Sorting utilities when you move is one of those tasks that feels straightforward right up until something goes wrong. This guide covers the full process: which providers to contact, when to contact them, how to avoid being charged for a previous occupant’s energy use, and what to do if things do not go smoothly. It also includes a real story from a family who learned a few of these lessons the hard way, and a practical timeline to work from as your completion date approaches.
Why utilities catch people out when moving home
Moving house involves a long list of things to organise, and utilities tend to sit at the bottom of it until something goes wrong. Most people are good at booking the removals van and changing their address with the bank. Fewer remember to tell the water company, or to take a gas meter reading the moment they get the keys.
The consequences of missing these things are usually financial. Double billing, charges for energy you did not use, council tax bills addressed to the previous occupant. None are disasters, but all are annoying and take time to unpick. A little organisation beforehand prevents most of them.
Energy: gas and electricity
This is where most problems happen, and most of them come down to meter readings.
On the day you leave your current property, take a meter reading for both gas and electricity before you hand the keys over. Photograph the meter with your phone if you can, because the timestamp proves when the reading was taken. Send these readings to your current supplier the same day, along with your forwarding address for any final bills.
When you get the keys to the new property, take meter readings immediately. Before you move anything in. Again, photograph them. These readings establish your starting point and mean you cannot be charged for energy used by the previous occupants.
Find out who currently supplies the new property before you move in. Your solicitor should be able to tell you, and you can also use the Meter Point Administration Service for gas (call 0345 601 5972) or speak to the local network operator for electricity. Once you know who the current supplier is, you can either stay with them temporarily or switch to your preferred supplier straight away.
Switching suppliers can take up to three weeks in some cases, so if you have time before your completion date, it is worth getting this process started early. Most suppliers allow you to set a switch date in advance.
If the new property has a prepayment meter, check whether there is credit on it. If there is a debt on a prepayment meter, contact the supplier immediately. You are not liable for a previous occupant’s debt, but it needs to be resolved.
Water and sewage
Water is simpler than energy because you can only use the supplier allocated to your area, so there is no switching involved. You just need to notify your current supplier that you are leaving and give them a final meter reading if you have one, and contact the supplier at the new property to set up an account in your name.
Most households in Hampshire and the surrounding area will be with South East Water or Portsmouth Water, depending on location. Call them with your new address, the date you are moving in, and an opening meter reading if you have one.
If the new property does not have a water meter, you will be billed on the rateable value of the property, which is a fixed charge. You can request a meter if you prefer, though this takes a few weeks to install and may be end up being more expensive depending on your usage.
Broadband and phone
Broadband is the utility that causes the most frustration around moving, mostly because installation lead times are longer than people expect.
Your current provider will need notice of your move, typically between two and four weeks. Some providers can transfer your existing service to the new address, depending on whether the same infrastructure is available. Others require you to cancel and start a new contract.
If you are moving to a property in a rural part of Hampshire, such as parts of the New Forest or around Ringwood, broadband availability and speeds can vary significantly by address. Check before you move what is available at the new property. This can affect which provider you go with.
Book your installation appointment as early as possible. In busy periods, lead times can stretch to three or four weeks, which means a period without broadband unless you use a mobile data connection as a temporary measure. Many providers offer a short-term SIM deal for exactly this scenario.
If you work from home, this is especially worth planning around. Do not assume your installation will happen the day after you move in.
Council tax
Contact your current local authority to let them know you are leaving and when. You may be due a partial refund if you have paid in advance, or you may owe a final payment.
Contact the local authority for your new property to register for council tax. You will need to give them your move-in date and, if applicable, let them know if any discounts apply. Single-person households may be eligible for a discount. Some properties can be exempt while they are empty and unfurnished, which can apply during a gap between occupants.
If the new property is in the same local authority area as your current one, you still need to notify them of the change of address within the same authority. It does not update automatically.
Royal Mail and address redirections
A Royal Mail redirection service costs around £33 for three months and is worth every penny. Set it up two to three weeks before your move date, because it needs processing time. It catches the inevitable post that still goes to your old address despite every change-of-address notification you sent.
Keep in mind that a redirection does not mean you do not have to update individual senders. Banks, HMRC, the DVLA, your GP, your employer, subscriptions, and online shopping accounts all need updating directly. The redirection is a safety net, not a replacement. If anything arrives through the redirection you will know that you need to contact that service.
Other services to notify
It is worth working through a systematic list rather than trying to recall everything from memory. The most commonly forgotten ones:
Your GP and any hospital outpatient appointments, which need your new address and, if you are leaving the area, a transfer to a new practice. Your dentist. Your optician. HMRC, which affects your tax records and, if you are self-employed, your correspondence address. The DVLA, for your driving licence and vehicle registration. Your car insurance, which may change in price based on your new postcode. Your contents and buildings insurance, both of which need to be updated for the new address.
Premium-rate subscriptions such as magazines often have a change-of-address process buried in the small print. Check delivery addresses on anything that sends physical post.
What to do at the new property on moving day
The moment you get the keys, before the van arrives if you can manage it, do these four things.
Take meter readings for gas, electricity and water. Photograph them.
Locate the stopcock, the fuse board, and the gas isolation valve. Know where they are before you need them in an emergency.
Check that the heating works, particularly if you are moving in winter. If it does not, call the energy supplier from your first day.
Test the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. The previous occupants may have removed batteries or the alarms may have expired.
Everything else can wait. These cannot.
A cautionary tale from Winchester
James and Claire moved from Eastleigh to Winchester in the spring. They had booked us as their removals company, they had changed their address with the bank, they had even remembered to tell their gym. But they forgot take meter readings at either property on the day.
Their old energy supplier estimated their final bill based on typical usage, which turned out to be around sixty pounds higher than what James calculated they had actually used. The new property’s previous occupants had left in a hurry and their own final readings had not been submitted, which meant there was a dispute about whose usage was whose for the first two months.
“It sounds simple,” James said. “Take a photo of the meter when you arrive and when you leave. We knew that in theory. We just forgot in the rush of the day.”
They also spent four weeks without broadband because they had assumed their provider would transfer the service automatically. It did not. A new installation appointment was needed, and the earliest available slot was nearly a month after their move date.
We have provided them with a moving checklist when the booking was confirmed. James admitted it was sitting on the kitchen counter, unopened, on moving day. Which could have saved them the hassle.
A practical pre-move utilities checklist
Six to eight weeks before the move:
- Research broadband availability at the new property
- Book broadband installation or transfer
- Set up a Royal Mail redirection
Two to four weeks before:
- Notify current energy suppliers of your moving date
- Contact the new property’s energy suppliers to arrange account setup
- Notify your water supplier
- Begin updating addresses with HMRC, DVLA, banks, insurance
One week before:
- Confirm broadband installation date
- Confirm all utility notifications have been received and acknowledged
- Prepare a list of every subscription and sender that will need updating
On moving day:
- Take gas, electricity and water meter readings at the old property (photograph)
- Take gas, electricity and water meter readings at the new property (photograph)
- Locate fuse board, stopcock and gas valve
- Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
