Gap between moving out and moving in - utilities

Folksriker

Long story short - our completion date is not looking like it's going to be in time for our moving out date (rented - two months notice as landlord wants to sell - nothing we can do to change it). We're lucky - we have a place to store stuff and can crash on friends and relatives sofas for a few weeks while it all gets sorted out. Not ideal but it is what it is. What I'm concerned about is how we handle utilities and so on. Our phone, internet and energy deals are fixed and moving them between addresses is allegedly fairly straightforward - but there's no new address to transfer them to yet! There's very little information about whether there can be a gap. Will I be stuck paying early termination fees? Can I just keep paying for utilities to an empty house that I'm no longer renting until we get our new place?

MWT

You cannot move energy deals between two addresses.

Your new address will have an existing supplier already, when you move in you will have to register with that supplier, only after you have done that can you switch to another supplier.

You will probably need to phone them to get onto the capped standard variable rate though.

It has previously been possible to get your existing supplier to help with the process so they could keep a customer, but right now customers are costing them money, so I would not expect you will get much enthusiasm from them if you ask about staying on your current tariff at the new address...

You current tariff and account will terminate when you provide the final meter reading upon leaving your current address.

Folksriker

MWT said:

You cannot move energy deals between two addresses.

Your new address will have an existing supplier already, when you move in you will have to register with that supplier, only after you have done that can you switch to another supplier.

You will probably need to phone them to get onto the capped standard variable rate though.

It has previously been possible to get your existing supplier to help with the process so they could keep a customer, but right now customers are costing them money, so I would not expect you will get much enthusiasm from them if you ask about staying on your current tariff at the new address...

You current tariff and account will terminate when you provide the final meter reading upon leaving your current address.

According to British Gas' website I should take my tariff with me

"When you move home, you can usually take all your British Gas products with you. You can stay on the same gas and electricity tariff and keep your payments the same. If you’re taking HomeCare with you, we’ll start you on a new 12-month agreement based on your current cover and excess."

It also says it might be ok if there's a gap (which is better than phone and broadband which say nothing) - but there's no indication of how long that gap can be

GrumpyDil

Without wishing to point the obvious out have you discussed staying longer with your landlord which may suit if their sale is not ready yet. 

And assuming that the landlord has given you notice that he/she wants you to move out you do realise you don't have to move out. Only a court can tell you to move out. 

Bertles

MWT said:

You cannot move energy deals between two addresses.

Your new address will have an existing supplier already, when you move in you will have to register with that supplier, only after you have done that can you switch to another supplier.

You will probably need to phone them to get onto the capped standard variable rate though.

It has previously been possible to get your existing supplier to help with the process so they could keep a customer, but right now customers are costing them money, so I would not expect you will get much enthusiasm from them if you ask about staying on your current tariff at the new address...

You current tariff and account will terminate when you provide the final meter reading upon leaving your current address.

There are suppliers that offer this. 

Yes, if the new property is with a different supplier the OP will need to register with them, but the supplier from their previous address will register a switch with their current tariff. 

Folksriker

GrumpyDil said:

Without wishing to point the obvious out have you discussed staying longer with your landlord which may suit if their sale is not ready yet. 

And assuming that the landlord has given you notice that he/she wants you to move out you do realise you don't have to move out. Only a court can tell you to move out. 

Unfortunately they want us out before they start the selling process at all and won't budge, if I had to guess I'd say they want to paint over the obvious damp problems and don't want us in the way for some reason. It's their house at the end of the day so not much I can do really. Not sure I want the hassle of going to court over it. Like I say, we've got places for our stuff and ourselves to go in the meantime and if God forbid the sale did fall through (unlikely but it's not over till it's over) then I'm guessing having been evicted by court order wouldn't reflect well on me if I did have to rent again

MaryNB

Folksriker said:

GrumpyDil said:

Without wishing to point the obvious out have you discussed staying longer with your landlord which may suit if their sale is not ready yet. 

And assuming that the landlord has given you notice that he/she wants you to move out you do realise you don't have to move out. Only a court can tell you to move out. 

Unfortunately they want us out before they start the selling process at all and won't budge, if I had to guess I'd say they want to paint over the obvious damp problems and don't want us in the way for some reason. It's their house at the end of the day so not much I can do really. Not sure I want the hassle of going to court over it. Like I say, we've got places for our stuff and ourselves to go in the meantime and if God forbid the sale did fall through (unlikely but it's not over till it's over) then I'm guessing having been evicted by court order wouldn't reflect well on me if I did have to rent again

It's the landlord's property but it's your home. Have you checked that the S21 notice is valid? Easy for the landlord to make a mistake on it (google S21 checklists). Even if it is it will take several months for them to get to court. You are still legally allowed to reside at the property until the court issues an order. 

GrumpyDil

Folksriker said:

GrumpyDil said:

Without wishing to point the obvious out have you discussed staying longer with your landlord which may suit if their sale is not ready yet. 

And assuming that the landlord has given you notice that he/she wants you to move out you do realise you don't have to move out. Only a court can tell you to move out. 

Unfortunately they want us out before they start the selling process at all and won't budge, if I had to guess I'd say they want to paint over the obvious damp problems and don't want us in the way for some reason. It's their house at the end of the day so not much I can do really. Not sure I want the hassle of going to court over it. Like I say, we've got places for our stuff and ourselves to go in the meantime and if God forbid the sale did fall through (unlikely but it's not over till it's over) then I'm guessing having been evicted by court order wouldn't reflect well on me if I did have to rent again

It's actually rather refreshing to see a landlord who isn't trying to market alongside trying to evict a tenant.

I still think a discussion would make sense. In your case I would point out to the landlord that a S21 notice does not bring a tenancy to an end but you understand their position.  I'd suggest seeing if you could negotiate a reduced rent on the basis of being willing to work around their redecoration etc. If you've been good tenants then I'd accept that myself.

Oddly I have tenants who keep redecorating the house I let rather nicely, despite me pointing out I could decide to serve a S21 notice (tongue in cheek as I have no intention of doing that but just making the point..).

If they won't agree to that then appreciate you have options but they will likely mean you will be unable to carry your power supply deal across. 

Snookie12cat

You don't have to leave at the end of a section 21. If the delay is only a few weeks just tell your landlord you can't move out and give him the date you can. 
Pay your rent and there isn't much he can do.. He's not going to pay to start court proceedings if it's only a short delay. 

md258

Whilst you don't have to move out at the end of the S21, the OP may have agreed to move out on a certain date. Personally, if the LL had been otherwise good/okay, I believe that you should do what you would want done to you. In this case, I would say talk to the lalandlord and see of you can agree an extension. If you don't intend to move out on the day, tell them so they don't incur costs getting decorators in etc.

It sounds like the OP has decided what they want to do in that regard so back to the point of the post...

I'd give all of the accounts you are talking about a ring/live chat and see what they say. You won't be the first customer with a gap.

One other thing- when we were looking to move, Virgin Media had lots of appointments on the weekend we moved, but a couple of days later when we exchanged there weren't any until a week later. It might be worth booking a slot when you think you know the moving date.

canaldumidi

See the stickie

Post 4: Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?