A complete, timeline-based checklist for every bill you need to sort when moving home. From 4 weeks before to your first week in. One less thing to worry about.
Moving house is exciting, stressful, exhausting, and expensive -- often all at once. Between packing boxes, booking removal vans, and trying not to lose the kettle, your household bills can easily slip to the bottom of the priority list. That is a mistake. Leaving bills to the last minute means you could end up without broadband for weeks, accidentally pay the previous occupant's energy debt, or miss council tax deadlines and get chased for payments you do not owe.
This guide gives you a complete, week-by-week checklist for every bill and utility you need to sort when moving home. Follow it in order, and you will walk into your new property with everything set up, nothing missed, and potentially hundreds of pounds saved by getting the right deals from day one.
Whether you are buying your first home, renting a new flat, or moving from one property to another, the bills process is largely the same. The difference between a smooth move and a chaotic one usually comes down to starting early enough and knowing exactly what needs doing.
4 Weeks
4 Weeks Before Moving Start the big arrangements now. This is planning time.
Order your broadband for the new property
This is the single most important thing to do early. Broadband installations can take 2-3 weeks, and if your new property needs a fresh line installed, it could take even longer. Contact a broadband provider now, give them your moving date, and book the installation. Without this, you could be tethering to your phone for a month.
Research energy options for your new address
You do not have to stick with whoever supplied the previous occupant. Moving house is the one time you can switch energy providers without any exit fees or cooling-off complications. Start comparing tariffs now so you know what deal you want from day one.
Set up Royal Mail redirection
It costs from around £35 for 3 months, but it is worth every penny. You can set it up online up to 6 months in advance. It catches every bill, statement, and letter that would otherwise go to your old address -- and some of those could contain account numbers you need for the move.
Check your mobile contract
Moving to a new area? Check that your mobile provider has strong coverage at your new address. If signal drops off significantly, you may be able to exit your contract early. Either way, this is a good time to review whether you are on the best deal.
Start a bill audit with SaveFirst
Before you move is the perfect time to get all four bills -- gas, electric, broadband, and mobile -- reviewed in one go. You are starting fresh at a new address, so there are no exit fees to worry about. Send your current bills via WhatsApp and get your savings report back within 15 minutes. It takes 2 minutes and it is completely free.
2 Weeks
2 Weeks Before Moving Time to notify, cancel, and confirm.
Notify your current energy supplier
Tell your gas and electricity provider your moving date and give them your new address for the final bill. Most suppliers let you do this online or by phone. Ask them to confirm in writing. If you are on a fixed tariff with exit fees, check how much those will be -- though most suppliers waive fees if you are genuinely moving house.
Contact your current broadband provider
Give them your moving date and either cancel or transfer your service. Check your contract end date -- if you are outside your minimum term, you can cancel without penalty. If you are inside it, some providers will waive the fee if you move to an area they do not serve. Get the cancellation confirmed in writing.
Notify your council tax office
You need to tell both your current council and your new one. Your old council needs your moving date to stop your payments. Your new council needs to know you are arriving so they can set up your account. You can usually do both online. Do not skip this -- councils are quick to send debt collection letters for unpaid tax.
Notify your water company
You cannot choose your water supplier (it is determined by your area), but you do need to tell your current water company you are leaving and contact the water company for your new address to set up an account. Check whether your new property is on a water meter or a rateable value charge -- the costs can be very different.
Review and arrange home insurance
If you are buying, your mortgage lender will require buildings insurance before completion. If renting, contents insurance is not legally required but strongly recommended. Either way, arrange this before moving day so your belongings are covered during transit and from the moment they arrive at the new property.
Update your address with banks and subscriptions
Your bank, credit cards, DVLA (driving licence and car registration), electoral roll, GP, dentist, and any subscriptions or memberships all need your new address. Start working through these now. The electoral roll update is particularly important -- it affects your credit score.
Move Day
Moving Day The essentials you absolutely must not forget.
Take meter readings at your OLD property
Before you hand over the keys, read every gas and electricity meter in the property. Take a clear photograph of each meter showing the reading and the serial number. Note the date and time. Send these readings to your energy supplier straight away. This ensures your final bill is accurate and you are not charged for the next occupant's usage.
