Moving house: the paperwork scan-plan

Moves generate a blizzard of one-shot documents whose value peaks months later — at deposit-return time, at tax time, at “the landlord says” time. Scan the blizzard as it happens.

The move-out set

• Handover protocol, signed, every page
• Final meter readings — the meter itself photographed plus the signed reading sheet scanned
• Condition photos of cleaned rooms (images, kept beside the PDFs)
• Deposit correspondence

The move-in set

• New lease (the contract method) and inventory list — annotate defects on paper, then scan the annotated copy both parties initialled
• Initial meter readings, same double-capture
• Keys/fobs receipt
• Address-change confirmations as they arrive

Filing the move

One folder: Home/Move-2026, everything named by date and type. The folder resolves disputes by existing — in deposit disagreements, the side with signed, dated scans tends to write the summary email that ends the thread. When the dust settles, the folder graduates into your normal Home archive.

Frequently asked questions

Are photos of meters enough without the sheet?

The photo proves the number; the signed sheet proves both parties saw it. Capture both — thirty seconds now, immunity later.

Landlord kept the only signed inventory copy?

Ask to photograph it on the spot — universally accepted — and scan that photo into your folder. Never leave a signing table without your own capture of every signed page.