Move-In Day

Here is an example. The boxes are in the hallway, the agreement is signed, and the home provider has set out two mugs and a card with the Wi-Fi password. Both people are a little nervous, and both want the day to go well.

This guide is the checklist for the day itself and the week after, for both people. If something important is still unsettled as the date gets close, such as the agreement, a repair, or how the move will happen, talk about it together, and consider moving the date.

Before the day

For both people

• Sign the agreement and keep copies. Each person has a signed copy before any boxes arrive. Our guide "What goes in a home sharing agreement" has a checklist.
• Settle rent and any deposit. Agree on how the first payment is made, and give or ask for a receipt.
• Talk about belongings. What is coming, where it will go, and what will stay in storage. For example, a home seeker might ask whether a family side table can live in the living room. If the answer is no, say so plainly.
• Confirm repairs and access. Any repair you agreed was needed before move-in, such as a lock, a smoke alarm, or a working heater, is done. Walk through the access arrangements you agreed on: keys, codes, which doors lock, and when either person may enter the other's private space.
• Pick a time and plan the logistics together. Parking for a truck or car, elevator or stair access, and who is arranging help. Talk about what each of you can reasonably do. One person may not be able to lift boxes or climb stairs with them, and movers, friends, family, or a local volunteer group may be part of the plan. Decide who pays for any hired help.

For the home provider

• Clear the space you agreed on. The bedroom closet and dresser, kitchen and pantry storage, room in the bathroom, and any shared space set aside for the home seeker's things.
• Call your insurance agent before move-in day if you have not already. Our guide "The call to make to your insurance agent" lists the questions to ask.
• Make a key list. House keys, the mailbox key, the garage opener, and any door or alarm codes.

For the home seeker

• Ask about renters insurance. Whether you need it, and what it would cover, depends on the policy. The home provider's policy may not cover your belongings. Here is what to ask an insurance agent: Would a policy cover my things in a room in someone else's home? Does it include liability if a guest of mine is injured? What would it cost?
• Start your address change. You can file one through the official USPS change of address page. Make a list of others who need your new address, such as your bank, your doctors, your employer, and any agency that sends you benefits or bills.

On the day

• Hand over keys and sign the key list. Both people initial what was given. The same list is used when keys come back.
• Do a walkthrough together. Go through the home seeker's room and the shared spaces. Note existing marks, stains, or anything that does not work. Take dated photos. Both people sign or initial the notes, and each keeps a copy with the agreement. You will use them again at move-out.
• Show how the house works. The thermostat, the water shutoff, the breaker box, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, the fire extinguisher, trash and recycling day, appliances, and the Wi-Fi.
• Exchange emergency contacts. Each person chooses whether to name one or two people to call if something happens to them, and writes the names and numbers on a card you both keep. Agree on what counts as an emergency. Planning for a hospital stay goes further, and our guide "Planning for the hospital, a move, or the end of life" covers it.
• Say hello, then give each other room. A short tour, then time to unpack. The home provider might run an errand.
• Keep the welcome small. A note, the Wi-Fi password on a card, a list of nearby shops, or a simple dinner on the first night if you both would like one (ask about dietary needs first). Resist rearranging the kitchen or buying things for the other person. You will learn how you share the space by living in it.

The first week

• Check the mail. Confirm that forwarding has started, put the home seeker's name on the mailbox if needed, and decide where each person's mail goes.
• Settle small routines. Bathroom times in the morning, kitchen shelves, and laundry days.
• Hold a first-week check-in. Set a time, about 20 minutes over coffee. Ask: What has surprised you? Is anything in the house not working? Is there one thing we should change now rather than later?
• Let your program know, if you matched through one. If it offers a follow-up call, you are welcome to use it to ask questions or raise anything that has come up.
• Make introductions, if everyone agrees. If either person would like their emergency contact to meet the other, even just by phone, check with both people and the contact first.
• Put the next check-in on the calendar, about a month from now.

If something does not feel right

The first days can be awkward. Two people are learning each other's sounds, schedules, and habits, and some of that settles on its own. Other things should not wait: a missing key, a lock that does not work, a term in the agreement that one of you understood differently, or anything that makes either of you uneasy. Raise it early and calmly. If you need help, call your program if it offers support, or a community mediation center. Our guide "Handling disagreements and knowing when to get help" covers what to do next. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911.

A careful move-in turns a signed agreement into a shared home, one key and one checklist at a time.

Last reviewed September 25, 2026