The short answer
You can usually take your broadband with you if your provider can supply the same service at the new address, though Citizens Advice says you might pay a small fee to move it. If your provider can't serve the new home, you may owe a cancellation fee, but explaining your situation may get it reduced or removed.
Tell your provider as soon as you have a firm moving date: the ones we checked ask for anything from about two weeks to at least 30 days. If you're out of contract, Openreach says you're free to choose any provider at the new address, so compare deals for the new postcode in our broadband deals comparison.
Provider details below were checked in October 2026. Terms change, so your own contract and your provider's current help pages are what count.
Start with three questions
- Am I still in my minimum term? Look for your contract end date on your bill, in your online account or in your sign-up paperwork, or ask your provider. Once the minimum term has ended you can leave without an early exit fee, though a notice period may still apply.
- Can my provider serve the new address? Check its availability checker with the new postcode, or ask. This matters most with providers that run their own local networks: Gigaclear builds its own full fibre for rural communities, Hyperoptic's network is mostly in blocks of flats and new-build developments, and WightFibre runs its own network on the Isle of Wight.
- What's already at the new home? A working line, a fibre box on the wall or a particular network's socket can make the move much quicker. Our guide to checking broadband before you move covers how to find out, ideally before you exchange contracts.
Why One Touch Switch doesn't help when you move
One Touch Switching (OTS), launched on 12 September 2024, is the switching process Ofcom requires providers to use when you change provider. You contact the new provider, the old one keeps supplying you until the new service is live, and the old contract ends automatically.
But it's built for switching at the same address. Gigaclear says OTS is only available where the new and current services are at the same property, so a home mover has to end the contract at the old address and order new services for the new one. Ogi says OTS isn't applicable if you're moving house.
So when you move, you either move your existing service with your current provider, or end your contract yourself and order new broadband for the new address. Unlike a normal switch (see our guide to switching broadband providers), nobody else will end the old service for you.
Route 1: take your current provider with you
If your provider covers the new address and you're happy with it, moving the service is often simplest. Even if your line is on the Openreach network, Openreach says you can't contact it directly about a home move: your provider manages it. Openreach suggests asking your provider about fees, upgrade options, and what changes if you're moving between a Full Fibre area and a Fibre to the Cabinet area.
Does your contract carry on, or start again?
The answer varies by provider:
Provider | What happens to your contract on a move |
|---|---|
BT | Keep your package and you stay on the same contract and account, taking your equipment with you. Upgrade and a new contract starts. If you want phone service at the new address, a new 12-month term always applies to the phone line. |
Sky | Its Home Move is free if you've activated Sky VIP; a charge applies if you haven't, or if you've already had a Sky Home Move in the last year. Sky's help page doesn't say whether your contract restarts, so ask when you book. |
TalkTalk | Keep your current contract (a moving charge applies) or start a new contract at the new property with no additional fees. |
Virgin Media | Existing customers keep their current contract. A transfer fee applies, higher if you change package at the same time. |
Hyperoptic | A different flat in the same building: moved across at no charge. A different building: a new account, as if you're a new customer, and fees may apply. |
WightFibre | Your contract continues if the new address is in an area it can serve. |
toob | Move during your minimum term and its terms say you must start a new toob agreement at the new address to avoid an early termination fee. |
We haven't quoted moving fees because they change; your provider will tell you the current charge when you book.
A new contract can bring a faster package, but it resets your minimum term. Check the new end date, and compare your provider's offer with live deals at the new postcode before you agree. Our provider pages, such as BT broadband deals and Virgin Media broadband deals, summarise each provider's terms.
Keeping your landline number
BT says you may keep your number if you stay in the same telephone exchange area, and TalkTalk says it may be possible within the same exchange area, warning that moving to another exchange means a new number. Virgin Media says the same dialling code area. BT says that if you move further you'll probably need a new number, and you can add Caller Redirect to point callers to it. Sky says Sky Broadband & Talk customers can't keep their old number when they move; it provides a new one. If the number matters, raise it when you book, and see our guide to keeping your landline number.
Check the speed at the new address
Same provider doesn't mean same speed. Full fibre (FTTP) runs fibre all the way to your home; part-fibre, or Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC), runs fibre to a street cabinet and then uses the existing copper line, so speeds depend on how far you are from the cabinet. Ofcom has required providers to describe deals in these plain terms since September 2024. BT says you can check the speeds available at the new address, and Sky tells movers to check which packages are available there. Once you're connected, our broadband speed test shows what you're actually getting.
Route 2: your provider can't serve your new home
This is where a move can cost you, so take it step by step.
Ask for the fee to be reduced or waived
Citizens Advice says you might have to pay a cancellation fee if your provider doesn't offer the same service in your new area, but that explaining your situation may lead it to reduce or remove the fee.
