Moving into a new home

Town Hall The head of the household is required to declare the move to the public registrar in the new town hall (commune). This must be done within eight days of the change of address. For this you must be in possession of your identity card. This is a free service. Within a few days the local police will call to your new home to verify that the move took place. Gas-Electricity Since the liberalisation of the market, Brussels has several service operators (Electrabel, Luminus, Nuon, E.On, EDF Belgium amongst others). Brussels-Capital region will guide you on the site www.brugel.be, where you will find all the necessary information you need to choose an operator. Once you have chosen your operator you simply need to contact them to open an account. Water In Brussels, the operator responsible for the distribution of water is the Vivaqua (www.vivaqua.be). When you are moving you can complete a document with your predecessors called a "relevé contradictoire" (statement) which you can have sent to you or you can download. The original document must be sent to "l'Intercommunale bruxelloise de distribution d'eau" (the Brussels' region water distributor). This procedure is free and ensures that the water counter remains open. Another possibility : make an appointment with the customer service of the IBDE for a reading of the water counter. In this case, you will be charged for bringing out a technician. Telephone-Internet When you move you can ask Belgacom (www.belgacom.be) to transfer your landline phone number, within five working days of the move. If you previously had a landline in Belgium and you are moving within the same zone, it is possible to conserve your original telephone number simply by informing Belgacom. If you are moving to another zone, the main operators offer the possibility of providing a recorded message free of charge for three months. This informs your correspondents of your new phone number. For an internet connection in Brussels, there is a choice between telephone and television cable (www.voo.be) operators. The Post Office The Post Office has developed a service called " Domymove" which ensures the automatic transfer of your mail from one address to another. You just need to fill out a form. The service is available for four months and can be extended for an extra four months. "Domymove" can also be used to inform different service operators of your move. Prices can be obtained from 078/155 156 or at the Post Office.