Moving Home and Water Bills: Accounts, Readings and Records

Water bills are easy to overlook between packing, collecting keys and arranging transport. Put the old and new addresses on one account checklist so you know whom to contact, which dates to provide and what still needs confirming after the move.

This guide covers practical household arrangements in England and Wales. Start with the water company's current instructions and your property's billing arrangement; do not assume the process will match your gas, electricity or broadband account.

Find the provider for each address

Keep the old supplier's details from a recent bill or account record. For the new home, use Water UK's supplier finder, which lets you search by postcode for water and wastewater providers. Check the precise property address when you contact the company, particularly in a block of flats or a newly built development.

If the address is missing from the search, verify it through the company, property developer or agent rather than selecting a nearby property. Record water and wastewater details if the search gives different providers, then ask how those services are billed for your address.

Moving nearby does not establish that your existing account can simply stay as it is. You still need to tell the company about the property change and follow its process.

Confirm who is handling the bill

Before opening an account, establish whether you pay the company directly or water is handled through an agreed rental or building arrangement. Check your agreement and ask the landlord or managing agent about anything unclear. Do not assume that an existing bill in another person's name settles your arrangement.

For a shared home, decide who will contact the company and keep the account confirmation. Tell it accurately who is leaving and who remains, then ask how the account should be updated. Avoid relying on a private agreement between housemates as proof that the company's records have changed.

Thames Water's moving-home guidance, for example, distinguishes moves within its area, new customers, customers leaving and departures from shared properties. These are company-specific routes, not a standard form used by every supplier. Use the process relevant to the company serving your property.

Prepare the information before moving day

Check when your supplier accepts advance notifications and what it needs to process them. Have the account reference, full addresses, relevant move dates and contact details ready. If dates change, update the company rather than assuming a provisional notification will correct itself.

Keep separate entries for the old and new addresses. A simple record might look like this:

This is an organising aid, not a statement about liability or a supplier's mandatory fields. Ask about date questions that do not fit your circumstances, such as overlapping access to two properties. Do not assume charges disappear because a home is temporarily empty.

Plan meter access and records

Ask whether the property is metered and whether a manual reading is needed for the account change. Find out where the relevant meter is before the final rush. In flats or shared buildings, check which meter belongs to your property; a nearby display may serve a different home.

Follow the supplier's reading instructions. Thames Water's meter guidance links to its location and reading information and explains that its smart meters can send readings automatically. Automatic readings do not replace the need to report your move through the proper account process. Confirm what your own company needs rather than assuming all meters work alike.

Where a reading is requested and safely accessible, keep the reading, date and a clear photograph together. Note the address so photographs from the two homes cannot be confused. If you cannot locate or safely reach the meter, tell the company and ask how it will handle the account. Do not dismantle fittings or attempt plumbing work to obtain a reading.

For an unmetered property, complete the move notification anyway and ask how the bill will be prepared. An absent meter is not a reason to leave the account unresolved.

Make time at both ends of the move

Keep the account checklist and phone accessible while packing. If someone else is handling the keys or handover, agree who will record any requested reading and who will submit it. Taking a photograph and reporting a reading are separate tasks.

At a rented property, coordinate this with the checkout and key-return plan. Avoid returning the keys before the agreed final tasks are complete, and do not depend on access being available afterwards.

Water-account administration does not need to delay the loading team. Arrange it alongside the move, with responsibility clear in advance. Keep transport details on their own checklist, including the inventory, stairs and loading access.

Check the paperwork after arrival

Review the final bill and new-account confirmation against the address, dates and records you submitted. If something differs, contact the company with the relevant confirmation and reading details. Save its response with your move records.

Ask how any remaining payment or credit will be handled before changing payment arrangements. Do not guess that an account balance has been settled simply because you have moved out.

Our broadband moving checklist covers another utility task separately. When the household inventory and access are ready, use house removals to arrange the belongings move. Utility-account changes remain your own arrangements with the providers.