How do I set up utilities in a new home?
The order to do it in, the readings to take on day one, and the accounts that cost you money if you forget them.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 1 hr 30 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Take photographs of every meter the day you move in, then contact the existing suppliers to open an account in your name. You are automatically a customer of whoever supplied the previous occupant — you cannot switch until that account exists.
Do this first
The sequence matters. You inherit the previous occupant's supplier by default, on their standard tariff, and you cannot switch away until you have opened an account. Meter readings on day one are what stop you being billed for their usage.
Step by step
- Photograph every meter the day you arrive.Electricity, gas and water, with the serial numbers visible. This is your evidence for where their bill ends and yours begins, and it takes two minutes.
- Find out who currently supplies the property.Ask the seller or agent. If nobody knows, there are national lookup services for the electricity and gas supply numbers for the address.
- Contact each supplier to open an account.Give the move-in date and your opening readings. Until this is done you are on a deemed contract, usually at the least competitive rate available.
- Then compare and switch if it is worth it.Once the account exists you can switch normally. Doing this before the account is open simply fails.
- Set up water separately.Water is regional and cannot be switched. Contact the supplier for the area and ask whether the property is metered — it changes what you pay considerably.
- Sort broadband early, ideally before you move.Installation can take weeks, and longer if the property needs a new line. This is the utility most likely to leave you without service.
- Register for council tax.Contact the local authority — in Northern Ireland, Land & Property Services for rates. Single occupants and some households qualify for a discount, but it is never applied automatically.
- Check what the previous occupant left running.TV licence, alarm monitoring, service contracts. Cancel or transfer them deliberately rather than discovering them on a statement.
Tips
- Take the readings before you unpack. It is the one job that becomes impossible to do honestly if you leave it a week.
- Keep a single note of every account number and supplier as you set them up. You will need it repeatedly over the first month.
- If the property has been empty, expect an estimated bill and challenge it with your opening reading rather than paying it.
Common mistakes
- Switching supplier before opening an account — The switch has nothing to attach to and simply fails, usually silently, leaving you on the deemed rate for longer.
- Not taking opening readings — You have no way to dispute a bill covering the previous occupant's usage, and estimated opening readings are frequently wrong.
Questions people ask
Am I responsible for the previous occupant's bill?
No, but you need opening readings to prove where their usage ended. Without them the supplier estimates, and the estimate may not be in your favour.
Can I switch energy supplier straight away?
Only once an account exists in your name at the address. Open the account first, then switch — there is no exit fee on a deemed contract.