Your first move is smaller than you expect, and more admin than you expect
Leaving home for the first time is the one move where the physical part is easy and everything else is unfamiliar. A first flat rarely fills a van. What catches people out is the paperwork, the setup costs, and the sheer number of small things nobody mentions until you need one at nine in the evening.
Here is what actually matters, in the order it comes up.
Decide what is coming with you
There are three honest options and most first movers take a version of the middle one.
Take almost nothing. Clothes, laptop, a few boxes. Works if the place is furnished, and most first rentals are. A car load or two, or a small van for an hour.
Take your room. Bed, desk, chair, the contents of your wardrobe and shelves. This is the common case and it is a genuine van job rather than a favour from someone with an estate car.
Take everything, including furniture. Usually only if the property is unfurnished, which is less common at the entry level and worth checking before you commit.
Two questions settle it. Is the flat furnished or unfurnished, and does what you own actually fit? Measure the room before bringing a double bed to a box room. The furniture that suited a bedroom in a house is often too large for a first flat.
What you actually need to buy
The list nobody gives you. Most of it is cheap, and being without it on the first night is genuinely miserable.
Kitchen. Kettle, a couple of pans, a sharp knife, chopping board, plates, bowls, mugs, cutlery, tin opener, sieve or colander, oven tray, washing up liquid, sponge, tea towels, bin bags.
Bedroom. Duvet, pillows, at least two sets of bedding, hangers. Check the mattress size before buying anything, since a double is not a king.
Bathroom. Towels, toilet roll, bath mat, shower curtain if there is a rail and no door, cleaning products, a plunger.
General. Extension lead, phone chargers, light bulbs, batteries, a basic toolkit with screwdrivers and an Allen key set, scissors, a torch, a first aid kit, an iron if you need one.
Boring but essential. A drying rack, since almost no first flat has a tumble dryer, and somewhere to put recycling.
Buy the first night items before you move rather than after. Bedding, towels, toilet roll, kettle, mugs. Everything else can wait a week.
The paperwork nobody warns you about
This is the part that costs money if it goes wrong.
Check your deposit is protected. In England, a landlord must protect a tenancy deposit in one of three government approved schemes and give you the prescribed information about it, normally within 30 days. The schemes are the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, and you can search their sites to confirm. If it is not protected, that is a serious breach.
Photograph everything at check in. Every room, every existing mark, the oven inside, the extractor filter, the state of the carpets. Date stamped photographs are what settle a deposit dispute at the end, and cleaning is consistently the biggest cause of deductions.
Read the inventory the agent gives you and challenge anything wrong in writing before you sign it.
Set up the bills. Gas, electricity, water, broadband and council tax, all in your name from the day the tenancy starts. Take meter readings on day one and photograph them.
Claim the single person council tax discount if you live alone. It is 25 per cent off the bill and you have to apply, it is not automatic. Full time students are usually exempt entirely, but the exemption still has to be claimed.
TV Licence. Needed if you watch live television on any channel or service, or use BBC iPlayer at all. A licence covers an address rather than a person.
Contents insurance. Cheap, frequently skipped. Your landlord insures the building, not your laptop.
Getting your things there
For a room's worth of belongings, the practical options are a friend with a car making several trips, hiring a van yourself, or booking a man and van.
The third is usually less expensive than people assume, because it is charged by the hour and a small load takes two to three hours including the drive. Against a day of van hire, fuel, your own time and the risk of carrying a mattress down two flights alone, it often wins.
Whatever you choose:
- Pack properly. Sealed boxes rather than bin bags, which split and are impossible to stack. Materials are available from our packing shop.
- Label the destination room, even in a small flat.
- Keep documents and valuables with you, not in the van.
- Sort the parking at both ends. Many London streets are permit controlled, and a van with nowhere legal to stop costs you time.
- Be ready before the driver arrives, because on hourly work waiting is billed.
If you are moving out of a family home and leaving things behind temporarily, or moving into a place too small for what you own, container storage is cheaper than renting a bigger flat for the sake of a few boxes.
The first week
Find the stopcock, the fuse box and the meters, and photograph them. Learn the bin days. Register with a local GP and dentist. Meet the neighbours while being new is still a reason to.
Our guide to the jobs movers forget covers the first week properly, including testing the smoke alarms, which your landlord is legally required to provide on every storey.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to buy when moving into my first flat? Bedding, towels and toilet roll first, then kitchen basics: kettle, pans, knife, plates, mugs, cutlery, bin bags. Add an extension lead, light bulbs, a basic toolkit and a drying rack. Buy the first night items before you move.
How do I know my tenancy deposit is protected? Your landlord must protect it in one of three government approved schemes and give you the prescribed information, normally within 30 days. Search the DPS, MyDeposits or TDS websites to confirm it is there.
Do I get a council tax discount living alone? Yes, 25 per cent for a single adult occupant, but you have to apply for it through your council. Full time students are usually exempt, and that also has to be claimed.
Is a man and van cheaper than hiring a van myself? For a room or a small flat, often yes once fuel, insurance excess, your time and the physical work are counted. It is charged hourly and a small load typically takes two to three hours.
Should I use bin bags to move clothes? Better not. They split, they cannot be stacked, and they get mistaken for rubbish. Proper boxes or a wardrobe carton cost little and make the whole job faster.
Do I need contents insurance in a rented flat? Your landlord insures the building, not your possessions. Contents cover is inexpensive and worth having from day one, particularly in a shared house.
Talk to us
RMV Storage & Removals has moved first flats, whole houses and everything between across London for over fifteen years, with man and van work and full removals, packing materials delivered to your door and container storage, across every area we cover including North London.
For the full sequence if this is a bigger move, see the moving house checklist. Otherwise tell us roughly what you have and where it is going, and get in touch.
Written by Riki Migliori, Director at RMV Storage & Removals. Originally published March 2017. Fully reviewed and updated summer 2026.