Free guide · Updated July 2026 · 5 min read
Your first 72 hours in a new home, prioritised
The short answer
Day one: photograph every meter, find the stopcock and fuse box, check the boiler and smoke alarms, build the beds, order the takeaway. Day two: submit meter readings, start the address changes with legal deadlines (council tax, DVLA), test everything. Day three: unpack one room completely and walk your new street. Everything else can wait.
Day one: safety, evidence, beds
- ✓Photograph every meter (gas, electric, water) with your phone's timestamp: disputes are won with dated photos
- ✓Find the stopcock, fuse box and gas shut-off BEFORE you need them; add them to your home map with photos
- ✓Test the boiler for heat and hot water while the seller's phone number still answers
- ✓Press the test button on every smoke and CO alarm; buy replacements tomorrow if any fail
- ✓Build the beds before you're too tired to, and locate the kettle box
- ✓Change or plan to change the locks if you own: you have no idea how many keys exist
- ✓Takeaway on boxes is the traditional first supper; the neighbourhood guide knows what's nearby
Day two: the admin with deadlines
- ✓Submit your opening meter readings to the incumbent suppliers, then compare tariffs: the 'deemed contract' you're on is usually the worst deal in Britain
- ✓Start the legal-deadline address changes: council tax (you're liable from day one), DVLA driving licence and V5C (legal requirement), and vehicle insurance (invalid at the wrong address)
- ✓Confirm broadband activation or order it: 2 to 4 week lead times punish delay
- ✓Register with a GP before anyone needs one; find the nearest pharmacy the same day
- ✓Locate bin day and which bins: the council website or a neighbour will know
Day three: one finished room and a walk
Unpack one room completely rather than every room partially: one finished room does something disproportionate for morale. The kitchen or your bedroom are the usual candidates.
Then leave the boxes and walk your new street for twenty minutes. Find the cafe, note the neighbour who nods back, learn where the road goes. Feeling at home is mostly repetition, and repetition has to start somewhere.
And a word about week three
Somewhere around week two or three, when the adrenaline drains, many people feel oddly flat in the house they fought months for. Unfamiliar noises, no routine, boxes still accusing you from corners. It's so common it should be printed on the completion statement, and it passes. Give the house six weeks before you judge anything, including yourself.
Quick answers
What should I do first when moving into a new house?
Photograph every utility meter with a timestamp, then find the stopcock, fuse box and gas shut-off before you need any of them in a panic. Those ten minutes of evidence and orientation prevent the two most common new-home crises: billing disputes and not knowing where the water turns off.
Who do I legally have to tell when I move house?
The ones with legal teeth: your council for council tax, the DVLA for both your driving licence and vehicle log book, and your car insurer, since cover at the wrong address can be invalid. The electoral roll follows close behind. Everything else is important but not enforceable.
How long does it take to feel at home somewhere new?
Research and common experience both say two to six months, with a well-documented dip around weeks two to three when the adrenaline fades. Small repetitions accelerate it: the same cafe twice, one neighbour's name, one walk you like. Roots grow from small things.
Put this guide to work
General information for England & Wales, not financial or legal advice. Costs are typical 2026 ranges and vary by region and circumstances.