Completion leaves the meters where the seller left them, the council about to write, the broadband cut off, and a dozen accounts to open from another time zone. None of it is difficult; all of it is tedious. This is the firm’s list for setting up a London home, after the full cost of buying a London flat and beside the running cost of a second home. A cold flat in July means a step skipped in March.
Owning and letting
Setting up a London home from abroad: council tax, utilities, broadband, insurance and the first month
Setting up a London home from abroad: the sequence
Everything can be done from Riyadh or Dubai by email and online; only the broadband engineer needs someone at the door. In the week of completion the solicitor notifies the council and the water company; in week two choose an energy supplier, order broadband and insure; in month one confirm council tax and buy the £174.50 TV licence if there is a television. The catch: an empty flat still pays £300 to £370 a year in standing charges.
Week of completion: the solicitor notifies the council and the water company of the change of ownership; the firm takes meter readings and photographs; the buyer’s UK bank account, if one exists, is given to each supplier for direct debits (our guide on opening a UK bank account explains why it helps).
What to arrange in week two and month one after completion
Week two: electricity and gas supplier chosen or the existing one kept, broadband ordered, buildings and contents insurance in place, the porter or managing agent given the family’s contact details and the keys schedule. Month one: council tax account confirmed, TV licence bought if there will be a television, post redirected or collected. Everything below can be done from Riyadh or Dubai by email and online; nothing needs a visit except the broadband engineer, who needs someone to open the door.
Council tax on a London home bought from abroad
The council learns of the sale from the solicitor’s notice and from the Land Registry and sends a bill to the new owner at the property; it will not find a Gulf address unless told. The owner registers online with the council, gives a correspondence address and an email, and sets up a direct debit over ten or twelve months.
Council tax on second homes and the 100 per cent premium
A home that is nobody’s main residence is a second home, pays the full charge from day one and, in boroughs that have adopted it, the 100 per cent premium, as our guide on council tax on a London second home explains; Camden and Kensington and Chelsea charge it, others are deciding.
Council tax claims owners should not make
Do not claim a single-person discount or a main-residence status that is not true; the council checks, and the penalties are real. An empty and unfurnished home should be reported as such only if it is, because the empty-home premium after a year is worse than the second-home one.
Electricity and gas supply after completing on a London home
The existing supplier continues to supply after completion and bills the new owner on a “deemed contract” at a standard tariff until a contract is agreed; the owner can keep that supplier or switch to any other in a few days online, with no interruption. The meter readings on completion day are the evidence that divides the seller’s usage from the buyer’s.
Electricity and gas standing charges on an empty London flat
Two things surprise Gulf owners. The standing charge: every electricity and gas account carries a daily charge, around 50 to 65 pence a day for electricity and 30 to 35 pence for gas in London in 2026, payable whether or not anything is used, which on an empty flat is £300 to £370 a year for nothing.
How the energy price cap affects an overseas owner
And the price cap: most domestic tariffs are capped by the regulator each quarter, so the market is not the saving a family is used to at home; a fixed tariff for twelve months is the simplest arrangement for an owner abroad.
Smart meters and frost settings for an empty London home
A smart meter, if fitted, sends readings automatically and avoids estimated bills on an empty flat; ask the supplier to fit one at the first visit. Heating on a frost setting through the winter is an insurance condition as well as a kindness to the pipes.
Water and sewerage bills for a London home
Water and sewerage in London are from Thames Water in most districts, with no choice of supplier. A flat in a block is usually billed through the service charge or on a fixed charge; a house is metered or on a rateable-value charge, and an empty house on a meter pays a small standing charge only. The solicitor’s notice usually reaches the company; if a bill does not arrive within two months, register online. There is nothing to choose and nothing to switch.
Broadband for a London home: lead times and full-fibre options
The previous owner’s line is cut at completion and a new order takes ten days to a month, longer where the block needs a new connection. Full-fibre is available in most of central London from Openreach-based providers and from Virgin Media and the smaller fibre networks that have wired the new towers; speed matters less than reliability for a family that uses the flat for ten weeks a year.
Broadband contract trap for a London summer home
The trap is the contract: 18 or 24 months with an exit fee, so a family paying £35 a month for broadband it uses for a quarter of the year is paying £420 for the other nine months. A rolling monthly contract costs more per month and less per year for a summer home; a block’s own managed service, where the tower has one, is simplest.
The engineer’s visit needs the porter, the firm or a housekeeper at the flat, and should be booked for a day someone is there.
Do you need a TV licence for a London home?
