Moving home changes more than your address. It can also change what happens to your energy tariff, whether an exit fee applies and which deal is actually cheaper for you.

If you're on a fixed tariff, your supplier may allow you to keep the same contract and tariff at your new home. But this isn't automatic, and being allowed to take your tariff with you doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Your new property will normally already have an energy supplier. Once you become responsible for the property, you can choose a tariff with that supplier or switch to another one.

The important question isn't simply:

Can I take my existing tariff with me?

It's also:

Will that tariff still be competitive for the energy I'm likely to use in my new home?

A tariff that worked well in a small flat may not be the cheapest option for a larger house with very different energy consumption.

Can you take a fixed energy tariff with you when you move?

Possibly, but you need to check with your supplier.

Citizens Advice says that if you want to stay on your current tariff when you move, you should contact your supplier. Your supplier might allow you to keep the same contract and tariff at your new home without charging you a fee.

That means you shouldn't assume either that:

your fixed tariff automatically moves with you

or that:

moving home automatically ends the tariff without consequences.

Check the terms of your contract and ask your supplier what happens specifically when you move.

If they will transfer the tariff, you then have a second decision to make:

Is it actually worth taking it with you?

That's a comparison question rather than simply a contractual one.

Will you have to pay an exit fee when moving home?

If you're still within a fixed-term contract, you might have to pay an exit fee if moving means breaking that contract early.

Check your contract or ask your supplier what the fee would be and whether moving your existing tariff to the new property would avoid it.

But an exit fee doesn't automatically mean you should keep the tariff.

Suppose leaving costs £75 but another tariff would save an estimated £150 over the relevant comparison period.

The fee changes the calculation:

£150 potential saving − £75 exit fee = £75 net saving

You need to compare the cost of staying with the cost of leaving, including the fee.

If your fixed tariff has 49 days or less left, you can switch without paying a contractual exit fee. If it has 50 days or more remaining, an exit fee might apply.

So the timing of your move can matter too.

What happens to the energy supply at your new home?

Moving into a property doesn't normally mean starting with a blank energy account and choosing any supplier before anything else happens.

If the property already has an energy supply, it will have an existing supplier.

Once you become responsible for the property, you can choose a tariff with that supplier or switch to another supplier.

So finding out who currently supplies the new property should be one of your first energy tasks when moving.

You don't have to assume that the supplier already serving the property is the best option.

But equally, you shouldn't assume that switching away from it will automatically save you money.

Compare the available options first.

Can you arrange an energy tariff before you move in?

This is an important distinction.

If you want to switch the energy supplier or tariff at the new property, you'll generally need to wait until you become responsible for its energy supply.

That is different from contacting your current supplier before moving to establish what will happen to your existing contract.

If you're on a fixed tariff, it's worth doing that well before moving day so you know:

• whether the tariff can move with you;

• whether an exit fee applies;

• when the existing contract ends; and

• what choices you'll have once you're responsible for the new property.

Knowing those things in advance makes it much easier to compare the options once you move.

Should you take your existing tariff with you if you can?

This is where the comparison becomes more interesting.

Imagine your supplier says:

You can keep exactly the same tariff when you move.

It sounds attractive, particularly if you originally chose the tariff because it was competitive.

But there's a problem.

Your new home isn't necessarily going to use energy in the same way as your old one.

The amount of energy you use and your circumstances are important when comparing tariffs.

That means changing property can change the result of the comparison.

Let's see how.

Why a tariff that was cheaper in your old home might not be cheaper in your new one

Imagine you're choosing between two illustrative tariffs.

Tariff A has cheaper unit rates but higher standing charges.

Tariff B has higher unit rates but lower standing charges.

This is why unit rates and standing charges need to be considered together.

Your old home

Suppose you live in a smaller property using:

Electricity: 1,800 kWh a year

Gas: 6,000 kWh a year

For Tariff A:

Electricity:

1,800 × £0.23 = £414
365 × £0.65 = £237.25

Electricity total = £651.25

Gas:

6,000 × £0.065 = £390
365 × £0.35 = £127.75

Gas total = £517.75

Total estimated annual cost:

Tariff A = £1,169.00

Now Tariff B.

Electricity:

1,800 × £0.26 = £468
365 × £0.45 = £164.25

Electricity total = £632.25

Gas:

6,000 × £0.07 = £420
365 × £0.25 = £91.25

Gas total = £511.25

Total:

Tariff B = £1,143.50

For this household and this level of consumption:

Tariff B is £25.50 cheaper.

So you might reasonably conclude that Tariff B is the better deal.

But now you move.

What happens when the new home uses more energy?

Suppose the new property is larger and you estimate that it will use:

Electricity: 3,200 kWh a year

Gas: 12,000 kWh a year

Nothing about Tariff A or Tariff B has changed.

Let's run the calculation again.

