What should I do in the first week in a new home?
The safety, practical and admin tasks worth doing before you start unpacking properly.
beginner3 hr2 min read
Household Admin
Paperwork, renewals and the annual jobs.
258 guides in Money & Practical
What do I need to rent a property in the UK?
The referencing checks letting agents run, the documents to have ready, and the options when you do not meet an affordability or credit requirement.
beginner1 hr4 min readAm I a lodger or a tenant, and what difference does it make?
Sharing living accommodation with your landlord usually makes you an excluded occupier with far fewer rights. What still protects you, what does not, and how the position differs in the four nations.
intermediate11 min5 min readCan I take time off work to look after someone who needs care?
An unpaid week a year for someone with a long-term care need — a relative, a household member, or anyone who reasonably relies on you. No evidence can be demanded, and it cannot be refused.
beginner9 min4 min readCan my landlord come round whenever they like?
You are entitled to live in your home without interference, including from the person who owns it. What notice a landlord must give, what a refusal actually means, and where routine visits shade into harassment.
beginner9 min4 min readHow do I check whether I am owed money?
Lost accounts, overpaid tax, unclaimed refunds and forgotten pensions — the places money commonly sits unclaimed.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I get broadband working in a new home without a gap?
The lead times that catch people out when moving, how to check what technology the new address can take, and the order that avoids weeks without a connection.
beginner40 min4 min readHow do I switch bank account?
What a switch actually moves, what it does not, and the checks to make before and after.
beginner45 min2 min readHow does LBTT and the Additional Dwelling Supplement work in Scotland?
Scotland's land tax, collected by Revenue Scotland, and the supplement that applies when you buy an additional home. The thirty-six-month windows that decide whether you pay it and whether you get it back.
intermediate11 min4 min readHow does selling a house work?
Choosing an agent and a contract type, the paperwork buyers' solicitors will ask for, and the stages where a sale most commonly falls through.
intermediate1 hr 15 min3 min readWhat can an employer put in a job reference?
There is usually no obligation to give a reference at all — but there is an obligation for whatever is given to be accurate, fair and not misleading.
beginner10 min2 min readWhat counts as whistleblowing at work, and who do I tell?
A protected disclosure is a specific legal thing, not just raising a concern. The categories, the public interest requirement, who you can safely tell, and what the protection is worth.
advanced14 min5 min readWhat happens to a rented home when the tenant dies?
A tenancy does not simply end. It passes to the estate or to a successor, and rent keeps falling due until it is properly brought to an end.
intermediate15 min3 min readWhat is different about buying a new-build home?
Reservation fees, off-plan contracts, long-stop dates, the warranty, the snagging window and the consumer code. What a new-build purchase does differently and where buyers get caught.
intermediate14 min5 min readWhat should I shred, and what can go straight in the recycling?
What is actually useful to a fraudster on a piece of household paper, which documents therefore need destroying, and why most of the paper people shred did not need it.
beginner30 min4 min readWho fixes a leak on the pipe between the meter and my house?
The buried pipe from the boundary to your house is yours, not the water company's. What that means for a leak, and the schemes and allowances that often cover part of the cost.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I split household bills fairly?
Methods for dividing shared costs, handling unequal incomes and rooms, and keeping the admin from becoming a source of friction.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I teach children about money?
Age-appropriate steps from handling coins to managing a monthly allowance, and the habits worth building early.
beginner30 min2 min readWhat do I do if a company goes bust owing me money or a service?
Why claiming from the administrator is usually the weakest route, and the card, protection scheme and insurance routes that actually recover money.
beginner45 min3 min readWhat financial records should I keep and for how long?
What to keep, what to shred, how long each matters, and a filing structure that takes minutes to maintain.
beginner1 hr2 min readCan I lose my flat for unpaid service charges?
The remedy that sits behind every service charge demand, the protections that stop it being used casually, and what to do the moment a formal notice arrives.
advanced12 min5 min readHow do I cancel something bought at the door or by phone?
The cancellation rights that apply away from business premises, the deadline, and what to do when they will not accept it.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I complain about an estate agent?
Estate agents must belong to an approved redress scheme, which gives you an independent decision for free. The order the complaint has to go in, what the schemes can award, and when it is a Trading Standards matter instead.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I deal with a debt letter that is not mine?
Asking for proof rather than arguing, the letter that puts the burden back on them, and what to do about your credit file.
beginner45 min3 min read
Going deeper: ToolFoundry
Interactive calculators — quantities, conversions, costs and sizing — rather than prose.