The UK household renewals checklist: what renews and when

What renewals does a UK household have each year?

A typical UK household renews council tax, the TV Licence, home or contents insurance, energy deals, broadband and mobile contracts and a boiler service, plus longer-cycle items such as passports and driving licences. Car owners add the MOT, vehicle tax and car insurance, and most homes also have subscriptions, warranties and perhaps a domain name.

Only a couple of these fall on a fixed national date. Most run from the day you signed up or bought something, which is why a written list works better than memory.

When do council tax and the TV Licence renew?

Council tax bills cover the year from 1 April, while the TV Licence renews every year on the anniversary of your own licence. The TV Licence fee is £180 a year from 1 April 2026, up £5.50.

Council tax is the one renewal almost every household shares a date for. Most councils let you pay in 10 monthly instalments, and you can ask to pay in 12 instead, which spreads the same total over more months and makes each payment smaller. If you would prefer 12, ask your council before the new year's instalments begin.

The TV Licence works differently: it runs from whenever your licence started, so your renewal month is personal to you. Anyone renewing from 1 April 2026 pays the new £180 fee. Note your renewal month and how you pay, so a price change or a failed payment does not catch you out.

Should I let home insurance and energy deals roll over?

Not without looking first. Your home insurer cannot offer you a renewal price higher than a new customer would pay for the same cover, but other insurers may be cheaper, and when a fixed energy deal ends you usually move onto your supplier's standard variable tariff.

For home and contents insurance, the FCA rules in force since 1 January 2022 mean staying with your insurer no longer costs you a loyalty penalty. They do not mean your insurer is the cheapest. Put the policy anniversary in your reminders a month ahead, check what the renewal covers, and compare a few quotes for the same cover.

For energy, the date to track is the end of any fixed-term deal, shown on your bills or online account. Your supplier should contact you before it ends, and if you do nothing you move onto its default tariff. With the end date in your reminders, you can decide in good time whether to fix again, switch, or stay on the standard tariff by choice rather than by accident.

How do I know when my broadband or mobile contract ends?

Your provider must tell you 10 to 40 days before your contract ends, and the message should include its best deals. You can also find the end date in your contract or online account.

Don't rely on that one message. Note the date you signed up and the length of the minimum term (for example, 18 or 24 months) and add the end date to your list with a reminder a month ahead. That gives you time to compare deals or ask your provider for a better price before you drift out of contract.

Do this separately for each line: home broadband and every mobile in the household usually have different start dates. Ofcom's guide to checking whether you are in or out of contract explains what to look for.

How often should the boiler be checked?

If you are a landlord, you must arrange a gas safety check every 12 months and give tenants a copy of the record. If you own your home, check your boiler warranty for any servicing terms and pick a fixed month for a service so it becomes a yearly habit.

Landlords with more than one property should track each property as its own item, because each has its own 12-month cycle. The HSE guidance for landlords sets out the duties in full.

If you rent, note the date on the gas safety record you are given. When a year has passed and no check has been arranged, that is your cue to ask your landlord.

When should I renew passports and driving licences?

Adult UK passports are valid for 10 years, and photocard driving licences must be renewed every 10 years (every 3 years from age 70). Renew a passport well before you travel, because some countries require a minimum amount of validity left on entry.

Check your destination's entry requirements on GOV.UK foreign travel advice before you book, not after. Add every family member's passport as a separate item, since they rarely expire together, and set the reminder far enough ahead to allow for the renewal application.

For the driving licence, the expiry date is printed on the card, and you can be fined up to £1,000 if you do not renew. The car itself has its own set of dates: the MOT, vehicle tax and insurance are covered in MOT, car tax and car insurance: the UK car renewal calendar.

What about subscriptions, warranties and domain names?

Subscriptions renew monthly or yearly from the day you signed up, warranties end once on a fixed date, and domain names expire at the end of each registration period. All three are easy to forget because the only reminder, if there is one, is usually a single email.

Subscriptions: go through a couple of months of bank and card statements and list every recurring payment. Our article on how forgotten subscriptions quietly drain your bank account explains where they hide, and the subscription cancellation checklist helps you close the ones you no longer use.

Warranties: when you buy something with a warranty, note the expiry date and where the receipt is, so you can make a claim before cover ends.

Domain names: note the renewal date and, if auto-renew is on, check that the payment card on file has not expired. A lapsed domain can take your website and email address down with it.

How do I set up a household renewals routine?

Gather every date into one list, give each item a repeat interval and a reminder lead time, and review the list briefly once a month. After that, the work is mostly acting on reminders as they arrive.

1. Collect the dates. Work through bank statements, your email, bills and the cards in your wallet.
2. Record each item once. Name, date, how often it repeats (monthly, yearly, every 10 years) and, if you like, the amount.
3. Set a lead time. A month suits insurance, energy and contracts; allow longer for passports if you have travel planned.
4. Update the date when you renew. Move it on to the next cycle straight away, so the list stays accurate.
5. Do a short monthly check. Look at what is due in the next 60 days.
6. Share it. Make sure someone else in the household knows where the list is.

A spreadsheet or a calendar with yearly repeating events can do this. Renewal Tracker is a desktop app for Windows and Mac, free to download and free for up to 5 items, built for exactly this list: you add each renewal with how often it repeats and a reminder lead time, get a daily summary email at 8am for anything due soon, and use Mark as Renewed to move the date to the next cycle.