Setting up utilities in a German flat: the move-in hour checklist

What runs automatically (water, heating), what you must set up (electricity, internet), meter-reading rituals at handover and the provider-notification checklist.

Last updated: July 13, 2026

What utilities do you set up when moving in Germany?

Water, heating and building services run through your rent's Nebenkosten automatically. YOU handle two things: electricity (you're auto-covered by the expensive default supplier - switch within weeks) and internet (order IMMEDIATELY, activation takes 2-4 weeks). Photograph every meter at handover; those numbers settle old and new accounts.

What this guide covers

The handover hour (do these before unpacking)The notification cascade (who needs your new address)Common move-in stumbles

The handover hour (do these before unpacking)

Meter photos with timestamps: electricity (Zählernummer + reading), gas if present, water - into the Übergabeprotokoll (rental guide) AND your files
Internet order fired)
Electricity registration: you're already supplied (Grundversorgung - legal, expensive); register the meter to your name with ANY provider using the photos - the switch guide's 10 minutes
Heating: note the radiator meter setup (Heizkostenverteiler) - consumption billing via Nebenkosten (guide)

The notification cascade (who needs your new address)

The Anmeldung/Ummeldung itself (guide), your bank + insurers (apps, minutes), Rundfunkbeitrag (address update - guide), employer/HR, and the Post's Nachsendeauftrag (mail forwarding, €30ish/year - buys you the letters you forgot). Germany has no NL-style automatic address-propagation: the checklist IS the system.

Common move-in stumbles

Believing "the landlord handles electricity" (only in furnished/all-in rarities - check the contract line), waiting on internet until after furniture (the gap weeks hurt), missing the meter photos (inherit the previous tenant's consumption disputes), and gas-heated flats with OWN gas contracts (then the energy guide covers both meters).

Frequently asked questions

Flat has night-storage heating/electric boiler?

Your electricity bill IS your heating - consumption reality changes provider math (energy guide's usage tiers).

No hot water day one?

Boiler pilot/reset first, Hausmeister second, landlord's problem officially (rental guide's repair duties).

Waste bins?

Building-organized via Nebenkosten; the sorting rules (recycling guide) are your civic exam.

Washing machine hookup?

German flats plumb for it (kitchen or bath) - the famous kitchen-buying guide applies to appliances too (apartment guide).

Related guides

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