Moving home

Starting a new tenancy

Before you move in, you can use your tenant handbook to find information:

  • about settling into your home
  • with details of your tenancy
  • about the housing services we provide.

About your new home

Repairs will be completed before you move in to bring the home up to a good standard.

This does not include:

  • providing carpets or furniture
  • arranging connection to a gas and electricity supplier
  • connecting a cooker or appliances
  • redecorating.

Starting your tenancy

When you start your tenancy, you'll:

  • sign a tenancy agreement
  • be given important information about your tenancy
  • have a chance to ask any questions
  • pay 2 weeks' rent in advance
  • be told about a home contents insurance scheme available through Thistle.

If you keep to the terms of the introductory tenancy for 12 months your tenancy will become secure or flexible.

Moving in

Once you move in, you'll need to connect your services and update your address.

Connecting your services

You'll need to connect services such as:

  • gas
  • electricity.

You'll also need to:

  • connect gas appliances including a cooker using a Gas Safe registered engineer
  • choose your telephone company.

You can contact the Housing Repairs Team on 01634 333 601 or freephone 0800 073 0073 to turn on and test your gas boiler.

You'll also need to find out your waste collection days for rubbish and recycling.

Update your address

You'll need to let services know you've moved including:

  • the Council Tax department
  • the Department of Work and Pensions, including the Housing Benefit service
  • the Electoral Register
  • Southern Water
  • your child's school (if applicable)
  • your general practitioner (GP) surgery
  • Royal Mail to redirect your mail.

Home insurance

We’ll insure the structure of your home but this does not include:

  • your belongings
  • fittings
  • any alterations you’ve made to the property.

We recommend all council tenants get home contents insurance to protect against incidents such as:

  • accidental damage
  • theft
  • water leaks.

Find out more about home contents insurance.

Contacting your suppliers

To find out who your gas and electricity supplier is, you'll need to:

  • phone 0870 608 1524 for your gas supplier
  • phone 0845 601 5467 for your electricity supplier.

Calls to those numbers may be charged. 

If you want to change supplier or set up an account, you'll need to contact these companies yourself.

It is your responsibility to choose your own landline telephone company and to inform the water company of your new address.

Continuous Recording of Social Housing lettings and Sales (CORE)

If you have entered a new social housing tenancy, social housing providers will share your information with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for:

  • research purposes
  • statistical purposes.

View the privacy notice for all social housing tenants of CORE data provider.