- Get insurance if you haven't done so already. You'll need cover for the contents of your house / room and (probably) separate cover for your bicycle.
- If you're paying for gas and electricity, take meter readings.
- Phone the gas and electricity companies and give them the meter reading and the date you moved in. This should ensure you don't get charged for energy used by the previous occupants.
- If you are sharing with others then ask the Gas, Electricity & Phone companies to put ALL names on the. This will ensure that everyone is protected should one person not pay.
- Check the house over to ensure that you are happy that is in the condition it was when you agreed to take it. Report any damage to the landlord/agent immediately. This includes fire blankets and extinguishers that may have been tampered with or used.
- Check that there are enough keys for all the housemates. If not, get the landlord to cut some extras.
BritBound Tip - If you can access the property classifieds why not see if they have a wanted section and put in your own advert for a property - you never know the response may surprise you but don't rest all hopes on it!
- If you have a TV, you will need a TV licence. It will set you back £112 a year, which is still cheaper than the fine. You'll need a licence for each TV in property, if you are a group of housemates
- Find the stop taps/switches for the water, gas and electricity. In the event of an emergency, you'll be glad you did.
- Make sure you have the keys for any window locks. Look out for windows screwed/painted shut and ask your landlord/agent to fix them.
- Similarly, if there are no locks on windows you should ask your landlord/agent to fit them, especially on the ground floor.
- Test the smoke/heat alarms.
- Make sure you have the service record for any gas appliances.
- Make sure none of the property's vents or airways are blocked.
- Consider how you would get out in a fire.
- Check security. Do all the catches and locks work on the windows and doors?
BritBound Tip - If you can access the property classifieds why not see if they have a wanted section and put in your own advert for a property - you never know the response may surprise you but don't rest all hopes on it!
It is your Landlord's responsibility to ensure that any gas and electrical fittings and appliances are safe. By law they must have their gas appliances checked by CORGI (www.corgi-gas.com) every 12 months. They must keep a record of inspection dates, any defects identified and any remedial action taken, you should ask to see a copy of this - if they refuse to give you a copy of the inspection record, you could contact the local office of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has a duty to enforce the safety requirements.
The HSE also operates a special freephone Gas Safety Advice Line:- 0800 300363 (24 hours)
Faulty gas appliances can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning which can kill if undetected! Carbon monoxide has no colour, no smell and no taste, so it is difficult to detect. Watch out for the danger signs such as:
• discolouring around a gas fire or at the top of a water heater;
• a yellow or orange flame on a gas fire or water heater;
• a strange smell when the gas appliance is on.
If you suspect a gas leak, contact immediately.
British Gas
All work to electrical installations and appliances should be done by a competent person, ideally by a NICEIC registered electrician. Faulty or misused electrics can cause fire or electrocution! Electrical wires or extension leads must not trail where they can be damaged, come into contact with water or be a trip hazard. Don't overload electrical sockets.
It is your landlord's duty to ensure a minimum standard of safety. In a shared house you should have the following:
- Smoke detectors; fire extinguisher and a fire blanket in the kitchen; proper fire doors that ensure an internal.
- Escape route on each landing; fire retardant furniture; bathroom light switches should be cords or outside the bathroom.
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The first little bit of information to negate any confusion is that in the UK you find that most companies offer both electricity and gas as a service to households. So it IS correct that British Gas can also be your supplier of Electricity and of course Gas to your house/ flat. To find out the company that supplies gas to a property that you are moving into you will need your address and postcode. In most cases you can not get any information from companies at all without an address and/or postcode.The number to ring is Transco 0870 608 1524. If you have a meter, they may require your meter serial number which is located on your meter. They will tell you the company supplying the gas at the address. They are not a supplier; they just regulate and monitor gas supply to UK properties. It is entirely up to you (as a consumer) to choose who will supply your gas and electricity. To find out who your electricity supplier is, contact United Utilities on: 0870 7510093.
