What should I do in the first week in a new home?

A new home is unfamiliar in exactly the ways that matter during an emergency. Spending an hour locating the things you will need under pressure is the highest-value work of the first week.

What you'll need

• Torch
• Phone camera
• Screwdriver (optional)
• Cleaning materials (optional)

Step by step

1. Find and label the stopcock, consumer unit and gas valve.Check the stopcock actually turns. Make sure everyone in the household knows where all three are — this is not a task to leave for later.
2. Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm.Press the test button on each. Replace batteries and add alarms where any are missing, particularly near boilers and solid fuel appliances.
3. Take and photograph meter readings.Immediately, before you use anything. It sets the baseline for your account and prevents being billed for the previous occupant.
4. Change or rekey the locks.You do not know how many keys exist. It is one of the few genuinely important security actions when moving in.
5. Locate the fuse box, thermostat and any isolation valves.Learn how the heating controls work while it is calm rather than on the first cold evening.
6. Clean before unpacking.Empty rooms are the only time you can clean properly behind and under where furniture will go. It takes half the time and gives twice the result.
7. Check for problems while everything is empty and visible.Damp patches, leaks under sinks, window seals, blocked gutters. Report them promptly if you rent — this is the moment they are easiest to establish as pre-existing.
8. Photograph the condition of everything.Especially if renting. Dated photographs of every room, including existing marks, are what settle any dispute at the end.

Tips

• Meet the neighbours early. They know where the bins go, when collections are, and which local trades are reliable — all genuinely useful.
• Find out the waste and recycling arrangements in the first week. They vary considerably and it is annoying to get wrong repeatedly.
• Keep the essentials box unpacked and accessible for the first few days rather than unpacking everything at once.

Common mistakes

• Unpacking before cleaning — You lose the only opportunity to clean the spaces furniture will permanently occupy, and it takes far longer afterwards.
• Not locating the stopcock and consumer unit — The moment you need them is a leak or an electrical fault, which is the worst possible time to be searching.
• Not photographing the condition on arrival when renting — Without it, every existing mark can be attributed to you when you leave.

Questions people ask