter readings (disputed bills), not changing the locks (security and insurance), not registering for council tax (backdated charges), and missing the electoral roll (credit file impact). Tick those four off first and the rest follows naturally.

Use the affordability calculator to check your mortgage figures, and read the full UK mortgage guide if you are still in the buying process.