If supply of gas or electricity is arranged by pre- pay, which means a meter key is 'topped up' with money in order for the property to be supplied with gas/ electricity. You will need to call their Pre-Pay department (0845 766 0111) then choose Option 4, then Option 1 - with the Serial Number from the meter - you will find this on the meter in the flat above the bar code. You must also give them a meter reading, which you do by pressing the blue button and record the figure that ends in Kwh.
The important thing is to look for a meter key as this will mean that you can re-connect the meter without a cost. It will cost you if they have to send out new keys and there is usually a call out fee as well as a few days wait - the key is important!
With modern technology these days it is possible to do all your accounts 'on line' for electricity and gas, meaning that you will have the option of a paper-less billing system. This will often give you further options for discounts with companies.
If you sign up with a company that does both your electricity and gas you should get a discount. For example, at the time of going to print, British Gas was offering £15.00annual discount when you sign up for both and £15.00 discount for annual electricity when you sign up on-line.
Some companies that offer electricity and gas services are:
British Gas 0845 6006113 www.house.co.uk
N Power 0845 7145146 www.npower.com
Powergen 0800 015 2029 www.powergen.co.uk
If the property has previously been connected through British Telecom there will be no connection charge - usually £75. You simply call British Telecom (BT) on 0800 800 150 and follow the prompts to get through to Customer Sales. Then give them your address and very importantly the postcode. If you are moving from another property connected to BT you can transfer your existing account to the new property.
There are a number of options and price plans that you may opt for such as BT Together, Friends and Family etc. Through BT you can opt for telephone packages combined with broadband, Satellite TV etc. For further information go to the following web site: www.bt.com
Companies such as OneTel, Tele West and NTL offer other call packages as well as combinations with Internet and TV. If you want to go through these different companies for your telecommunications you actually need to be connected through BT first.
One Tel: www.onetel.co.uk
Ntl: www.home.ntl.com
Telewest: www.telewest.co.uk
If you are calling internationally a lot and using up calling cards you should look at setting up an account with a company that will reduce the cost of these overseas calls - One Tel are one such company.
Another company - Alpha Telecom - provides excellent rates for dialling overseas especially to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa.
The way these companies work is that they give you a password or a prefix to dial before an overseas call and you are given a separate statement at the end of month in line with the 'special' calling rates depending on what country you are calling.
One Tel 0800 957 0000 www.onetel.co.uk
Alpha Telecom 0800 279 3205 www.alphatelecom.com/uk
1. Through dialling up from your phone line - you can pick up suppliers of this from free disks that are available through One Tel, BT Internet, ClaraNET, Easy Net and numerous others. In appliance shops like Dixons and Currys you can pick these up for free. The other option is to call up the providers and get a disk sent out which you install on to your computer yourself.
2. The second way is to get Broadband, which costs £19.99 per month and will give you unlimited amounts of access and means that you can still use your phone line when someone is on the internet. There is often a hidden cost, which is the cost of the modem. This is normally around £50.00.
- You need to be very careful about the contract as wel l- you may have to sign up for a certain number of months to get the rates they are offering. Check that it is an unlimited Internet access deal as you could be lumped with a hefty bill at the end of the month if you have exceeded the download allowance.
- Take care with companies that claim to have no set up costs, i.e. the modem, as you might be locked in to a 12 month contract for opting into this.
- Some recommended companies that offer Broadband (there are many) are BT, Eclipse and NTL. Here are some useful contact details for the companies that are offering Internet dial up and Broadband services:
BT 0800 852823 www.btinternet.com
Clara NET 0845 1170555 www.ukclara.net
Easy Net 0800 0530551 www.easynetdial.co.uk
One Tel 0800 9570000 www.onetel.co.uk
BritBound Tip - Public Libraries offer free Internet access - you may have to book a time slot in advance.
