Moving house is a major change in a family's life. To ensure continuity in your new life, you'll need to inform your many contacts of your future change of address. But who do you notify when you move, and where do you start? Here's a practical guide to the contacts you need to notify before you can start your new life.
To be done 3 months before the move
The first thing to do when moving house is to take care of all the formalities connected with your accommodation, since these often determine the date of your move. You also need to notify your employer and your children's schools as soon as possible.
Notify your landlord or building manager
If you are a tenant, you need to contact your landlord to inform him of your future departure. It's best to send your landlord a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, to make sure he or she has received your letter. Depending on the circumstances, your notice period may be one month or 3 months. You should therefore refer to your lease before taking any steps to move out. Depending on your actual moving date, you'll then be able to arrange an appointment with your landlord to carry out the exit inventory of fixtures.
If you're a landlord, you simply need to inform your building's syndic, who manages the co-ownership if you live in a collective dwelling.
Notify your employer
If you follow your partner into a new job, you may have to resign from your position. If this is the case, let your employer know as soon as possible to make sure you respect your notice period.
If you're staying with the company, you'll also need to inform your employer of your change of address, if only so that he knows where to contact you should the need arise. Take the opportunity to ask if you can take one or more days off work to move. There are no statutory vacations for a move, but you may be able to take advantage of contractual or company-internal provisions. It can always be useful!
To be done 1 month before the move
While you're preparing your move and packing your boxes, you need to set aside some time to contact your various service providers, insurers and bankers to ensure continuity with your new life.
Contact your service providers: energy, landline/internet telephone, TV...
All these subscriptions are taken out for a given address and are non-transferable. You must therefore contact your suppliers before you move to inform them that your contracts will soon be closed. For electricity and gas, you'll need to read the meter on the day of your departure and send the index to close the contract.
Contact your insurance company
You'll need to cancel your current home insurance policy and take out a new one for your new home. Don't wait until the last day before taking out a policy for your new home. You never know! Don't forget to change the address of your car insurance and any other contracts you may have (third-party liability, school insurance...). It's obviously easier to manage if you have all your policies with the same insurer.
Don't hesitate to mention your forthcoming move too, to make sure you're properly covered if you decide to do it yourself. If you call in a professional, it's the mover's insurance that will cover any claim in the event of damage, so you won't have to plan anything.
Contact your bank
If you're not changing banks when you move, the formalities are very simple. Simply inform your banker of your new address and provide proof of address to validate the change. In most major banks, it is now possible to change branch without changing account number. Don't forget the many direct debits you won't have to change as a result of your move!
It's more complicated when you change bank branches. Some banking networks, organized into administrative regions, are not always very flexible. In any case, talk to your bank advisor before you move, so you can anticipate any steps you may need to take. Accounts can also be transferred after the move, especially as banks today are largely paperless.
Contact social services
From the Caisse d'Allocations Familiales (CAF) or the MSA to the pension fund and the Assurance Maladie, your file must be up to date to enable you to claim your social benefits in your new life. In some cases, the social services may even be able to grant you relocation assistance. So it's a good idea to take care of all the formalities before you move.
Contact us
Before moving, you also need to plan your mail transfer. Make your request before you move to avoid losing mail en route.
What to do when you move
Take heart, the formalities are almost over. All that's left is to update your tax and vehicle registration documents.
The tax department
You need to report your change of address to the tax office of the address you are leaving. This applies to all the taxes you pay (taxe d'habitation, taxe foncière, etc.), including TV licence fees. You can do this via your taxpayer space on the impots.gouv.fr website, or when you file your tax return after you've moved.
As you can see, when you move house, there are quite a few formalities to complete and people to contact. With the dematerialization of online administrative services, it is now possible to declare your change of address in a single step to various public bodies (CAF, Assurance Maladie, Assurance Retraite, Pôle Emploi...). You'll need to visit the following website: le site service-public.fr. Good luck to all the others!
If you'd like to receive a quote for your move, so that you can be relieved of these tasks, please don't hesitate to contact us.