Setting up utilities in a German flat: the move-in hour checklist
The move-in hour: photograph the meters, note the Zählernummer, switch off the default electricity tariff, order internet - water and heating ride with rent.
Last updated: August 18, 2026
What utilities do I need to set up when moving into a German apartment?
Less than you fear: water, sewage, and usually heating ride with your rent's Nebenkosten - nothing to set up. Your two real tasks: electricity (you're auto-supplied by the expensive default provider from day one, so switch to a market tariff within weeks) and internet (order immediately - activation takes 2-4 weeks). The critical move-in-hour ritual: photograph every meter (electricity, gas, water, heating) with date and meter number - those numbers anchor every bill and end every dispute.
What this guide covers
Where to start your electricity comparison
Five of the six are national green suppliers that switch you online in about 15 minutes, with the new provider handling the change-over, so there is zero interruption. LichtBlick, PLAN-B, NATURSTROM and Grünwelt are fixed-rate tariffs (set a price, forget it), while Tibber charges the hourly spot price so you save by running big loads when power is cheap. They differ in what they are best at: PLAN-B runs its site in English, NATURSTROM has the strongest green credentials of the group, and Grünwelt competes mainly on price. The sixth, swb, is the local Stadtwerke for Bremen and the surrounding area only - ignore it unless you live there. Whichever you lean towards, hold the quote against the default tariff (Grundversorgung) you are put on automatically after moving in, and against the whole-market view below.
LichtBlick
The established green brand
Germany’s best-known pure green-electricity provider: 100% Ökostrom, no coal or nuclear in the mix, decades in the market. Site and service are in German - fine once you have the contract basics from this guide.
Calculate your tariffPLAN-B NET ZERO
The digital challenger, English site
Digital-first green provider carrying the OK Power Plus seal (one of Germany’s strictest green-power labels: 100% renewable plus active build-out of new plants). Their site runs in English - the easier read if your German is young.
Find your tariffTibber
The smart, dynamic-tariff option
App-first provider on 100% renewable power, but with a twist: instead of one fixed rate you pay the hourly spot price, shown in the app. Shift heavy use (EV charging, heat pump, washing) to the cheap hours and it pays off - the flexible pick if your usage can move around the day.
See your priceNATURSTROM
The veteran, strongest green credentials
Independent green supplier since 1998, and the one here that goes furthest: it carries the Grüner Strom-Label (Germany’s strictest green-power seal), is TÜV Nord certified free of coal and nuclear, and builds its own wind and solar plants rather than only reselling. German-language site, so pair it with your browser’s translate.
Calculate your tariffGrünwelt Energie
The budget green option
National supplier of TÜV-certified green electricity, plus gas with CO₂ compensation, that competes mainly on price rather than on eco credentials - worth a quote if the tariff cost is what you are optimising. Check the contract term and whether the rate you are shown includes a first-year bonus before you sign. German-language site.
Check Grünwelt pricesswb
The Bremen local option
Only relevant if you have landed in Bremen or Bremerhaven - swb is the local Stadtwerke and supplies nowhere else. Municipal utilities rarely top a price comparison, but they are the local default: German billing, service centres you can walk into, and power, gas and broadband on one account.
Check swb tariffs for BremenPreisvergleich.de
Whole-market comparisonThe four above are suppliers you can switch to directly. This is the other half of the job: ranking every tariff available at your postcode for your annual kWh, so you can see where those four actually sit and what the default tariff (Grundversorgung) is costing you. Worth two minutes before you commit to anyone. German-language site, so pair it with your browser’s translate.
Compare every tariff at your postcodeAffiliate links. No extra cost to you, keeps our expat guides free.
The good news: most of it is already on
Newcomers expect a week of utility phone calls; Germany mostly spares you. Because of how rent works (Kaltmiete, Warmmiete and the Nebenkosten settlement):
| Utility | Who handles it |
|---|---|
| Water & sewage | Landlord - inside your Nebenkosten, nothing to do |
| Heating & hot water | Usually central and in the Nebenkosten; only flat-own gas heating means your own contract |
| Rubbish collection | Building/landlord - in the Nebenkosten (but you must sort correctly: German recycling) |
| Electricity | YOU - auto-supplied from day one, but on the expensive default tariff |
| Internet | YOU - and the clock says order now |
| Broadcast fee | Arrives by itself after the Anmeldung (Rundfunkbeitrag) |
So the real to-do list is two items plus one ritual - all doable in your first hours.
