Moving house is the moment broadband contracts turn expensive, and almost always because of timing rather than price.
The mistake is nearly universal: people sort out broadband in the week they move. By then the useful options have closed, and what remains is either a fortnight of tethering or an unnecessary exit fee.
Here is the timeline that avoids both.
Four to six weeks before: the only deadline that matters
Find out whether your provider serves the new address. This one question determines everything else.
- They do — you can usually transfer the contract. No exit fee, service continues, sometimes a small transfer charge.
- They do not — you are leaving mid-contract, and you need to know the exit charge now rather than in three weeks.
Regional altnets are the common trap here. A provider covering your current town may have no presence twenty miles away. Their coverage is not a reflection on them; it just means “take it with you” is not available.
Ask three specific questions:
- Do you serve this address? Give the full new address, not the postcode — coverage varies house by house.
- If yes, what does a transfer cost and how long does it take?
- If no, what is the early termination charge, and do you waive it when you move somewhere you cannot serve?
That third question is worth asking directly. Policies vary and some providers will waive or reduce the charge when the move is genuinely outside their footprint. It is not guaranteed, and it is rarely offered unprompted.
Why four weeks, not one
Because installation timescales are the constraint, not paperwork.
- Existing line, same technology, no engineer: a few days.
- Existing line, engineer needed: one to two weeks for an appointment.
- New full fibre installation where none exists: two to four weeks, sometimes considerably longer.
- New build with no infrastructure at all: potentially months, and occasionally the honest answer is that nothing is available yet.
If you order on moving day, the best case is a week offline and the realistic case is three. Ordering four weeks out costs nothing and usually means the connection is live when you arrive.
You can normally book an installation for a future date, so there is no advantage in waiting.
Transfer or switch: how to decide
Transfer if: your provider serves the new address, you are in contract, and the price is still reasonable. It is the least effort and avoids exit charges.
Switch if: you are out of contract — in which case you are almost certainly overpaying and the move is a free opportunity to fix that — or your provider does not serve the new address, or the new address opens up options you did not have.
That last point is worth dwelling on. Moving is one of the few moments when your available networks genuinely change. A house that had only Openreach might now have an altnet with symmetric full fibre at a lower price. Check what is available at the new address properly rather than assuming your current provider is still the right answer.
The exit fee arithmetic
An early termination charge is normally the remaining months of your contract, sometimes discounted for costs the provider avoids.
Fourteen months left on a £30 contract is roughly £420. That is a large number, and it is worth weighing properly against alternatives:
- Transfer instead, if available, is usually free or nearly so.
- A contract buy-out from a new provider can cover it. Several advertise this, one up to £300 in cash. If you are moving somewhere a different provider serves, ask whether they will pay you out.
- Paying it is sometimes still right if the new deal is substantially cheaper, but do the arithmetic over the remaining term rather than comparing monthly prices.
Moving day itself
Take the router. It belongs to you or is on loan to you, not to the property. If you are leaving the provider entirely, check whether it must be returned — non-return charges of £50-£100 are common, and the deadline is usually short.
Do not cancel anything yourself if you are switching. The new provider handles it. Cancelling directly can break the automated process and leave a gap.
Take a final meter-style reading of your account: last bill, contract end date, account number. Chasing a closing bill six weeks later is much easier with them to hand.
Expect a final bill. Usually a part-month, sometimes a part-month plus any transfer or exit charge. Check it against what you were told.
If the new place has nothing yet
It happens, particularly with new builds and rural properties.
A 4G or 5G router on a rolling SIM is the standard stopgap: no installation, works the day it arrives, cancel when the real connection arrives. For one or two people it is often genuinely sufficient rather than merely a bridge.
Check what networks are building nearby. If an altnet is mid-rollout in the area, registering interest can matter — build decisions at the margin turn on expected take-up.
Check fixed wireless. In rural areas a local operator may already serve your village by radio, and these companies rarely appear in mainstream comparisons.
The one-line version
Ring your provider four to six weeks before you move and ask whether they serve the new address. Everything else follows from the answer, and every expensive mistake in this article comes from asking too late.
Sources
- ofcom.org.uk — Ofcom switching and moving home guidance
- ofcom.org.uk — Ofcom contract information and early termination charges
- ofcom.org.uk — Ofcom automatic compensation for delayed provision