Help! Moving House - Occupying 2 places at once

kexy

Hello

• Our current lease runs until 14th August
• We are taking on a lease for a new property on the 2st August
• Our old property needs cleaning and the new property has some work that needs doing, so we will be occupying and using both properties simultaneously for 2 weeks.

How does this work with moving our electricity supplier and water supplier? Usually, we'd take a reading at the old place on moving day, then ring up the supplier with a reading for the new place - Job Done.

But this is going to be more complicated?

JJ_Egan

Readings old house last day of occupation and close account .
Readings new house as soon as you start using gas and electric .

Nada666

Why is it more complicated? You have separate accounts for each property - even if you start your new property with the same supplier the accounts are almost never linked. In practice it will be no different from paying off/waiting for a balance on a final bill.

macman

You can't 'move your accounts' over-you will open new accounts at the new property. If in the same region, your water supplier may be the same, but for gas and electricity you will be in a deemed contract with the existing suppliers, and so the odds are that they will be different anyway.
Take reads on day one and register for an account: once that is done you can commence a switch to whichever supplier you wish, including your old one.

kexy

Surely you can move accounts over though, for example you might be forced to if you went for a fixed rates tariff?

jbuchanangb

The answer from macman is correct. You don't move accounts. Your current property has its accounts with the utility providers and your new property has its own accounts. For energy you HAVE TO start with whichever supplier is currently providing the energy. Ask the previous occupier who that is. Read the meters on day one, and phone that supplier to open your new account with them. If you are intending to shop around, you should not agree to a tariff with an early exit charge.
Of course when you move out of your current place, read the meters and phone that supplier to close your account with them - the next occupier there will HAVE TO open an account with them.
Same thing applies for water and sewage. In some places these are both provided by the same company, in some places there are different suppliers, one for water and one for sewage.

macman

kexy wrote: »

Surely you can move accounts over though, for example you might be forced to if you went for a fixed rates tariff?

No. What has a fixed rate tariff got to do with it? If you move house any ETC is irrelevant, as a house move voids your contract without penalty.