The move-in hour ritual: photograph the meters
The single highest-value 15 minutes of any German move: find and document every meter, on day one, ideally at the handover with the landlord:
- Locate the meters - electricity usually in the hallway cabinet or basement (your flat's meter is labelled or on the handover protocol), gas in the flat or basement, water often in bathroom/kitchen, heating via radiator allocators (Heizkostenverteiler) or a heat meter.
- Photograph each: the reading (Zählerstand) AND the meter number (Zählernummer) in one shot, with the date visible in metadata.
- Get the readings into the Übergabeprotokoll (handover record - The German rental contract) that you and the landlord sign - the Verbraucherzentrale recommends exactly this documentation at every handover.
- Repeat the identical ritual at move-out.
Why it matters: your entire billing chain - the previous tenant's final bill, your first bill, the annual Nebenkosten settlement - hangs on these numbers. A photo with a date settles every "who used what" dispute before it starts.
What the landlord handles vs what's on you
A clean division so you don't chase the wrong things:
| Handled by landlord (in Nebenkosten) | Yours to arrange |
|---|---|
| Cold + waste water, sewage | Electricity (your own supplier contract) |
| Central heating + hot water (usually) | Internet (order the day you sign) |
| Rubbish collection, building cleaning | TV, if you want it (since July 2024) |
| Building insurance, caretaker, lift | Home contents / liability insurance (optional but wise) |
| Chimney sweep, property tax | Rundfunkbeitrag (auto-triggered, you pay it) |
Flat vs house: in an apartment, heating and water are almost always central and in the Nebenkosten. In a rented house you're more likely to have your own gas/oil heating contract and direct water/waste accounts - ask the landlord exactly which utilities are in your name at handover.
If the gas contract is in your name, compare it too
Most apartment renters never see a gas bill - it rides along in the Nebenkosten. But if you have your own gas heating contract (common in a rented house, and in some older flats), it works exactly like electricity: you start on the expensive default tariff and the annual saving from switching is usually larger, because heating burns far more kWh than your sockets do. German-language site, so pair it with your browser's translate.
Compare gas tariffs for your postcodeAffiliate link. No extra cost to you, keeps our expat guides free.
Task 1: electricity (day one to week two)
The full mechanics live in Electricity in Germany; the setup sequence:
- You already have power - the local default provider (Grundversorger) supplies you automatically from the moment you flip a switch (§36 EnWG). No darkness, no urgency panic.
- Register the move-in with the Grundversorger (or go straight to step 3) - meter number + reading + move-in date, so the previous tenant's usage ends cleanly.
- Switch to a market tariff within your first weeks - the default costs ~37 ct/kWh versus ~24-31 ct on the market; the switch is 15 minutes online with zero interruption.
- Flat with its own gas heating? Same logic, same portals, one more contract.
Week-two task: switch off the default tariff
The Grundversorgung runs ~37 ct/kWh against ~24-31 ct on the market. LichtBlick's 100% green tariffs switch online in 15 minutes and the change-over is handled for you - zero interruption.
Calculate your LichtBlick tariffAffiliate link. No extra cost to you, keeps our expat guides free.
Task 2: internet (the day you sign the lease)
Activation takes 2-4 weeks, so this is the one utility where waiting costs you: check what your address supports (DSL/cable/fibre), order immediately, and hotspot through the gap. The provider landscape, TKG rights, and tariff filters are in Home internet in Germany.
In Bremen? One provider can cover power, gas and the line
swb supplies Bremen, Bremerhaven and the surrounding area only - irrelevant everywhere else in Germany. But if you have landed there, the local Stadtwerke is one of the few ways to get electricity, gas and broadband on a single account and a single bill, which removes a lot of the set-up friction described above. Rarely the cheapest line on a comparison table; often the least hassle. German-language site, so pair it with your browser's translate.
Check swb internet and energy for BremenAffiliate link. No extra cost to you, keeps our expat guides free.
Landed in the north instead? The same logic, different network
Bremen is not the only place where a regional operator beats the national list on this task, and where fibre is already in the ground the 2-4 week wait can be much shorter. TNG owns its network in named expansion areas across Schleswig-Holstein (much the largest, from its Kiel base), plus Soltau in Lower Saxony, Hessen and Baden-Württemberg - and supplies nowhere else, so this is worth thirty seconds only if your new address is in that footprint. Where it reaches, 1,000 Mbit/s is the standard tier. German-language site, so pair it with your browser's translate function.
Check your new address at TNGAffiliate link. No extra cost to you, keeps our expat guides free.