Take meter readings at your NEW property
As soon as you get the keys -- ideally before you start carrying boxes in -- photograph every meter. Gas meter, electricity meter, and water meter if you have one. These readings are your proof of where the meters stood when you took responsibility. Submit them to your chosen energy supplier immediately. This is the most important thing you do on moving day from a bills perspective.
Check that gas and electricity are working
Flip light switches, check the boiler fires up, run the hot water. If you have a prepayment meter, make sure there is credit on it -- otherwise you may arrive to a cold, dark house. If anything is not working, call the energy supplier or the emergency gas line (0800 111 999) immediately.
Locate your stopcock, fuse box, and gas shut-off
Know where these are from day one. If a pipe bursts, a fuse blows, or you smell gas, you need to act fast. The stopcock (water shut-off) is usually under the kitchen sink. The fuse box is often in a cupboard near the front door. The gas meter shut-off valve is on the meter itself.
Return old keys and confirm the handover
Whether you are leaving a rental or selling a property, confirm the handover in writing (even a text or email counts). This establishes the exact date your responsibility for bills at the old property ends.
Week One
First Week In Your New Home Get settled and get your bills on the best deals.
Register with your new energy supplier
If you have already arranged a new supplier through SaveFirst, they will handle this for you. Otherwise, contact your chosen energy provider with your new address, moving date, and the meter readings you took on arrival. Until you register, the property may sit on a default (and expensive) deemed tariff.
Confirm broadband installation or go-live date
If you ordered broadband 4 weeks ago, your installation should be imminent. Confirm the date and time with the provider. Make sure someone is home for the engineer visit if one is required. If your broadband is self-install, follow the provider's setup instructions -- most are plug-and-play these days.
Set up your council tax direct debit
Your new council should have sent you a council tax bill by now. Set up a direct debit to avoid missing payments. Council tax bands vary widely -- if you think your property has been banded incorrectly, you can challenge it through the Valuation Office Agency, but do so quickly.
Register on the electoral roll at your new address
This is free and takes 2 minutes online at gov.uk/register-to-vote. Beyond voting rights, being on the electoral roll significantly improves your credit score. If you are planning to apply for any credit in the coming months (mortgage, car finance, credit card), this is essential.
Set up a TV licence (if needed)
If you watch live TV or use BBC iPlayer, you need a TV licence at your new address. Your old licence does not transfer automatically. Visit tvlicensing.co.uk to update your details or set up a new licence. The current cost is £169.50 per year.
Check all final bills from your old property
Within the first week or two, you should receive final bills from your old energy supplier, water company, and council. Check that each one uses the meter readings you submitted on moving day. If the figures do not match, dispute them immediately -- do not wait.
How To Take And Record Meter Readings When Moving House
Meter readings are the single most important thing to get right when moving house. They draw a line in the sand between what the previous occupant used and what you use. Get them wrong -- or forget them entirely -- and you could spend months arguing with energy companies about bills that are not yours.
How To Read Your Gas Meter
Most gas meters in the UK display either a digital readout or a series of dials. For a digital meter, simply write down the numbers shown on the display from left to right, ignoring any numbers after the decimal point (usually shown in red). For a dial meter, read each dial from left to right and note the lower number when the pointer is between two digits. If the pointer is directly on a number, check the next dial to the right -- if that dial has passed zero, use the number the pointer is on; if not, use the number below it.
How To Read Your Electricity Meter
For a standard digital electricity meter, note down all the numbers from left to right, ignoring any numbers after the decimal point. If you have an Economy 7 or Economy 10 meter, you will have two readings -- one for daytime (normal rate) and one for off-peak (low rate). Record both. If you have a smart meter, the in-home display will show your current readings, but you should still photograph the actual meter itself as backup evidence.
Top Tip: Photograph Everything
Take a clear photograph of each meter on your phone. Make sure the reading is visible in the photo and that your phone's timestamp is turned on. This gives you dated, photographic evidence of the exact meter position on the day you moved in. If there is ever a dispute about who used what energy, this photograph is your proof. Energy suppliers cannot argue with a timestamped photo.
Where To Find Your Meters
Gas meters are usually located outside the property in a meter box (a small white or beige box at knee height on an exterior wall) or in a communal meter cupboard in flats. Electricity meters are often found in a cupboard under the stairs, in the garage, in a utility room, or in an exterior meter box. Water meters are usually in a small chamber near the pavement with a metal or plastic cover -- you may need to lift the lid to access it.
