The Office Relocation Checklist: A 12-Month Timeline for a Smooth Office Move

An office move is a project, not a job for the last free afternoon before your lease ends. This office relocation checklist breaks the whole process into a clear timeline, from twelve months out to the first week in your new space, so nothing important is left until it is too late to fix. It is built from decades of London office moves, and it is the same office move checklist our project managers work to on live jobs.

Use it to plan your own move, brief your team, and hold suppliers to account. If you would rather hand the heavy lifting to specialists, our office relocation service and move planning team run this timeline for you end to end.

Download the free office relocation checklist (PDF)

Work through the timeline in order and adjust the distances to the size of your move. A single-floor move of twenty desks can compress the early stages, while a multi-floor or multi-site relocation needs every month of runway. Whatever the scale, the sequence is the same: settle the strategy and lease position first, lock in suppliers and space next, then handle IT, furniture and communications before you touch a single crate. The phases below tell you what to do and when.

12 months out: strategy, lease and budget

The most expensive mistakes are made, or avoided, a year before the vans arrive. Start here.

• Review your current lease. Note the expiry date, notice periods and any obligations that dictate your timeline.
• Check break clauses. Confirm the exact date and the notice you must serve, and diarise it. Miss it and you can be locked in for years.
• Assess dilapidations. Understand what “making good” your current space will require and cost, because it affects both budget and move-out timing.
• Set a budget. Build a realistic figure covering the move itself, fit-out, IT, furniture, dual rent or overlap, and contingency.
• Define the business case. Agree why you are moving and what the new space must deliver, so every later decision has a reference point.
• Appoint an internal project lead. One person accountable, with authority to make decisions, prevents the move stalling.

6 months out: survey, suppliers and space

With the strategy set, this is where the move becomes tangible. Get the right people surveying and quoting early.

• Book a site survey. Have a specialist survey both your current and new premises to confirm access, lifts, loading and inventory. This is the basis of an accurate, fixed quote rather than a guess. You can request a survey and quote here.
• Select your moving partner. Choose a commercial relocation specialist, not a general remover, and check accreditations and references before you commit.
• Plan the new space. Agree the floor plan, desk positions, meeting rooms and storage so the move has a destination map, not just an address.
• Confirm fit-out and lead times. Line up any building work, cabling and furniture so the space is ready before move day, not after.
• Engage building management at both ends. Introduce yourself to landlords and managing agents early, as their rules will shape your move-day plan.

3 months out: IT, furniture and clearance

Now the detail that protects business continuity. IT and furniture decisions made now avoid panic later.

• Run an IT audit. List every server, switch, workstation and connection, and plan the cutover with your IT team. Our IT and server relocation is sequenced around that plan.
• Build a comms plan. Order broadband and phone lines for the new site early, as provider lead times are often the longest single dependency in a move.
• Decide on furniture. Confirm what moves, what is replaced, and what is dismantled and rebuilt, and measure it against the new floor plan.
• Plan the clearance. Identify redundant furniture and equipment and arrange responsible removal and recycling through office clearance and WEEE recycling. Clearing early cuts what you pay to transport.
• Update records and stakeholders. Start the list of everyone who needs the new address, from clients to suppliers to the bank.

1 month out: crates, labelling and approvals

The final month is about preparation and communication. Done well, move week runs itself.

• Arrange crate delivery. Confirm crate hire and delivery dates so staff have time to pack in a controlled way.
• Agree a labelling system. Colour-code and number by department and destination so every crate and item has a known place at the new site.
• Brief staff. Give employees clear packing instructions, timings and a floor plan, and tell them exactly what to do with their own belongings.
• Secure building approvals. Confirm insurance requirements, book goods lifts and loading bays at both ends, and arrange any parking permits or bay suspensions.
• Confirm the move schedule. Sign off the timed plan with your mover, including who is on site and when.

Move week: sequencing and access

This is where planning meets reality. The order of events matters as much as the events themselves.

• Confirm the sequence. Agree which departments and systems move first so the most critical functions are live soonest.
• Lock in out-of-hours access. Where daytime access is restricted or downtime is unacceptable, confirm evening, overnight or weekend windows at both buildings.
• Reconfirm lift bookings. Goods lift slots and loading-bay windows are the usual bottleneck, so verify them a final time.
• Prepare the IT cutover. Agree the switch-off and switch-on windows so the network is ready before staff arrive.
• Do a final walk round. Check the old site is packed, labelled and ready, and the new site is clear to receive.

Move day

On the day itself, one person should own the schedule and the decisions.

• Run to the timed plan. A move manager controls the order of loading and unloading against the agreed sequence.
• Keep a single point of contact. One decision-maker on site at each end prevents delays and crossed wires.
• Place, do not pile. Crates and furniture go straight to their labelled destinations so unpacking is quick and orderly.
• Protect the buildings. Floor and lift protection at both ends avoids damage charges.
• Check off the inventory. Account for every crate and item before the crews leave.

First week after: snagging, IT and sign-off

The move is not finished when the last crate lands. The first week settles everyone in and closes the project properly.

• Work through snagging. Log and resolve anything misplaced, damaged or missing while it is fresh.
• Verify IT and comms. Confirm every workstation, phone and connection is working, and support staff through the first day back.
• Return and collect crates. Arrange crate collection once unpacking is done, and move any surplus into secure storage if needed.
• Close out the old site. Complete clearance, dilapidations and the final make-good so the lease ends cleanly.
• Sign off the project. Review against the plan, confirm the address is updated everywhere, and capture lessons for next time.

Office relocation checklist: frequently asked questions