A television, or any device used to watch live broadcast television or the BBC’s streaming service, needs a TV licence, £174.50 a year in 2026, bought online with a UK address; a flat with a television and no licence attracts a visit and a fine. A family that watches only Gulf channels through a box or an app, and never live UK broadcast, does not need one, but should be clear about what the box does. Licence enforcement writes to every unlicensed address in London on a cycle; a pile of red letters in the hall of an empty flat is normal and not a summons.
Home insurance for an overseas owner of a London flat
In a block the buildings insurance is the freeholder’s and is in the service charge; the owner needs contents cover only, and must tell the insurer the flat is a second home that will be unoccupied for more than thirty days at a time, which brings an unoccupancy endorsement and an inspection condition, as our guide on insurance for an overseas owner explains.
Buildings and contents insurance for a London house, and timing
A house needs buildings and contents from the owner, with the same disclosure and a higher premium, and the housekeeper’s inspection log is the evidence the insurer will want. Insure from the day of completion, not the day the family arrives; the risk period is the empty one.
Keys, post and porter
A portered block holds a set of keys for the owner’s contractors and the family’s arrival, with a written schedule of who may collect them; a house needs a housekeeper or a managing firm with keys and an alarm code, and a key safe is not a substitute.
Handling post for a London home when you live abroad
Post: the previous owner’s redirection runs out and the new owner’s post, including the council’s and HMRC’s, arrives at the flat; the porter can hold it, a managing firm can scan it, or Royal Mail can redirect it abroad for a fee, which the firm recommends for the first year because the stamp duty, the council and the Land Registry all write in that year.
Emergency contacts for a London home owned from abroad
Give the porter and the managing agent the family’s email and a Gulf telephone number, and a London contact (the firm, a relative) who can act in an emergency; a burst pipe at 3 a.m. London time is 6 a.m. in Riyadh, and the porter needs someone to call.
Sources: Council tax: tell the council you have moved (GOV.UK) · Energy price cap (Ofgem) · TV Licensing: fee · Royal Mail redirection Figures verified 14 October 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about setting up a London home
Yes, with a card and international transfers, at the cost of each supplier’s foreign-payment fees and no direct debits; a UK or international account with a UK sort code makes the whole list a set of direct debits, which is why the firm recommends opening one before completion.
No. Turn the water off at the stopcock (the insurer may require it), leave the heating on a frost setting and the fridge off and open, and leave the electricity on for the alarm, the heating control and the smart meter.
The firm does, for clients, as part of the purchase, and the managing agent or housekeeper does afterwards; a family doing it alone from the Gulf should allow a month and a spreadsheet.
The full charge from day one and, in boroughs that have adopted it, a 100 per cent premium; Camden and Kensington and Chelsea charge it and others are deciding. Register online with the council, give a correspondence address and an email, and set up a direct debit over ten or twelve months. Do not claim a discount or main-residence status that is not true.
Every electricity and gas account carries a daily standing charge, around 50 to 65 pence a day for electricity and 30 to 35 pence for gas in London in 2026, payable whether or not anything is used. On an empty flat that is £300 to £370 a year for nothing. A smart meter avoids estimated bills on top of it.
Ten days to a month after ordering, longer where the block needs a new connection, and the engineer needs someone at the flat to open the door. Avoid an 18 or 24-month contract for a summer home: £35 a month for broadband used a quarter of the year is £420 for the other nine months. A rolling monthly contract costs more per month and less per year.
Not if the family never watches live UK broadcast television or the BBC’s streaming service, but be clear about what the box or app does. A television used for live broadcast needs a licence at £174.50 a year in 2026, bought online with a UK address. Red letters from licence enforcement in the hall of an empty flat are normal and not a summons.
In a block the buildings insurance is the freeholder’s and sits in the service charge, so the owner needs contents cover only, and must tell the insurer the flat is a second home unoccupied for more than thirty days at a time. A house needs buildings and contents with the same disclosure. Insure from the day of completion, not the day the family arrives.
No. Water and sewerage in London come from Thames Water in most districts. A flat in a block is usually billed through the service charge or on a fixed charge; a house is metered or on a rateable-value charge, and an empty metered house pays a small standing charge only. If a bill has not arrived within two months of completion, register online.
The previous owner’s redirection runs out and the new owner’s post, including the council’s and HMRC’s, arrives at the flat. The porter can hold it, a managing firm can scan it, or Royal Mail can redirect it abroad for a fee, which the firm recommends for the first year because the stamp duty, the council and the Land Registry all write in that year.
