3 weeks prior to relocation
- Banks
Change/revoke bank accounts and direct debit authorisations - Post office
Apply for forwarding request, change telephone, GEZ - Registration
School/Kindergarten, newspaper/magazine subscriptions, other contracts - Relocation
Appoint a removal firm - Trash containers
Would you like to clear out while moving? Order a bulky waste disposal or a container service. - Garden
Recondition the garden at your old location, before moving out. - Inform about the change of address:
Relatives, friends, tax office, bank, insurance companies, buisness partners, employment center, clubs or church
1 week prior to relocation
- Cover foil & blankets
Obtain blankets, bedsheets and foil to cover your fragile possessions during transport. - Babysitter
Arrange someone to look after your kids while moving. - Curtains & carpets
Have your curtains and carpets cleaned - Furniture plan
Plan out, where to put all your furniture in the new home. Lay drafts of the furniture plan in every room at the new location, this saves a lot of questions from the movers. - Trash bags
Buy a sufficient ammount of trash bags. Every moving creates a lot of trash. - Renovation
Appoint a painter or a renovation firm for your old place. Or buy colors and wallpapers and renovate yourself. - Date of relocation
Inform your neighbors of the date of your relocation, so they will not be surprised by the noise. Also inform the janitor, so that he can help you keep the stairwell and the street in front of the house. - Handling over of old apartment
Appoint a date with your former landlord, for acceptance of your renovation and to give back the keys to the apartment.
1-2 days prior to relocation
- Vehicle
If you are moving on your own, make sure to pick up the moving truck the night before the relocation. - Plants
Water your plants, to help them survive the relocation. Exept in winter time. - Parking space
If possible reserve a parking space in front of the house. - Commodities
Pack all the things you need on the day of your relocation separately. From animal food, drinks, medicine to your furniture plan. And tell your family where you put those things. - Even when moving with a removal firm, keep important tools (screwdrivers, pincers etc.) ready.
The day of the relocation
- Read the meters
Together with your former landlord or the janitor, read all the meters of your apartment (water, gas, electricity) and have him initial the paper. - Floors
Remember to carpet your rooms with foil, especially when moving on a rainy day. - Animals
Last chance for a walk with the dog. - Last pass through old apartment
Walk through every room and look if you forgot anything.
At the new location
- Read the meters
Together with your new landlord or the janitor, read all the meters of your new apartment (water, gas, electricity) and have him initial the paper. - Furniture plan
If you created a furniture plan you will now see that the arrangement of your new flat went really smoothly.
After the relocation
- Registration of address office
Within 14 days you have to inform the registration of address office about your new address, also have them change the address on your identity card. - DMV
If you own a car, inform the department of motor vehicles (DMV) of your new address, if you move to another administrative district you have to register your car there.
For that you need:- Confirmation from registration of address office
- Identification card
- Motor vehicle registration certificate
- Municipal utility
Tell them all meter readings of your new apartment.