Moving apartments in Austin in 2023 taught me that ending services at one place and starting them at another is way more annoying than it sounds. Internet took ten days to set up at my new place. I got charged an extra month of electricity at my old address because I forgot to call. My renters insurance lapsed for four days because I did not think about it until after I moved. None of these were huge disasters but all of them were avoidable with a simple plan. This post is that plan, built from what I got wrong so you do not have to.
I was sitting on the floor of my new Mueller apartment eating food I had ordered on my phone because I had no internet yet.
It was day three after moving in. I had electricity, which I had remembered to set up. I had toilet paper and a pot and a pan. What I did not have was internet, because when I called to transfer my service from East Sixth Street to Mueller, the earliest installation date they could give me was ten days out.
Ten days. I had not planned for that at all.
I had assumed transferring internet was like forwarding mail. You tell them the new address and it just follows you. It does not work that way. Internet installation needs a technician to come out, and technicians have schedules, and schedules in Austin in 2023 were backed up.
That ten days cost me a lot of hotspot data and a lot of frustration that a two-minute phone call three weeks earlier would have completely avoided.
The Services Most Renters Need to Deal With When Moving
Before getting into what to do and when, it helps to have a clear list of everything that needs attention when you move. Most renters in Austin have some version of this list.
Electricity with Austin Energy if you are inside city limits. Internet with whoever your current provider is. Renters insurance, which needs to be updated to your new address or canceled and restarted. Your mailing address with the post office, your bank, your employer, and anywhere that sends you physical mail. Streaming services and subscriptions that are tied to a home address in some cases. Parking permits if your old building had one. And any building-specific services like a gym membership tied to your apartment complex.
Not all of these are equal. Electricity and internet are the ones that cause the most pain if you get them wrong because you feel the problem immediately. The others are more of a slow headache if you miss them.
Start With Internet, Earlier Than You Think
If I could give one piece of advice from my 2023 move it is this. Call your internet provider at least three weeks before your move date and ask two questions. Can I transfer my service to the new address? And if not, what is the earliest installation date at the new place?
The answer to the first question depends on whether your current provider covers your new address. In Austin, most neighborhoods are covered by the same main providers, but it is worth checking because switching providers mid-move adds another step.
If they can transfer, great. Book the installation for your move-in date or the day before if they can do it. If they cannot transfer and you need to start fresh with a new provider, you need even more time because you are now shopping around, comparing plans, and booking with a new company.
The reason three weeks feels like a lot is because it is just enough time to handle a delay. If you call and they say the earliest date is ten days out, you have buffer. If you call three days before your move you have no buffer and you end up eating on the floor of an empty apartment using your phone data like I did.
My post on how to set up utilities in a new apartment goes through the full setup process including which services to book first and what information you need ready when you call.
Electricity Is Easier but Still Has a Timing Trick
Austin Energy, which handles electricity for most of Austin proper, lets you start or transfer service online or by phone. The process is simple compared to internet. You give them your new address, your move-in date, and they switch it on.
The part people miss is the end date at the old address. When I moved in 2023 I set up electricity at my new Mueller apartment correctly and on time. What I forgot to do was call Austin Energy and set an end date for my East Sixth service.
I moved out on the 28th of the month. My East Sixth electricity ran until the end of the month because nobody was home to use it. I got charged for three extra days of electricity at an empty apartment. It was not a big amount but it was completely avoidable.
When you set up electricity at your new place, in the same call or the same online session, cancel it at your old place with the exact date you are handing the keys back. Do both at once so you cannot forget one of them.
The US Department of Energy has a helpful guide on understanding your electricity bill and how service transfers work at energy.gov. Worth a read before you call Austin Energy so you know what questions to ask.
Renters Insurance Is the One People Forget Most
Renters insurance is the service most people do not think about when they move because it runs quietly in the background and never asks for attention until something goes wrong.
When you move, your renters insurance policy is tied to your old address. It does not automatically follow you to the new one. You need to either update your policy with the new address or cancel the old one and start a new one.
Most insurance companies let you update your address with a phone call or through their app. It takes about five minutes and your coverage continues without a gap. The key is doing it before you move, not after, because the four days I went without coverage at my new address before I remembered to update my policy were four days where if something had been stolen or damaged I would have had nothing.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has a free guide to renters insurance and what it covers at naic.org. If you have never actually read what your policy covers, moving day is a good time to check.
If you do not have renters insurance yet, my post on renters insurance in Austin and why you need it explains what it covers and how cheap it actually is for what you get.
Updating Your Address: The List That Takes Longer Than You Expect
Forwarding your mail through the US Postal Service is the easy part. You do it online at usps.com for a small fee and your mail follows you for up to a year. Do this about a week before you move.
