Why an English moving checklist will mislead you here
This is not a small difference in terminology. The order of events changes, and so does the point at which you can safely commit to a moving date.
| Stage | England and Wales | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Survey | Buyer commissions and pays | Seller must provide a Home Report before marketing |
| Making it binding | Exchange of contracts | Conclusion of missives |
| Timing of that moment | Often days before completion | Often weeks before the date of entry |
| The moving day itself | Completion day | Date of entry |
| Getting the keys | Usually early afternoon | When funds reach the seller’s solicitor, often midday |
| Purchase tax | Stamp Duty to HMRC, 14 days | LBTT to Revenue Scotland, 30 days |
| Ending a tenancy | Notice under the current English rules | 28 days under a Private Residential Tenancy |
The checklist below follows the Scottish sequence. Work through it in order.
Before you offer
- Get the Home Report. Ask the selling agent. It should be available to any genuinely interested buyer.
- Instruct a solicitor early. In Scotland the solicitor usually handles both the offer and the conveyancing, so they are involved before you bid rather than after.
- Get a mortgage agreement in principle. Offers here are typically submitted through your solicitor and are expected to be funded.
- Work out your LBTT. Land and Buildings Transaction Tax replaces Stamp Duty. The nil rate band runs to £145,000 and first-time buyer relief lifts it to £175,000.
- Check whether the Additional Dwelling Supplement applies. It is 8% of the whole purchase price if you or any joint buyer already owns a residential property anywhere in the world. If your existing home has not sold by settlement, you pay it and reclaim later.
Offers over a stated price are normal, and where interest is high the selling agent may set a closing date. That is a sealed-bid deadline rather than an auction, so you get one attempt.
Offer accepted: the gap before it is binding
What happens in this window:
- Missives are negotiated. Your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor agree the date of entry, what fixtures are included, and any conditions.
- Your lender instructs its valuation and issues the formal mortgage offer.
- Your solicitor examines the title and raises any burdens or access rights on the property.
The date of entry gets written into the missives, and it is typically four to eight weeks after the offer is accepted. That date is the one everything else hangs on.
This is also the point to start thinking about the practical move rather than waiting for the legal one to finish. Removal firms book up well ahead, and the diary fills earliest around Fridays and month ends. We set out the timing in detail in our guide to how far ahead to book a removal company in Scotland.
Missives concluded: now it is real
Once missives conclude, work through the following:
- Confirm the removal booking against the now-fixed date of entry.
- Give notice on any tenancy. A Private Residential Tenancy needs 28 days in writing, which is far shorter than the English equivalent and lets you line dates up tightly.
- Arrange buildings insurance from the date of entry.
- Book time off. A date of entry is a working day, and keys rarely arrive first thing.
- Order any parking permission you need. In central Edinburgh a council dispensation or bay suspension takes days rather than hours to arrange.
The fortnight before the date of entry
Tell the following, in roughly this order:
| Who | Scottish specifics |
|---|---|
| Your local council | Council tax at both addresses. In Edinburgh that is the City of Edinburgh Council |
| Scottish Water | Nothing to do. Water and waste water charges are collected on your council tax bill, based on your band |
| Energy supplier | Meter readings at both properties on the day |
| GP practice | Registration is by practice catchment. In Edinburgh the health board is NHS Lothian |
| Electoral register | Register at the new address. Scotland runs its own registration for Scottish Parliament and council elections |
| DVLA | Driving licence and vehicle log book, both free to update |
| Bank, insurers, employer | None are automatic |
| Royal Mail redirection | Worth setting up for at least three months |
That list covers the essentials. The full version, including what lapses if you forget it and the Scottish entries the national checklists get wrong, is in our change of address checklist for a Scottish move.
Also worth doing now: measure any large furniture against the new property. In a tenement flat the constraint is almost never the stair itself but the turn at the half-landing, and a sofa that fits the van may still not enter the flat. Our house removals in Edinburgh surveys exist largely to catch this before the day rather than on the stair.
The date of entry, hour by hour
What that means practically:
- Morning. The crew loads the outgoing property. Take final meter readings and photograph them.
- Midday, roughly. Funds transfer between solicitors. Your solicitor calls when keys are released.
- Afternoon. Collect keys and unload. This is why a Scottish move is quoted as a full day rather than by the hour.
What that day looks like in practice, from the crew arriving to the last box, is set out in our guide to moving day hour by hour.
If you are selling in England and buying in Scotland on the same day, tell both solicitors early. An English chain completing at 1pm against a Scottish settlement expecting cleared funds that morning is the most common reason a move slips a day.
After you move
- LBTT return within 30 days. Your solicitor normally submits it, but the liability is yours. Confirm it has been filed.
- Register the title. Your solicitor registers your ownership with Registers of Scotland.
- Reclaim the Additional Dwelling Supplement if you paid it and your former home has now sold. There is a time limit, so ask your solicitor rather than assuming.
- Check the first council tax bill is on the right band and includes the Scottish Water charges.
- Find your bin arrangements. Flatted properties in much of Edinburgh use communal on-street bins rather than individual collections, and garden waste is a separate chargeable service you must register for.
If you are renting rather than buying
The practical consequences for your moving timeline:
- You can move faster. 28 days’ notice rather than two months means you can take a property and be in it within the month.
- Your deposit must be lodged in an approved tenancy deposit scheme, with the details sent to you within 30 working days.
- No fees are payable for granting or renewing a tenancy. Charging one is against the law in Scotland.
- Rent rises once a year at most, with at least three months’ written notice.
Where this checklist stops
- Choosing an area is a separate decision that depends on commute, schools and budget rather than on legal process.
- What removals cost is driven by access and volume. Our guide to removal company prices in Edinburgh covers what actually moves the figure.
- Business moves follow a different sequence entirely, built around lease break notices rather than missives. See our office move checklist.
- Commercial conveyancing and anything involving a lease break needs a solicitor, not a checklist.
Common questions about moving house in Scotland
What do you need to do when moving house in Scotland?
Read the Home Report before offering, instruct a solicitor, then let missives be negotiated and concluded. Once concluded, confirm your removal booking against the date of entry, give any tenancy notice, update your council tax, register with a GP and update the electoral register. After the move, ensure the LBTT return is filed within 30 days.
What is the difference between missives and exchange of contracts?
They serve the same purpose: making the sale binding. Missives are formal letters passed between the two solicitors, and the sale becomes binding when they are concluded. The practical difference is timing, because missives typically conclude weeks before the date of entry, whereas exchange in England often happens only days before completion.
What time do you get the keys on the date of entry in Scotland?
When the purchase funds reach the seller’s solicitor, which is often around the middle of the day. It is not a fixed time and it is not first thing. Plan to load in the morning and unload in the afternoon.
Do you pay Stamp Duty in Scotland?
No. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax to Revenue Scotland instead. The return is due within 30 days of the date of entry rather than 14, and the bands differ from the English ones.
How much notice do you give to end a tenancy in Scotland?
28 days in writing under a Private Residential Tenancy, at any point. There is no fixed term to serve out, which makes lining up a purchase and a tenancy end considerably easier than in England.
Before you start
Get the Home Report, instruct a solicitor, and find out your likely date of entry. Everything else on this list sequences off that date. If you are moving in or around Edinburgh, more practical guides are collected in our Edinburgh moving guides.
Scottish property process, LBTT rates and Private Residential Tenancy rules were checked against Revenue Scotland, mygov.scot and Scottish Government guidance on 31 July 2026. This is general information and not legal advice; conveyancing varies by transaction and should be handled by a solicitor.
