The date that you become responsible for paying for utilities is different depending on the service. It is almost always one of; the day your legal responsibility begins, the day you move into the property or the day the service begins.
Council Tax
You will be billed for Council Tax from the day your legal responsibility for the property begins, and should receive an initial bill in the first 20 working days of your occupancy.
Energy
You will be billed for energy usage from the day your legal responsibility for the property begins, based on your opening meter readings. If you don't provide opening meter readings, your energy supplier will use an estimate based on the previous occupant's closing reading.
Water
You will be billed for water usage from the day your occupancy of the property begins, and if you have a water meter fitted this will be based on your opening meter readings. If you don't provide opening meter readings, your water supplier will use an estimate based on the previous occupant's closing reading. If the property is going to be empty after the beginning of your tenancy, such as if you are not moving in straight away, you do not have to pay for the period the property is empty.
Broadband, Phone and TV
Aside from any set-up fees or one-off costs, your billing period for communications and media contracts begins when the service goes live, with the first bill typically being issued after the first 30 days of service. You'll be billed from when the first part of your package goes live, so if your TV is installed after your broadband you'll still pay for the entire package from the day your internet goes live.
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