If you cannot find a meter, ask your estate agent, landlord, or the previous occupant before moving day. Do not leave it until the last minute.
How To Avoid Paying The Previous Occupant's Bills
This is one of the most common problems people face when moving house. You arrive at your new property, and within a few weeks you receive energy bills, water bills, or even debt collection letters that belong to the person who lived there before you. Here is how to protect yourself.
You Are Not Liable For Someone Else's Energy Debt
This is a critical point that many people do not realise. Energy debt belongs to the person, not the property. You are only responsible for gas and electricity used from the date you moved in. If an energy company tries to bill you for usage before your move-in date, you can dispute this. Your meter readings and move-in date evidence are your weapons here.
If you receive debt collection letters addressed to the previous occupant, do not ignore them -- write "not at this address, return to sender" on the envelope and post it back. If a debt collector contacts you directly, explain that the person no longer lives at the address and provide your tenancy agreement or completion date as proof.
The golden rules are simple. Take meter readings on day one. Submit them to your energy supplier immediately. Keep photographic evidence. Register your name on the account for your new property as fast as possible. The sooner the supplier has your name and your readings on file, the sooner they can separate your usage from the previous occupant's.
If you move into a property with a prepayment meter that has a debt loaded onto it (this is surprisingly common in rental properties), contact the energy supplier immediately. That debt belongs to the previous tenant, not to you. The supplier is obligated to remove it from the meter once you prove you are a new occupant.
Moving Is The Perfect Time To Sort All Your Bills At Once
You are starting fresh at a new address. No contracts to escape, no exit fees to worry about. Get all four bills -- gas, electric, broadband, and mobile -- audited for free. Most families save £56/month. Takes 2 minutes.
Council tax is one of those bills that catches people out because you are dealing with two different councils at the same time -- the one you are leaving and the one you are moving to. Both need to know your exact moving date, and both need to be told separately. There is no central system that links them.
What You Need To Do
Tell your old council your moving date. They will issue a final bill or refund if you have overpaid through direct debit. Most councils let you do this online.
Tell your new council your moving date. They will send you a new council tax bill within a few weeks. Set up a direct debit as soon as you receive it.
Check your council tax band. Your new property may be in a different band. Bands range from A (cheapest) to H (most expensive). If you think the band is wrong, you can challenge it through the Valuation Office Agency.
Check for discounts. If you live alone, you are entitled to a 25% single occupancy discount. Students are fully exempt. Some councils also offer discounts for people on certain benefits.
If there is a gap between when you leave your old property and move into your new one, you should not be paying council tax on both properties. Make sure your leaving date at the old property matches the date you hand over the keys, and your start date at the new property matches the date you receive them. Council tax is charged daily, so precision matters.
If you are a tenant, your landlord may cover council tax in some circumstances, but this is rare. In the vast majority of cases, council tax is the tenant's responsibility. Check your tenancy agreement to confirm.
Broadband Lead Times: Why You Must Order Early
Broadband is the bill that causes the most frustration when moving house, and the reason is simple: it takes longer to set up than anything else. Energy can be switched in days. Council tax is instant. Broadband? You could be waiting 2 to 3 weeks for a standard installation, and up to 6 weeks if your new property needs new cabling or does not have an existing line.
Broadband Setup Timeline
Existing line, no engineer needed: 5-10 working days. The provider sends you a router, you plug it in, done.
Existing line, engineer needed: 10-15 working days. An engineer visits to activate the line or swap equipment.
New line required (new build or no existing infrastructure): 3-6 weeks. Openreach (or the relevant network operator) needs to install cabling from the street to your property.
Full fibre (FTTP) upgrade: 2-4 weeks. If your area has full fibre available but your property is not yet connected, the installation involves running fibre from the nearest access point.
The lesson is clear: order your broadband the moment you have a confirmed moving date. If you wait until moving week, you will almost certainly be without internet for your first 2-3 weeks in the new property. For anyone working from home, that is a serious problem.
Before ordering, check what speeds are available at your new address. You can do this on the Openreach network checker or your chosen provider's website. Speeds vary enormously -- a property on old copper ADSL might get 10Mbps, while a full-fibre property could get 900Mbps. If you work from home, game online, or have a large household, you will want the fastest connection available.