Tariff A

Electricity:

3,200 × £0.23 = £736
365 × £0.65 = £237.25

Electricity total = £973.25

Gas:

12,000 × £0.065 = £780
365 × £0.35 = £127.75

Gas total = £907.75

Total:

Tariff A = £1,881.00

Tariff B

Electricity:

3,200 × £0.26 = £832
365 × £0.45 = £164.25

Electricity total = £996.25

Gas:

12,000 × £0.07 = £840
365 × £0.25 = £91.25

Gas total = £931.25

Total:

Tariff B = £1,927.50

And now the result has reversed.

Old home

Tariff B cheaper by £25.50

New home

Tariff A cheaper by £46.50

The tariffs haven't changed.

The household behind the comparison has.

Tariff A's lower unit rates become increasingly valuable as consumption rises, while Tariff B's lower standing charges mattered more when consumption was lower.

This is why simply saying “I'll take my cheap tariff with me” can miss something important.

The tariff was cheaper for a particular level of consumption.

Moving home can change that.

How do you compare tariffs when you don't know the new home's energy usage?

This is one of the difficulties with comparing energy tariffs when moving.

You don't yet have 12 months of consumption data for the new property.

And using your own kWh consumption from your old home may not produce a realistic estimate if the properties are substantially different.

For example, you might be moving from:

• a one-bedroom flat to a three-bedroom house;

• a modern insulated property to an older building;

• a mid-floor flat to a detached house;

• gas heating to electric heating; or

• a home occupied by two people to one occupied by four.

Your old consumption can still provide useful information, but don't mistake it for certainty about the new property.

Use the best reasonable estimate available and be clear that it is an estimate.

If the uncertainty is significant, you can also run more than one scenario:

Lower usage

Expected usage

Higher usage

If the same tariff wins under all three scenarios, the decision may be relatively robust.

If the winner changes depending on the consumption assumption, that's useful information too.

It tells you that the decision is sensitive to how much energy the new home actually uses.

Once you've built up real consumption data in the new property, you can compare two energy tariffs properly again using better information.

Does moving to a different area affect the comparison?

Potentially, yes.

Energy unit rates and standing charges are not necessarily identical throughout Great Britain. They can vary by region as well as by factors such as payment method and meter type.

So if you're moving to another energy region, don't assume the rates available at your old address will be identical at the new one.

This gives you another reason to compare using the details that actually apply to the new property.

What if you're deciding between a fixed or variable tariff after moving?

Moving home may also coincide with a wider tariff decision.

Perhaps your old fixed deal is ending.

Perhaps it can't be transferred.

Or perhaps the existing supplier at the new property offers you both fixed and variable options.

In that situation, don't treat “fixed” and “variable” as shorthand for “good” and “bad”.

A fixed tariff gives you certainty over the unit rates and standing charges for the fixed period, while variable rates can change. If energy prices fall, someone on a fixed tariff could end up paying more than if they were on a variable tariff.

That's why the better question is which fixed or variable tariff makes sense for your circumstances rather than assuming one type is always better.

What should you do with your meter readings when you move?

Don't overlook the old property while concentrating on the new one.

Take meter readings on the day you move out and give them to your supplier.

Keep a record of:

• the meter readings;

• the date you took them; and

• ideally, photographs of the meters showing the readings.

Also give your old supplier a forwarding address so it can send your final bill.

At your new property, take opening meter readings when you become responsible for the energy supply.

Keeping those readings gives you evidence of where your responsibility for energy consumption at each property ended and began.

Moving home energy tariff checklist

Before leaving your old home:

1. Tell your existing supplier you're moving.

2. Check whether your tariff is fixed or variable.

3. Check the contract end date.

4. Ask whether your existing tariff can move with you.

5. Establish whether an exit fee applies.

6. Check whether you have 49 days or less left on a fixed tariff.

7. Take final meter readings on moving day and keep a record.

8. Give your old supplier a forwarding address.

For the new home:

1. Find out who currently supplies the property.

2. Take meter readings when you become responsible for it.

3. Establish the tariff and rates that initially apply.

4. Check what alternatives are available.

5. Estimate the new property's likely annual consumption as realistically as possible.

6. Compare each option using the same consumption assumptions.

7. Include any relevant exit fees.

8. Compare total estimated cost rather than simply choosing the lowest unit rate or monthly payment.

The bottom line

Moving home changes the household behind the energy comparison.

If your existing supplier allows you to take a fixed tariff with you, that can be useful — but it doesn't automatically mean keeping it is the cheapest option.

Your new property may use substantially more or less energy. Regional rates may be different. Your contract may have an exit fee. And the balance between unit rates and standing charges can mean a tariff that won at one level of consumption loses at another.

The fairest approach is to compare the available tariffs using the same estimate of the new property's consumption, the same comparison period and all relevant costs.

Sometimes keeping your existing tariff will make sense.

Sometimes choosing another one will.

The important thing is to check.

Moving home? Check the tariff, not just the address.

Likewise Compare is being built to help you understand whether staying with your current energy deal or choosing another one makes more sense for your circumstances.

We'll compare the numbers clearly, using your actual energy usage where available — or the best reasonable estimate when it isn't — alongside the tariff details, so that staying and switching are treated as equally valid outcomes.

You don't need to decide to switch.
You only need to decide to check.

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