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Rented house landline - will number be reassigned?

I share a rented house, with a joint contract which stipulates we must:

"... leave the telephone number as that of the property and not to change or take the telephone number and apply it to any other property without the consent of the Landlord"


My housemate is planning on moving out within the next month or so, and the BT line rental + package is in his name. I just pay him half the total bill every quarter.


I am planning on moving out as well, but probably not until November/December. I do not want to have to pay for a landline between when he moves out and when I move out, since I make 99% of calls on my mobile and can tether my phone for internet.


If I do nothing when housemate leaves, what will happen in respect of the existing phone number? Will BT reassign it to another customer after a set period?


If for some reason I did need to have the line reactivated and an account set up in my name, would this cost anything?


Thanks.

Comments

  • When a WLR line is cancelled Openreach don't physically disconnect it from the exchange, they just put a stop on the line (it becomes a stopped line at this point). If they need the line plant for another order in the future (e.g. if the exchange is oversubscribed or your neighbour orders an additional line) then they may reclaim it from your line, turning your line into a ceased line.

    The distinction between a stopped and a ceased line is important as Openreach charge Communication Providers (e.g. BT Retail, Plusnet etc.) £3.39 to restart a stopped line but £47.11 to reprovide a ceased line. Most CPs tend to absorb the restart cost, effectively giving the end user a free connection, but if the line is ceased they usually put a markup on the reprovision cost and pass that on to the end user. BT Retail's charge for reproviding a ceased line is £130 (a whopping £82.89 markup).

    Whether your line stays as a stopped line or gets disconnected and becomes a ceased line is impossible to say. I've seen some stopped lines hang around for years, and I've also seen stopped lines get ceased after a few days.

    With regards to your number, when Openreach process the order to cancel your line (and thus make it stopped), they will renumber the stopped line to a random number and put your old number into their maturing list of available numbers. What this means is that for two years they won't automatically give it out to anyone else ordering a new line unless they specifically request your number, which is unlikely.

    I've lived in a few rented properties and come across clauses like this in the contract. I think that most landlords don't understand all the nuances of the UK telecoms industry and just inject "please leave everything as it is" clauses into their contracts in order to minimise the chances of them having to pay anything if/when a new tenant takes over the property, even though this is typically left to the incoming tenant to pay for anyway.
  • Thanks money_saving_matt - a very informative reply!
    With regards to your number, when Openreach process the order to cancel your line (and thus make it stopped), they will renumber the stopped line to a random number and put your old number into their maturing list of available numbers. What this means is that for two years they won't automatically give it out to anyone else ordering a new line unless they specifically request your number, which is unlikely.

    It sounds like you're saying the old number won't be kept, but at the same time chances are it won't be reused either. Am I misunderstanding?
  • Thanks money_saving_matt - a very informative reply!



    It sounds like you're saying the old number won't be kept, but at the same time chances are it won't be reused either. Am I misunderstanding?

    You understand correctly - it's not guaranteed that you'll be able to get the number back but it very likely that you'll be able to do so.
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