Suministros
utilities: alta, baja and cambio de titular
Definition
Suministros are the utility supplies to a flat — electricity, water, gas, internet. Three words govern what happens to them: alta (starting a supply), baja (cancelling it) and cambio de titular (transferring the contract to someone else's name).
Why it matters
Whose name the contract is in decides who gets the bills. For a short-term let the supplies normally stay in the owner's name, because the consumption is part of what the guest is paying for — which also means the meter is your problem, not theirs.
Between long-term tenants, a cambio de titular is usually better than a baja: cancelling outright can mean the next tenant pays a new connection charge, and a reconnection is slower than a transfer. Agree which one is happening before the keys move, and put it in writing.
Take meter readings on the day the keys come back and keep them with the handover report. A final bill that arrives a month later is much easier to allocate against a photographed reading.
Where this comes up
Related terms
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