Moving house can be a hectic time, but by following the advice, tips, and checklists below, we hope your experience will be as stress-free as possible and a happy memory.
As soon as you move into your new home, it is important that you take gas and electricity readings and contact your utility companies to connect to services. It is also important that you have taken meter readings and cancelled any services connected in your old home.
To get the most out of your tenancy, please sign up for your tenant account.
By signing up for your account, you can:
Sign up for your online tenant account
Keep on top of your rent and repairs when and where you want to - any time, any device, anywhere.
It takes minutes to activate your tenancy account - all you need is your 9 or 10-digit tenancy reference number.
You'll find this on your rent statement and letters, or you can speak to a live chat advisor and they will give it to you.
The standard you can expect when you move into your new home
Before you move into your new home we will ensure the property is safe, clean and in a reasonable state of repair.
We want all of our properties to be of a consistently high standard and that you are assured as a new tenant that your home is:
We call this our Lettable Standard. You can find more about it here.
If you wish to read through one of our DRAFT Tenancy Agreements before signing yours, you can ask us any questions before proceeding.
Affordable Rent Tenancy Agreement
Combined Starter and non-Shorthold Assured Tenancy Agreement
Read a useful summary of your rights here.
This includes information about:
Keeping safe in your home (fire, gas and electical safety)
Most social housing homes are let fully unfurnished and the replacement of carpets, soft furnishings and interior decoration is not included in your rent or service charges.
When a tenant ends their tenancy, we will visit the property and do a pre-inspection. We will discuss the property condition and flooring with the tenant. If furnishings like carpets, curtains, and blinds are in good condition, we can agree with the outgoing tenant that they can be left for the next tenant, and no recharge will be incurred.
We also clean carpets if we believe that they are reusable. We understand carpeting a whole house is probably the biggest expenditure for new tenants, and if we can reduce this by leaving the carpet in some rooms if not all, we do.
But if the carpets are unsuitable for the new tenants, they will be removed for hygiene reasons.
We want our tenants to feel comfortable and happy in their new home, and depending on individual circumstances, we can offer support when moving in, such as offering decoration vouchers and making referrals to charitable organisations.
Please get in touch with us if you would like to find out more about how we may be able to help.
If you wish to make any significant or permanent improvements in your property, you will need to get permission. Please read our guide to carrying out your own improvements before going ahead.
Make a difference in how we provide our services in our homes and communities.
Join a meeting or group, apply for community funding or volunteer - there are a lot of ways to make a difference and get involved to help us do our very best for you and make our homes and communities great places to live.
Find our more about ways to get involved
We are here when times are tough, or you want to move forward to new opportunities.
Download the Housing Perks app and save money
The Housing Perks app offers discounts at over 100 supermarkets, high street shops and online, helping save money on essentials such as:
Discounts of up to 20% are available at retailers like ASDA, B&M, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Primark, Argos and TK Maxx.
Housing Perks is easy to use with a list of retailers, and you can filter by supermarket, fashion, food and drink, home and so on. Discounts are offered on e-gift cards – you use the e-gift cards to buy your goods or services. For example, TK Maxx offers 9% off e-gift cards, meaning you can buy a £100 gift card for £91.
Each retailer has conditions for the e-gift card, including whether it can be used online, in-store only, or both. Some may have limits on the value of the e-gift card. Just click on the retailer to find out more, and the Information tab will provide details on conditions of use.
Please note that tenants must input their tenancy reference number to sign up. This number can be found in our letters or by logging into your online tenant account.
If you cannot find it, please use the live chat on our website to speak to a member of our Customer Contact Centre. If you have any further questions, please get in touch.
Download the app
And finally, a word about us...
We set out to make sure everyone has a place to call home and the opportunity to live their best life.
And we do this by providing high-quality homes, supporting independence and creating opportunities for our tenants and in our communities.
We have five core values that guide us in what we do and how we deliver our services:
We are people focused
People are at the heart of our business. By treating everyone fairly and understanding diverse needs and strengths, we can serve people better and provide services and opportunities that positively impact on lives of customers and colleagues.
We are forward thinking
We work together to search for and implement innovative solutions and ideas that overcome challenges faced by our tenants, customers, communities, partners and colleagues.
We are genuine
We are open and honest, with a friendly, enthusiastic and energetic way of working, which is true to what we stand for.
We are expert
We use our knowledge, expertise and learning to invest in a positive future for all, and aim to excel in all we do to provide the best possible standards of service.
We are collaborative
We work in partnership with our tenants, customers, colleagues, local communities and other experts, bringing everyone together to achieve more.
We aim to uphold these values in everything we do - from consulting on a policy, to answering a query and to completing a repair.
Sometimes we don't get it spot on, but we will always try out best.
Find out how gas safety and keeping your loved ones and home safe here.
Step one
Contact the National Grid to find out who supplies gas to your property.
You will need:
The system will tell you:
Step two
Read the gas meter and have the meter reading ready to give to your supplier.
Step three
Contact your current gas supplier using the number you were given in Step one.
Tell them that you are the new occupier and give them the meter reading.
Before the supply can be installed, they may need to come and adjust the meter to clear any outstanding debt that may have been left by the previous occupier.
Step four
Once you have changed both the gas and electricity supplies into your name then please contact us on 0333 320 4555.
We will arrange for your gas system to be commissioned so that you can use it. If you have a pre-payment meter, you must have credit on both your gas and electricity meter for us to carry out this service.
Where possible an appointment will be made within 24 hours but please allow up to seven days. If you do not arrange this gas commission you will not be able to use your central heating boiler or gas appliances.
Find out how electrical safety and keeping your loved ones and home safe here.
Step one
Read the electricity meter and have the reading ready.
Step two
Contact UK Power and advise them that you are the new occupier. They will tell you who your electricity supplier is.
Step three
Contact the supplier, give them the electricity meter reading, and arrange for the supply to be put in your name. Once again, they may need to adjust the meter before they can switch your electricity supply on.
It may be a good idea to review the current suppliers to the property to ensure that you are getting the best deal.
You can learn more about changing your utility company to save money here.
Step four
Once you have changed the gas and electricity supplies into your name, please contact us on 0333 320 4555.
We will arrange for your gas system to be commissioned so you can use it. If you have a pre-payment meter, you must have credit on both your gas and electricity meter for us to carry out this service.
Where possible, an appointment will be made within 24 hours, but please allow up to seven days. If you do not arrange this gas commission, you will not be able to use your central heating boiler or gas appliances.
Find out how water safety and keeping your loved ones and home safe here.
The water supply should be connected when you move into your new home. Contact United Utilities to set up an account. You will need to give them your name, address and the date you moved in. If you have a meter, you will need the reading.
If you wish to have a telephone line and/or broadband connected, contact the phone provider that you would like to use. If you had a telephone line at your last property and you are still living in the same area, you may be able to keep the same phone number.
Other service providers and suppliers
There are certain organisations that need to know that you have moved house and you should make arrangements to tell them as soon as possible. These include:
As a tenant, you are responsible for insuring your own belongings against fire, theft or damage. As your landlord, we are responsible for insuring the building. We work with the National Housing Federation to offer discounted content insurance to our tenants to help save you money.
Get help from our friendly Customer Contact Team.
