The 30-day moving checklist
What to do and when, from four weeks out to the day after delivery. Written for Indian households, including the society paperwork nobody warns you about.
6 min read · updated 01 Aug 2026
Four weeks before
- Decide your date. Avoid the last four and first four days of the month if you can — that is when rents turn over, slots fill and prices rise.
- Get itemised quotes and a survey. A quote without a survey is a guess.
- Start disposing of what you will not take. You pay to move volume; a wardrobe you dislike costs the same as one you love.
- Tell your landlord or society in writing if notice is required.
Three weeks before
- Confirm the booking and get the written, itemised quotation.
- Apply for society permission at both ends. Many co-operative societies need written intimation, a security deposit and a booked lift slot — this is the single most common cause of a delayed move day.
- Book the goods lift for your slot at both buildings.
- Start using up food that cannot travel.
Two weeks before
- Arrange transfers: school records, gas connection, broadband, newspaper, milk, domestic help.
- Update your address on bank accounts, Aadhaar, insurance and anything with a KYC dependency.
- Service or arrange uninstallation for air conditioners and geysers.
- Photograph your valuable items yourself, close up, with the date.
One week before
- Confirm the crew, the vehicle and the arrival time in writing.
- Set aside an 'open first' box: bedding, towels, toiletries, phone chargers, basic tools, medicines, kettle, a change of clothes per person.
- Withdraw some cash and keep documents, jewellery and laptops with you — never on the truck.
- Defrost and dry the refrigerator 24 hours before. A wet fridge grows mould in transit.
- Arrange care for children and pets on the day. It is genuinely safer and dramatically faster.
The day before
- Check the crew details you have been sent: names, photographs, vehicle registration.
- Charge your phone and a power bank.
- Empty the washing machine hoses and fit the transit bolts if you have them.
- Keep the gate pass, society letter and lift booking somewhere you can find at 07:00.
Moving day
- Verify identity before letting anyone in. Ask for the OTP or the crew card.
- Walk the crew through the house and point out anything fragile or valuable before packing starts.
- Check that condition photographs are being taken.
- Do a final sweep: behind doors, on top of wardrobes, in the loft, on the balcony, in the meter cupboard.
- Photograph the loaded vehicle and its registration number.
- Get the inventory signed before the vehicle leaves.
Delivery day
- Check items against the inventory as they come off, not afterwards.
- Record any damage on the delivery note before the crew leaves, with photographs.
- Have the large furniture reassembled and placed before you sign off.
- Pay the balance only after the check is done.
The week after
- File any damage claim within the stated window — usually seven days.
- Get the GST invoice for expense claims or an employer relocation allowance.
- Leave a review that says what actually happened, good or bad. It is the only mechanism this industry has for accountability.
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