📦Before You Move — Two Jobs, Ten Minutes
Energy admin for a house move boils down to two simple jobs. First, tell your supplier you're moving around 2 weeks before the date. If you're with Octopus, this takes a couple of minutes in the app or online account — you give them your move-out date and your new address (if you're taking Octopus with you), and they handle the rest.
Second, take final meter readings on move-out day — electricity and gas, as close to handing over the keys as possible. Take photos of the meters with the readings visible. This is your proof of exactly where your responsibility ends, and it means your final bill is accurate to the day. If you have a smart meter the readings are automatic, but a photo is still a sensible backup if there's ever a dispute.
That's genuinely it for the old place. Don't cancel your direct debit yet — leave it active until the final bill is settled, then any credit is refunded to you.
🐙Moving WITH Octopus — Taking Your Account With You
If you're already one of Octopus's 7.3 million UK customers, the easiest option is usually to take your account with you. Tell Octopus your new address when you report the move and they'll transfer your account, your credit balance, and your direct debit to the new property — no paperwork, no new account number, no re-verification.
One caveat worth knowing: smart tariffs don't always transfer automatically. Tariffs like Agile, Tracker, and Intelligent Octopus Go depend on the new property having a working smart meter that sends half-hourly readings. If your new home has one, Octopus can usually re-enable your tariff at the new address within days. If it doesn't, you'll start on the Flexible tariff while a free smart meter installation is booked — and since Flexible has no exit fees, there's no cost to the interim period.
Intelligent Octopus Go users should also re-link their EV charger or car at the new address, since the smart-charging setup is tied to the property's meter. Check our tariff comparison if the new home changes what suits you — a bigger house with a heat pump or an EV charger might justify a different tariff entirely.
🔑Moving Into a New Home — Who Supplies It, and Why You Should Switch Fast
Every home already has an energy supplier — the lights work the moment you get the keys. But here's the catch: from day one, you're automatically on that supplier's deemed tariff, the default rate for occupants without a contract. Deemed tariffs are typically among the most expensive rates a supplier offers.
To find out who supplies the property, ask the previous owner, landlord, or agent. Failing that, the Find My Supplier service covers gas, your regional distribution network operator covers electricity, and post addressed to “The Occupier” usually gives it away.
The good news: deemed tariffs have no exit fees and no notice period. You can switch away the day you move in, and you should. This makes moving day the single best moment to switch to Octopus — you're starting fresh, there's nothing to untangle, and switching via our referral link adds £50 free credit to your brand-new account. The whole sign-up takes about 5 minutes — see how it works. Until the switch completes (about 5 working days), just pay the incumbent supplier for the energy you use, based on the opening meter readings you took.
And don't worry about quality for the price — Octopus runs on 100% renewable electricity, holds a 4.8/5 Trustpilot rating from over 779,000 reviews, and has been Which? Recommended for 9 years running.
🗓️The Moving Day Energy Timeline
- ✓Tell your supplier your move-out date (app or online)
- ✓Give Octopus your new address if moving with them
- ✓Find out who supplies the new property
- ✓Final meter readings at the old home — with photos
- ✓Opening meter readings at the new home — with photos
- ✓Note the meter types (smart, standard, prepay)
- ✓Switch the new home to Octopus — claim your £50 credit
- ✓Submit opening readings to the incumbent supplier
- ✓Keep the old direct debit until the final bill settles
Print this, screenshot it, or just remember the rhythm: notify, read, switch. Everything else — final bills, refunds, the actual supply — happens automatically behind the scenes. Your supply is never interrupted at any point during a move or a switch.
💷Credit Balances & Final Bills — What Happens to Your Money
Your final bill is calculated from the meter readings you provide on move-out day — which is exactly why the photos matter. If you're in credit when the account closes, the money is refunded to your bank account; if you owe, one last direct debit payment clears it. Keep the direct debit live until then to avoid a manual payment chase.
If a previous occupant left debt at your new address, it is not yours. Energy debt follows the person, not the property — your responsibility starts at your opening readings on the day you got the keys.
🏠A Note for Renters
Renting your new place? The same rules apply — and one more in your favour: if you pay the energy bills directly, you have the legal right to choose the supplier, regardless of what the tenancy agreement implies. Landlords can ask to be told, but they can't stop you switching. The main exception is genuinely bills-included tenancies, where the landlord holds the account.
There are a few renter-specific wrinkles — prepayment meters left by previous tenants (see our prepayment meters guide), permission for physical changes like smart meter installs, and what to do at the end of a tenancy. We cover all of it in our dedicated Octopus Energy for renters guide. The short version: renters can and should switch — and since Octopus's flexible tariffs have no exit fees, there's nothing to pay if you move again in six months.