Setting up a London home

London Expat Desk

Setting up a London home

A 90-day sequence for visa, tenancy, utilities, banking, school and payroll records.

Practical city guide

London starting points

London setup should follow visa records, bank account, tenancy, council tax, GP registration, utilities, mobile and school records.

London starting points

London setup should follow visa records, bank account, tenancy, council tax, GP registration, utilities, mobile and school records.

At handover, record inventory, meter readings, keys, fobs, parking, appliance condition and existing damage.

Check council tax, electricity, gas, water, broadband, mobile coverage, TV licence position and contract lock-in.

Family records should include passports, visa records, school papers, medical records, emergency contacts and tenancy documents.

After first payroll, reconcile gross pay, tax, national insurance, pension, benefits, reimbursements and deductions.

Never leave landlord promises or employer reimbursement promises in chat messages. Save the document or email.

The tracker should replace assumptions with bills during the first quarter.

London document checklist

Visa and bank; Digital status, bank, payroll and tenancy proof.

Home; Inventory, meters, fobs, broadband and council tax.

Family; School, GP, medical and emergency records.

Payroll review; Tax, national insurance, pension and reimbursements.

Run a clear first-week plan

Put immigration status access, employer induction, temporary accommodation, communications, banking, GP registration and family arrival tasks on one dated plan. Name the responsible person and records for completion. Never mark a task complete because an application was submitted.

Prioritise actions that unblock work, payment, safe accommodation and health access. Keep optional purchases outside that sequence. A household can operate temporarily with limited furniture, but it should not depend on an unverified right-to-work, rent payment or medicine route.

Review the plan at the end of each day during the first week. Record any dependency and revised date. Preserve source links and responses so the household does not restart the same enquiry through several channels.

Convert temporary accommodation into an well-checked housing decision

Use temporary housing to inspect areas, test travel and assemble the tenancy records. Track its final date and extension price. Never let an artificial checkout deadline force payment to an unverified landlord or acceptance of unread terms.

For each candidate, keep rent, deposit, holding money, term, notice, bills, condition and payee records together. Apply the current right-to-rent and deposit guidance to the actual proposed tenancy. Record any unanswered point before money moves.

The 2026 private-renting changes affect the agreement framework from the applicable commencement date. Obtain current official or professional guidance for the signing date. Never reuse a checklist prepared for an earlier tenancy without rechecking it.

Establish household services from verified readings

At handover, record meter readings, serials, condition and keys with date-stamped records. Confirm which utilities and council charges sit with the household under the agreement. Use provider or organisation instructions for account opening rather than a link supplied by an unknown caller.

Keep opening readings, account references, tariffs and payment mandates in the household file. Never accept estimated arrears from before possession without raising the records promptly. Reconcile the first bill against the opening record and occupied dates.

Budget broadband and mobile activation gaps separately. Check term, installation, equipment, early exit and coverage for the exact address. A low introductory payment is not the whole contract cost.

Settle children into school and care routines

Confirm the accepted place, start date, calendar, transport, collection organisation and medical procedure for each child. Keep invoice and employer-support records separate from the daily care sheet. Never assume siblings share the same timetable or transport.

Test the school journey from the signed home at the actual time. Add the parent's project commitments, after-school activity and backup collector. Revise the household travel budget using paid fares or the school's confirmed bus charge.

After the first fortnight, review attendance, support, journey and invoices. Raise errors through the school's stated route and preserve the response. The settling plan should expose an unresolved issue, not hide it behind a general statement that the family has arrived.

Create a London household household folder

Build an index for status records, employment, tenancy, deposit protection, bank, utilities, school, health, travel and emergency contacts. Record where the source document is stored and who can access it. Avoid duplicating passports and medical records into every topic folder.

Set review dates for time-sensitive items and name the official route used for each check. Preserve original files and readable exports of important portal confirmations. A screenshot without a date, address or reference can be hard to rely upon later.

Give an authorised adult enough access to manage urgent household tasks while the employee is away. Never share passwords. Use account permissions and secure recovery arrangements where available, then test them before an emergency.

Replace relocation estimates with first-month actuals

At day 30, reconcile salary, rent, deposit, temporary lodging, travel, food, school, health, utilities and setup purchases. Keep refunds and employer reimbursements as separate credits. In the London settlement notes, replace each planning amount with an actual or a clearly dated continuing assumption.

Investigate the largest differences using invoices and statements. Decide whether each is one-off, recurring or timing-related. In the London settlement notes, never smooth a setup expense into a monthly average unless the decision genuinely calls for that treatment.

Run the calculator with the accepted household case and a stressed case. Preserve both inputs and explain the changed variables. The result is a cash-planning figure, not proof that the assignment package is adequate for another household.

Build local routines without losing project routines

Record regular work, health, shopping and family routes with operating hours and verified contacts. Keep a lawful alternative for late or disrupted travel. Never let an informal local recommendation replace an official eligibility, payment or safety check.