The harder part is the list of places that need your address directly and will not get it from the post office forward. These are the ones people miss.
Your bank. Update your address in your banking app or call them. Important mail like debit cards and statements needs to go to the right place.
Your employer. Payroll and tax documents go to your address on file. If you move in November and forget to update this, your W-2 in January goes to your old address.
Any government accounts. Social Security if applicable, voter registration, your driver’s license address. In Texas you are supposed to update your driver’s license address within 30 days of moving. You can do it online through the Texas DPS website.
Any subscriptions that ship physical things. Boxes, magazines, anything that comes in the mail needs the new address before your first delivery after the move.
Student loan servicers if you have loans. They send important notices and you want those going to the right place.
I missed my employer on my 2023 move and my January tax documents went to East Sixth. My old landlord had already rented the apartment to someone new. I had to contact HR and get them resent which was a whole process I did not need in tax season.
What Order to Do Everything In
The order matters more than people think because some things depend on others being done first.
Three weeks before moving: call internet provider, book installation at new address for move-in date or before.
Two weeks before: set up electricity transfer at Austin Energy, including end date at old address.
One week before: forward mail through USPS, update renters insurance address with your provider.
Move-in week: confirm internet installation date, update address with bank, employer, and any subscriptions.
First week after moving: update driver’s license address with Texas DPS, update voter registration if needed, go through your email subscriptions and update any that ship things.
That spread of tasks across three weeks means nothing piles up on move-in day itself, which is already the most tiring and logistically complicated day of the whole process.
If you are also trying to figure out how to keep the moving costs themselves low, my post on how to move across Austin for under $400 covers the transport and timing side of keeping a move cheap from start to finish.
The Services Worth Canceling Versus Transferring
Not everything needs to transfer. Some things are better to cancel and restart fresh.
Internet is sometimes better to cancel and start new if your current provider does not cover your new address or if a better deal exists at the new place. Moving is one of the few times you can get a new customer rate from a provider and lock in a lower price for a year. Worth comparing before you assume you have to stay with the same company.
Streaming services do not need to be canceled or transferred. They follow your account not your address. Just keep paying and they keep working.
A gym membership tied to your apartment complex needs to be canceled when you hand in your keys. Some apartment gyms are free as part of rent and just stop when you leave. Others are separate memberships with cancellation policies. Check yours before you move so you are not paying for a gym at a building you no longer live in.
Parking permits at your old building should be returned when you move out. Some buildings charge you for the permit if you do not return it. Ask your building manager about this when you give notice.
The Full Moving Services Checklist
Three weeks out: book internet at new address.
Two weeks out: set up electricity transfer, both start at new and end at old on the same call.
One week out: forward mail with USPS, update renters insurance.
Move-in day: confirm internet is booked, do your apartment walkthrough photos before anything comes in.
First week after: bank address, employer address, subscriptions that ship, Texas DPS driver’s license update, voter registration update, cancel any building-specific services at old place.
That is the whole list. None of it is complicated individually. The only trick is doing it spread out over three weeks instead of all at once the day before you move.
FAQ
How early should I call my internet provider before a move?
At least three weeks before your move date. Internet installation needs a technician visit and those appointments fill up. Three weeks gives you enough buffer if the first available date is further out than you hoped.
Do I need to cancel my electricity at my old apartment or does it stop automatically?
It does not stop automatically. You need to call or go online and set an end date. If you forget, the electricity keeps running at your old address and you keep getting charged for it even after you have moved out. Do this in the same call where you set up your new address.
Does my renters insurance follow me to a new apartment?
No. Your policy is tied to your old address. Call your insurance company or update it in their app before you move so your coverage at the new place starts on move-in day. Letting it lapse even for a few days means you are unprotected during the move itself, which is actually one of the higher-risk moments for your stuff.
What is the easiest way to forward my mail when moving?
Go to usps.com and submit a change of address request online. It costs a small fee to verify your identity and your mail starts forwarding within a few days. The forward lasts up to a year which gives you time to update your address directly with the places that matter.
Do streaming services need to be updated when I move?
Generally no. Streaming services follow your account login not your physical address so they keep working without any action from you. The exception is if you have a service tied to a specific location like a regional channel package. Check your subscriptions if you are unsure.
What happens if I forget to update my address with my employer?
Your tax documents at the end of the year go to your old address. If someone else has moved in there by then, those documents could be opened by a stranger or returned to sender. Update your address with HR within the first week after moving to avoid this, especially if you are moving close to the end of a calendar year.
Can I negotiate a better internet deal when I move?
Yes and this is one of the few times it is easy to do. When you contact a new provider you are a new customer and new customer rates are almost always lower than what existing customers pay. Even if you stay with the same provider, moving is a reason to ask what current promotions exist before you just continue your old plan at the same price.