It is worth knowing that inspectors can give you on the spot fines of up to £1000 without having given you any warning. In other words, waiting for a reminder to come through the post is a dangerous game. The basic rule is that if you have a TV of any sort, even if you are not receiving the good old BBC, you still need a license, which currently costs £112. If you only have a black and white television then you can get a cheaper (£37.50) license, but if you have a video attached to it, you will almost definitely need a colour license.
If you are sharing a flat and a tenancy agreement you will only need one license for the house (regardless of how many sets you have) however if rooms are let under separate tenancy agreements then you will have to get a separate license for each room with a TV. For the full rules and regulations visit the TV licensing web site on www.tvlicensing.co.uk
Tax is set by your council to help pay for local services such as policing and refuse collection. The amount you pay will vary depending on where you live and the value of your home. Each home is placed on a valuation list in one of eight valuation bands, from A to H. Generally, the bigger the property is the more tax will be charged. Usually one person, called the liable person, is liable to pay council tax, the person living in a property will be the liable person, but sometimes it will be the owner of the property who will be liable to pay.
- The property is in multiple occupation, for example a house lived in by a number of people who all pay rent, but no-one is responsible for paying the whole of the rent.
If you think that the owner of the property should be paying the council tax, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example at a Citizens Advice Bureau - www.nacab.org.uk for details of your office or www.adviceguide.org.uk for online information.
If only one person lives in a property they will be the liable person. If more than one person lives there, a system called the hierarchy of liability is used to work out who is
the liable person. The person at the top, or nearest to the top of the hierarchy is the liable person. Two people at the same point of the hierarchy will both be liable. The hierarchy of liability in England and Wales is:
1.A resident who lives in the property and who owns the freehold.
2. A resident who lives in the property and who has a lease or who is an assured or an assured shorthold tenant.
3. A resident who lives in the property and who is a protected, statutory or a secure tenant.
4. A resident who lives in the property and who is a licensee. This means that they are not a tenant, but have permission to stay there.
5. Any resident living in the property, for example, a squatter.
6. An owner of the property who does not live there.
Whilst water is expensive, at least it does not require much thought as you will not have a choice of supplier. Occasionally landlords will pay the water for you but normally you are looking at around £100 a year. However this will vary enormously from house to house. You should contact your water supplier as soon as you move in - it should already be connected - if it's not, try the Stopcock which is a valve that turns the supply on and off - it is usually located under the sink but ask the landlord this when you move in!
When you search for a flat you need to decide whether you are going to opt for furnished or unfurnished. If you decide to rent an unfurnished property this will mean you'll need to do some serious shopping. The following sites are of shops popular for furniture - prices range from the bargain to fairly expensive - they will at least help you to get an idea of the budget you'll need.
Gas
Transco Gas Emergencies - Smell gas?
Think you have a leak? 0800 111 999 (24 hr)
British Gas Services - Boiler broken down?
No heating? 0845 600 5100
Electricity
Eastern Electricity - 0800 783 8838
London Electricity - 0800 028 024
Southern Electric - 08457 70809
Paypoint Outlets - Meter run out?- For
nearest outlet, 0845 602 0236
Water 0845 9200 888 - (Thames) Thames Valley and Greater London
Phone Companies
BT- 0800 800 150
Powergen - 0800 363 363
Telewest - 0500 500 100
Ntl - 0800 052 7888
One Tel - 0207 331 9777
Phone Bill Comparisons
www.phonebills.org.uk
How to Find a Repairman
www.home pro.com
Notify everyone of your address changes
www.iammoving.com
Use this free site to pass on your new address to your gas, water and electricity companies, the government, your financial services and subscriptions or any of the nearly one thousand services listed. iammoving lets you notify them all at once, quickly, efficiently and without hassle or cost.
- Free legal advice on thousands of everyday issues
The Citizens Advice Bureau - www.nacab.org.uk for details of your office or www.adviceguide.org.uk for online information.
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