SaveFirst Can Handle Broadband Too
Many people do not realise that SaveFirst audits broadband as well as energy and mobile. When you send us your current bills, we check all four services against the best rates available. That includes broadband. One audit, four bills sorted, and you do not have to spend an evening on comparison sites.
Water Bills: What You Need To Know
Unlike gas, electricity, and broadband, you cannot choose your water supplier. It is determined by the area you live in. England and Wales have regional water companies -- Thames Water, Severn Trent, United Utilities, and so on -- and you are automatically assigned to whichever one covers your new property's location.
However, that does not mean there is nothing to do. You still need to contact the water company for your new area to register as a new customer. You should also check whether your property is on a water meter or a rateable value charge. Metered properties pay for what they use, which is usually cheaper for smaller households (1-2 people). Rateable value charges are fixed regardless of usage, which can benefit larger families.
If your new property has a water meter and you are a single occupant or a couple, you are likely to pay less than on a rateable value. If your property does not have a meter and you would like one installed, most water companies will fit one for free. You can usually request this online.
Also check whether your area's water company offers a social tariff for people on low incomes. These reduced tariffs are not widely advertised but can cut your water bill significantly.
Insurance Considerations When Moving
Insurance is often an afterthought during a house move, but it should not be. There are key moments during the moving process when your belongings are particularly vulnerable -- sitting in the back of a removal van, being carried up stairs by people you have just met, or left temporarily in an unfurnished property.
Insurance Checklist
Buildings insurance (buyers only): Your mortgage lender will require this from the date of exchange or completion. Arrange it before you complete.
Contents insurance: Check whether your current policy covers your belongings during transit. If not, your removal company should have their own goods-in-transit insurance. Ask for proof before moving day.
Update your address on existing policies: Your new property's postcode will affect your premium. Some areas are higher risk for burglary, flood, or subsidence. Notify your insurer as soon as you move -- failing to do so could invalidate your cover.
Renters: If you are renting, your landlord's buildings insurance does not cover your possessions. Get your own contents insurance policy from day one.
If you are buying a property, you can often save money by bundling buildings and contents insurance together. But do not automatically go with the insurer your mortgage broker suggests -- shop around or include it in your SaveFirst bill audit for a like-for-like comparison.
Why Moving House Is The Best Time To Switch All Your Bills
Most people dread the admin of setting up bills at a new property. But here is the thing: it is actually the single best opportunity you will ever have to save money on your household bills. Here is why.
When you move house, you are effectively starting from zero. You have no active energy contract at the new address. You have no broadband contract. There are no exit fees, no minimum terms to worry about, and no cooling-off periods to navigate. You can choose any provider, on any tariff, from day one. That kind of clean slate almost never happens when you are already living somewhere.
Most people never switch because the hassle outweighs the motivation. But when you are moving, you have to set up these bills anyway. You are already doing the work. The only question is whether you set them up on expensive default tariffs or on the cheapest rates available.
This is exactly where SaveFirst helps. You send us your current bills -- gas, electric, broadband, and mobile -- and we come back to you within 15 minutes with a savings breakdown. If you are happy with the numbers, we handle the entire switch. You walk into your new property with all four bills on the best possible rates, from day one, with zero effort on your part.
The average family saves £56 per month by switching through SaveFirst. Over a year, that is £672 -- money that could go towards furnishing your new home, paying down your mortgage, or simply having more breathing room after the expense of moving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Moving House Bills FAQ
Quick answers to the most common questions about setting up bills when moving house.
Start at least 4 weeks before your moving date. Broadband is the most time-sensitive -- it can take 2-3 weeks to install, so order this first. Energy, council tax and water can be arranged closer to your move date, but the earlier you start, the less you will have to juggle on moving day.
No. You are only responsible for energy used from the date you move in. Take meter readings on your very first day in the property and submit them to your energy supplier immediately. Keep photographic evidence of the readings with a timestamp. This protects you from being billed for someone else's usage.
Yes -- moving house is actually the perfect time to switch. You are not obligated to stay with the previous occupant's supplier. You can choose any provider from day one. A free bill audit from SaveFirst can find you the best rates before you even move in, so your new home starts on the cheapest tariff from day one.
Royal Mail offers a postal redirection service starting from around £35 for 3 months. You can set it up online at royalmail.com up to 6 months in advance or as late as 5 working days before your move. It covers all mail addressed to your old address and forwards it to your new one.
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