Separate household administration time from project time and assign recurring tasks. Calendar rent, school, insurance, status and document dates. A missed renewal or notice can create cost even when the underlying monthly budget is sound.

Review emergency contacts and access after any home, school, project or telephone change. Remove obsolete details. The objective is a current operating record, not a large archive that no one can use quickly.

Complete a ninety-day settling review

At about ninety days, confirm employment and dependant records, tenancy and deposit records, bank access, GP registration, school arrangements, travel pattern and unresolved claims. Mark each item recorded, pending or not applicable. Never use a general green status without the underlying record.

Compare actual recurring spending with net pay and committed benefits. Test a delayed reimbursement, housing change or project travel increase where it is a credible household exposure. State each assumption and remove scenarios that have no factual basis.

Assign the next review date and responsible adult. Archive superseded estimates but retain their date and purpose. The settling calculator supports this review; it does not decide immigration, tenancy, tax, education or medical rights.

Ninety-day household final check

Maintain one dated checklist for employment and dependant records, accommodation, bank access, GP registration, school, utilities, transport and emergency contacts. For every item, distinguish planned, submitted, accepted, operational and reconciled. A reference number is not the same as a functioning service, and a verbal assurance should remain open until the responsible body provides usable confirmation.

During temporary accommodation, test proposed home-to-work and home-to-school journeys and complete the tenancy document pack. Track checkout and extension costs, but never let a booking deadline override identity, payee, right-to-rent, agreement or deposit checks. Preserve each decision and the current official guidance used on the proposed signing date.

At permanent handover, record condition, keys, meter readings and responsible suppliers. Reconcile the first rent and bills against the tenancy and opening records. Keep defects and agreed work in writing. Add notice, review, insurance and service dates to the household calendar before the first month becomes dominated by project work.

Make NHS registration, private insurer enrolment and family medicine continuity separate tasks. Test the bank, payment cards, salary receipt and recovery route before relying on them for rent or care. Establish independent secure access for an authorised adult without sharing credentials. Household resilience depends on usable access, not a folder containing applications that only the employee can open.

At day 30, replace temporary estimates with actual salary, housing, school, health, transport, utilities and setup entries. Keep deposits, refunds and employer reimbursements as separate cash events. Classify differences as one-off, recurring or timing effects. Never hide an arrival deficit inside a smoothed annual average when the immediate question is whether the household can meet due dates.

At about day 90, verify the status, document and benefit dates again and close unresolved setup cases. Compare the current recurring cost with accessible net cash. Test only credible stresses, such as delayed reimbursement, a project commute change or temporary family separation, and state their records. Remove obsolete scenarios rather than allowing them to become unsupported facts.

Record the next review and responsible adult for every continuing obligation. Archive superseded files with dates and restrict personal records. The calculator helps the household review the move in an organised way. It cannot approve immigration or tenancy status, calculate tax, choose a school, give medical advice or certify the security of a financial transaction.

Close unresolved London setup items

Create an exceptions list for any status, tenancy, deposit, utility, bank, school, health or transport matter that remains pending. Record the latest records, responsible organisation, household owner and next date. Never allow a submitted request to disappear from the main plan merely because normal work and school routines have started.

Reconcile refundable arrival items, including temporary accommodation deposits, tenancy holding money, duplicate travel charges and supplier credits. Keep each future receipt outside accessible cash until paid. Where the amount is disputed, preserve the source documents and use the organisation's current complaint or correction route.

Review personal-data copies accumulated during relocation. Retain authoritative records, remove unnecessary duplicates and restrict access to identity, health and banking records. Update recovery contacts and household permissions. A large shared folder is not a safe manage if it contains obsolete passports, passwords or documents unrelated to the continuing purpose.

Confirm that the recurring London case now uses actual home, work, school and household arrangements. Date the calculator inputs and record every continuing assumption. Set a six-month review or an earlier trigger for employment, status, home or family change. The completed settling checklist is a practical household record, not a financial approval.

Transfer manage from relocation to normal household administration

Once setup exceptions are closed, move continuing rent, bills, school, health, travel and document dates into the household's normal calendar. Assign ownership and a backup. Remove relocation-only access and supplier contacts. Keep the record set, but never maintain two competing task lists after the handover because one may be updated while the other silently expires.

Record a short handover note showing current home, work and family assumptions, monthly committed payments, pending credits and next review dates. Include only supported amounts and clearly marked household assumptions. This provides a clear starting point if the project, employer or family situation changes, without treating the original London arrival plan as permanently correct.

Confirm completion records

Require an operating account, registered service, paid statement or written outcome for each completed item. A submitted form or unanswered email stays pending. This final distinction stops the ninety-day review from reporting administrative progress as working household access.

Interactive planning tool

London first 90 days funding test

Add setup cash to three months of spending and deduct confirmed support.

Household funding required

Setup plus three months of spending, less confirmed support.

This page is a planning guide. Rules, charges, eligibility, availability and provider terms can change. Recheck the recorded official source and obtain current written terms before paying, signing, resigning or travelling.