Buyer Questions Before Transferring Electricity, Water and Gas Accounts
Changing utility accounts after buying property in Türkiye can look like routine administration, yet it often exposes practical defects in the address, meter identity, prior account status or supporting documents. This guide is built as a buyer’s question set for before handover, at possession and after activation. The purpose is not merely to obtain a yes-or-no answer. Each answer should produce evidence that can be used if an old bill appears, activation is delayed or a meter turns out to belong to another unit.
1. Who is the current account holder for each service?
Ask whose name appears on the water, electricity and gas contract. It may be the seller, a tenant, a company or another person. A different name is not automatically a defect, but it determines who can terminate the existing contract and which proof should be obtained before the buyer creates a new one.
2. Is the former account actually closed or merely still supplying the property?
Do not confuse physical supply with contract status. Ask the provider status and, if termination has begun, the cancellation or transaction reference. Electricity or water being available during a viewing does not prove that the account can be changed without friction or that current consumption belongs to the seller.
3. Which meter or consumption-point number belongs to my independent unit?
Compare the number on the meter with a bill or provider screen and with the property address and independent-unit number. In large buildings meters may be grouped in a common area. A photograph of a meter therefore has limited value unless the evidence also links it to the correct unit.
4. What is the meter reading at the exact handover point?
Take a dated photograph where possible showing both meter identifier and reading, and include the figure in the handover record. This creates a defensible boundary between prior consumption and the buyer’s consumption and gives a clear reference if the first bill contains an unexpected period or amount.
5. Is a valid DASK policy available where the law requires it?
For buildings and units within the compulsory earthquake-insurance scope, Law No. 6305 provides for a DASK check in water and electricity subscription transactions. Ask about validity and, equally important, whether the property details and address on the policy match the subscription data. A mismatch may require correction rather than simple renewal.
6. Which official provider and channel should I use?
Identify the competent service through e‑Devlet or the provider’s official site. Electricity markets can involve different distribution and retail-supply company names, and water or gas providers differ by municipality or region. Never treat a payment link received through an unverified message as an official channel merely because it uses a familiar logo.
7. Can the application be completed online, or does my case require an office or technical visit?
Many services are available through e‑Devlet, but exceptions exist. Ask what applies to this exact property and applicant, especially where the buyer is a foreign national, a representative acts under power of attorney, the address was recently amended, or gas activation requires a technical appointment.
8. What documents are required for the new account?
Prepare identity/residence documents as applicable, property and address information, meter or account identifiers, DASK where required, and contact/payment details. Do not rely on an old generic checklist. Confirm the current requirements with the competent provider because different utilities and applicant types can require different supporting evidence.
9. Is there a security deposit, and how is it calculated and refunded?
Electricity and natural-gas contracts may involve a güvence bedeli under sector rules. Ask for the current amount, payment method and refund conditions when the contract ends. The seller’s historical deposit is not an asset that automatically transfers with title, so it should not be built into the property settlement without a specific documented basis.
10. Are there unpaid or disputed bills?
Request the seller’s most recent bill and payment evidence, but distinguish a former customer’s personal debt from the status of the consumption point. If the provider refuses a new contract because an account or identity issue is unresolved, obtain the reason through an official channel. Do not simply pay another person’s balance without understanding the legal or contractual basis.
11. When will the service be active in my name?
An application reference is not the same as activation. Ask what event confirms an active contract and whether gas, for example, needs a site appointment. If family move-in or tenant delivery is close, build the possession schedule around a realistic completion window rather than a verbal promise that “it will be done tomorrow.”
12. What should I audit on the first bill?
Check customer name, property address, account and meter identifiers, billing period, opening reading, usage/tariff category, deposit and any one-off charges. The first bill is a quality-control document for the transfer. A mistake should be challenged early before later billing cycles compound the problem.
Questions where a tenant remains in possession
If the property is occupied, ask who should remain the contractual utility customer after the sale, whether the lease continues and how consumption around the transfer date will be allocated. Do not disconnect a service required by an existing tenant merely because title changes; coordinate utility steps with the lease and possession arrangement.
What belongs in the closing file?
Keep one record for each utility containing the former account holder, meter identifier, handover reading, termination status, new application number, DASK evidence where applicable, deposit, activation result and first bill. A buyer who can answer and document these questions turns utility transfer into a controlled part of property handover rather than an uncertain post-closing chore.
Conclusion: the useful buyer question is not “Are the utilities working?” It is: “Can I prove that each account will start in my name, on the correct meter, from the correct reading and date, through the official provider, without ambiguity about the former user’s obligations?”