Task 3: TV (new since July 2024 - your landlord no longer provides it)
A change most guides haven't caught up on, and it directly affects you: until mid-2024, landlords bundled a cable-TV connection into the Nebenkosten (the "Nebenkostenprivileg"), so TV just worked. That ended on 1 July 2024 - landlords can no longer charge cable TV as an operating cost, and ~12 million households had to choose their own TV. So on move-in:
- You now pick your own TV, if you want it - and many expats skip cable entirely.
- Options: a cable-TV contract in your own name (Vodafone and regional cable operators), satellite (if a dish/connection exists), DVB-T2 (antenna, free-to-air German channels), or - most common now - TV over the internet (streaming, the broadcasters' own apps, or IPTV).
- Check your bill: if your Nebenkosten still lists a cable/TV fee, it should have been removed - query the landlord.
- You still owe the Rundfunkbeitrag (€18.36/month) regardless of whether you have a TV - that's separate and unavoidable (Rundfunkbeitrag).
For most newcomers, internet + streaming replaces cable entirely, so this is often a non-task - just don't assume the wall socket gives you free TV anymore.
Move-out: the mirror image
Leaving a flat runs the same checklist backwards - final meter photos into the handover protocol, report the move-out reading to your electricity provider (move = special termination right if you don't take the contract along), cancel or migrate internet, and update the Beitragsservice. The full exit sequence, deposits included, is in Moving within Germany and Leaving Germany.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to set up water and heating in a German flat?
Almost never - water, sewage, rubbish, and usually central heating ride inside your rent's Nebenkosten. Your own contracts are electricity and internet (plus gas only if the flat has its own gas heating).
Is there electricity when I move in, before I sign anything?
Yes - the local default provider (Grundversorger) supplies you automatically from day one. It's the most expensive tariff though (~37 ct/kWh vs ~24-31 market), so switch within your first weeks. See Electricity in Germany.
What's the most important thing to do on move-in day?
Photograph every meter - reading and meter number together, dated - and get the numbers into the signed handover protocol. Those photos anchor your bills and end any dispute about who used what.
Where do I find my electricity meter?
Usually in a hallway cabinet or the basement meter room (your flat's meter is labelled by number - match it to the handover protocol); gas and water meters sit in the flat or basement, heating runs via radiator allocators or a heat meter.
When should I order internet?
The day you sign the lease - activation takes 2-4 weeks, sometimes longer with a technician visit. Bridge with your phone's hotspot. See Home internet in Germany.
What is the Zählernummer and why does everyone ask for it?
The meter's unique ID - providers use it to attach consumption to the right meter (buildings have many). It's printed on the meter; your move-in photo has it forever.
What do I do with utilities when moving out?
The mirror ritual: final dated meter photos into the handover protocol, report the closing reading to your provider, cancel or take along your contracts (moving grants a special termination right), and update the broadcast-fee service.
What if the previous tenant's bills keep coming?
Send your provider (or the Grundversorger) your move-in date, meter number, and move-in reading - your documented reading cleanly splits their consumption from yours. This is exactly what the day-one photos are for.
Does my flat come with TV?
Not automatically anymore - the Nebenkostenprivileg ended on 1 July 2024, so landlords no longer bundle cable TV into the Nebenkosten. You now choose your own: a cable contract in your name, satellite, DVB-T2 antenna, or (most common) TV over the internet/streaming. If your Nebenkosten still charges a TV fee, query it. The Rundfunkbeitrag is separate and still owed.
Do I set up gas separately?
Only if your flat has its own gas heating - then it's your contract, like electricity, with the same automatic default supply and switching logic. In most apartment buildings heating is central and already in your Nebenkosten, so there's nothing to arrange.
In a rented house, is anything different?
Yes - houses more often put heating (gas/oil) and sometimes water/waste in your name rather than the landlord's. Confirm exactly which utilities you're responsible for at the handover, and set up any that are yours the same way as electricity.
Related guides
Keep going: these guides continue where this one ends.
Electricity in Germany: stop paying the default tariff
New arrivals land on the Grundversorger at ~37 ct/kWh; market tariffs run ~24-31 ct. The Abschlag, switching in 15 minutes, and the rules th
Home internet in Germany: providers, contracts and the activation wait
DSL, cable or fibre from ~€20-40/month - order early, activation takes 2-4 weeks. Your TKG rights: monthly cancellation after year one, and
Kaltmiete, Warmmiete and the Nebenkosten settlement
Kaltmiete is the base rent; Warmmiete adds Nebenkosten. What the running costs cover, which are chargeable, the 12-month deadline, and how s
Your first 30 days in Germany: the complete checklist
Week-by-week arrival plan: SIM and bank day one, Anmeldung week 1, health insurance and tax ID by week 3, contracts by week 4 - in the order