Virgin Media puts its approach in writing. If it isn't available at your new address you need to cancel, and if you're cancelling in contract because you can't take services with you, it waives early disconnection fees provided you send proof of your new address within 30 days of cancelling: for example mortgage information, a rental agreement, an insurance policy, a utility bill, a bank statement or a driving licence. If you simply change your mind about taking Virgin with you, an early cancellation fee may apply.
When you call any provider:
- Ask it to confirm, using the new postcode, that it can't supply the service there.
- Ask what fee applies and whether it will reduce or waive it.
- Ask what proof of the move it needs, and by when.
- Get the outcome in writing. Citizens Advice says you can cancel by phone, post, email or webchat, and to keep a record of every contact attempt.
See also our guide on how to cancel broadband.
When a fee may still apply
Not every provider promises to waive fees when it can't follow you. toob's terms are the strictest we found: if you move during the minimum contract period you must start a new toob agreement at the new address to avoid an early termination fee, and this applies even where toob isn't available at your new home. Hyperoptic says that if it can't serve your new address you'll need to end your service with at least 30 days' notice, and a Service Termination Fee may apply, depending on your agreement; it says that fee depends on how long is left on your minimum period. You can still ask, but read your own terms first so you know where you stand. Our pages on toob broadband deals and Hyperoptic broadband deals explain how each one works.
Why the wording in your contract matters
Moving-home terms have caused disputes before. In 2018 Ofcom's preliminary findings against Virgin Media included requiring customers moving within its network area to sign a new fixed-term contract or pay early termination charges, and that November Ofcom fined Virgin Media £7m over its early termination charges (as reported by ISPreview). The lesson: if you might move during a contract, read the moving-home terms before you sign, and consider whether a rolling monthly contract suits you better.
Moving into a rental with broadband included
Citizens Advice says that if you're renting and the place you're moving to includes internet, but you already have a contract, you might have to pay a cancellation fee to leave it early. Ask your provider whether it will reduce the fee. Our guide to broadband for renters covers the rest.
Route 3: you're out of contract, so shop around
If your minimum term has ended, a move is the easiest time to change provider: you have to sort out broadband at the new address anyway.
- Give notice to your old provider yourself, timed so the old service ends around your moving date.
- Compare at the new postcode. Availability depends on the exact address, not just the area. Enter the new postcode in our main broadband deals comparison, or find your new town on our broadband deals by area page and use the live comparison on that town's page. Our guide to UK broadband providers explains who's who.
- Look for local full fibre. Networks such as Gigaclear in rural areas or WightFibre on the Isle of Wight may serve your new home even if they didn't serve the old one.
- Check your email address. If it comes from your old provider, see our guide to keeping your email address when you switch.
If you order online or by phone, Citizens Advice says you can usually cancel for free within 14 days, though you're likely to be charged for anything already used.
How much notice to give, and when to order
Provider | What it says about notice and timing |
|---|---|
BT | Two weeks if possible; it can support shorter notice in most cases. The process can take two weeks but is often much faster. |
Sky | Two weeks. It asks for your moving date, new address and the switch-off date at your current address. |
TalkTalk | Ideally 3 to 4 weeks before, but no sooner than 3 months before. |
Virgin Media | As soon as you have a firm date. Self-install moves can be live in as little as 3 days; engineer installations usually take around 7 to 14 days. Separately, new customers (not existing movers) can arrange installation up to 60 days before moving in. |
WightFibre | At least 30 days' notice of any move (its terms). |
Hyperoptic | 30 days' notice to cancel, including on rolling plans. It doesn't give a separate notice period for moving your service. |
Openreach says to start planning as soon as you know your completion date, and that most providers need the connection to be ready before they'll accept orders. Leave a gap between the two addresses: Virgin Media says at least a day is needed between disconnecting your old home and activating the new one. If someone over 18 is staying on at the old place, Virgin says you can give their details when booking and it will help them get set up. Our guide to broadband installation lead times explains how start dates are set.
What happens at the new property
Openreach says whether you need an engineer depends on what's already installed; if the home is already connected, you may not need one.
If there's already a connection
- New builds: Openreach says these typically come with Full Fibre and an ONT (optical network terminal, the small box where the fibre enters the home). Once the service is ready you plug your router into it, usually with no engineer. See our guide to broadband in a new-build home.
- Hyperoptic: move into a home with a Hyperoptic socket, with a compatible router, and you can order and be activated right away.
- CityFibre, a full fibre network you use through a separate provider, says a "working line takeover" may be possible if the home is already on its network, but it depends on the existing occupants ceasing their service. Otherwise your provider may send an engineer after you move in.
- Virgin Media needs a working Virgin Media enabled socket at the new property.
If the last occupant's service is still live, see what to do when the previous occupant's broadband is still connected.
If there's no line or socket
Openreach says installation work may be needed and your provider arranges it. TalkTalk tells you when you book whether an engineer is needed, and arranges one if your service is live but there's no socket. BT says a new hub, if needed, arrives a day before activation. Renting? TalkTalk tells renters to get landlord permission for any installations, which is sensible whoever your provider is.
Getting online before your broadband is installed
Ordering early is the best way to shrink any gap. Beyond that:
- Ask your provider. BT says that if it knows a home mover's services will be delayed by more than two days, it offers a 4G Mini Hub on the EE network with unlimited mobile data at no extra cost.
- Use your phone. Sharing your phone's data with a laptop (tethering or a personal hotspot) can cover light use, if your allowance can take it.
- Consider 4G or 5G home broadband. Neither option below needs an engineer. For a short gap, the term matters: Vodafone's 5G Broadband is self-installed and offered on a rolling 1-month plan as well as 12- and 24-month plans. Three's home broadband (no engineer or landline, next-working-day delivery if you order before 8pm) is sold on 12- and 24-month plans, so it only makes sense if you'd keep it; Three says you can take the hub with you when you move if the new address has Three coverage. Check set-up charges before ordering.
Check indoor signal first: GOV.UK points people to Ofcom's mobile checker, whose "indoor coverage" result shows the quality of connection inside a property. For more, see mobile broadband vs home broadband or our Three broadband deals page.
If the move goes wrong: dates, delays and compensation
If your moving date changes, tell your provider straight away. Virgin Media asks you to let it know as soon as possible if your date changes or the move falls through. Sky needs at least 48 hours' notice to change or cancel a Home Move without a charge.
If your new service starts late, Ofcom's voluntary automatic compensation scheme may help. As reported by ISPreview, signatories include BT, EE, Plusnet, Hyperoptic, Sky (including NOW), TalkTalk, Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Zen. From April 2026 the scheme pays £6.46 a day when a new service doesn't start on the agreed date and £32.31 for a missed engineer appointment. Whether your move counts depends on the scheme's rules and how your order was set up, so ask your provider; our guide to automatic compensation for broadband problems explains what's covered.
If you can't sort it out, keep a dated record of every call, chat and email, and see our guide on how to complain about your broadband provider.
Your moving-home broadband checklist
As soon as you know you're moving:
- Find your contract end date and read the moving-home section of your terms.
- Check whether your provider serves the new postcode, and what's already at the new home.
- Compare live deals for the new postcode, even if you plan to stay.
Once you have a firm date:
- Give notice with your moving date, new address and switch-off date.
- Ask: does my contract continue or restart? What fees apply? Can I keep my number? Is an engineer needed?
- If your provider can't serve the new home, ask about waiving the exit fee and what proof it needs.
- Get landlord permission for any installation, and arrange stop-gap internet if there may be a gap.
Around moving day: return or leave equipment as your provider says (Hyperoptic asks you to leave the router for the next occupant), check the service goes live on the date given, and run a speed test.
Moving home broadband FAQs
Can I take my broadband contract with me when I move house?
Usually, if your provider serves the new address, though Citizens Advice says a small moving fee may apply. Some providers keep your existing contract running, such as BT if you keep the same package, Virgin Media, and WightFibre if it covers the new area. Others may start a new contract, so ask before you book.
Do I have to pay a cancellation fee if my provider can't supply my new home?
You might. Citizens Advice says a fee may apply but explaining your situation could get it reduced or removed. Virgin Media waives early disconnection fees if you send proof of your new address within 30 days, while toob's terms say you'll pay an early termination fee unless you start a new toob agreement. Hyperoptic says a Service Termination Fee may apply, depending on your agreement.
How much notice should I give my broadband provider before moving?
It depends on the provider. BT and Sky ask for two weeks, TalkTalk ideally 3 to 4 weeks but no sooner than 3 months before, and WightFibre at least 30 days. Virgin Media says to tell it as soon as you have a firm date. If a new line is needed, more notice helps.
Can I use One Touch Switch when moving house?
No. One Touch Switching is for changing provider at the same address. Gigaclear says it only works where the old and new services are at the same property, and Ogi says it doesn't apply when moving house. You either move your existing service or end the old contract yourself and order new broadband.
Will I keep my landline number when I move?
Possibly, if you're not moving far. BT says you may keep your number within the same telephone exchange area, TalkTalk says it may be possible there, and Virgin Media says within the same dialling code area. Sky says Broadband & Talk customers can't keep their old number on a home move and are given a new one.
How can I get online if my broadband isn't installed when I move in?
Order early, then ask your provider about stop-gap options: BT offers home movers a 4G Mini Hub if their service will be delayed by more than two days. Otherwise, your phone's data can cover light use, or a 5G home broadband service on a short plan, such as Vodafone's rolling 1-month 5G Broadband, can bridge the gap if indoor signal is good enough. Three's home broadband plans are 12 or 24 months.
