Electricity, gas, water, internet: setting up an apartment in Luxembourg

Getting the utilities running is the least interesting part of moving and the one most likely to leave you without internet for a fortnight. The Luxembourg market separates the company that owns the network from the company that sells you the energy, water and waste are handled by the commune, and in an apartment building some of it may be included in the charges and not your contract at all. Establishing which category each item falls into, on day one, prevents most of the usual problems.

The distinction that explains the market

For electricity and gas, two different companies are involved.

• The network operator owns the cables, the pipes and the meter, and is responsible for the physical connection. In much of the country this is Creos. You do not choose the network operator; it is determined by where you live.
• The supplier sells you the energy that flows through that connection, and this you do choose. Enovos is the largest, and there are others, including suppliers offering renewable tariffs.

This is why a connection problem and a billing problem go to different companies, and why being sent from one to the other is normal rather than a sign that something has gone wrong.

What you sign yourself, and what comes with the building

In an apartment, this varies and it is a question to ask before you move rather than after the first bill.

• Individual electricity contract: almost always yours, with your own meter.
• Heating and hot water: frequently collective, produced by a shared boiler or heat pump and recharged through the co-ownership charges according to consumption or to the allocation key. In that case there is no contract for you to sign and no supplier to choose.
• Cold water: supplied by the commune, and in apartment buildings usually billed to the co-ownership and recharged through the charges.
• Waste collection: organised by the commune, billed to the property, and in apartments normally inside the charges.
• Internet and television: always your own contract.

In a furnished let the package is frequently wider still, with electricity, heating, water and internet inside a single monthly figure. That is one of the practical reasons furnished lets suit a first year: there is nothing to set up and nothing to reconcile.

Electricity: the steps

• Take a meter reading on the day you take possession, photograph it with the date visible, and keep it. This single act prevents the most common billing dispute there is.
• Contact a supplier with your name, the address, the meter number and your bank details. Comparison between suppliers is possible and the regulator publishes information to help.
• Expect an estimated monthly instalment with a periodic reconciliation against actual consumption, on the same principle as rental charges.
• Ask whether the connection is already active. If the previous occupant terminated their contract and the supply was cut, reactivation takes longer than a simple change of name.

Internet: the part to start first

Luxembourg has excellent fixed-line infrastructure by European standards, with widespread fibre coverage in the capital and the main towns. The providers include POST Luxembourg, Orange, Tango and Eltrona, among others, and most sell bundles combining internet, television and mobile.

• Check what the building actually has before choosing a package. Fibre availability is address-specific, and a fibre tariff on a building without a fibre connection is a longer story than the sales page suggests.
• Order it first. Installation appointments are the longest lead time in the whole moving process, routinely a couple of weeks and sometimes more where physical work is needed.
• Ask about the contract term and the early termination conditions, particularly if your stay in the apartment is uncertain.
• Ask whether the router is included or rented. Rental fees are small monthly amounts that persist.
• If you work from home, ask about upload speed rather than download. Video calls are constrained by upload, and the headline figure in advertising is the download.

Waste and recycling, which is more regulated than you expect

Luxembourg separates waste closely, and the arrangements are set by the commune, which means they differ between Luxembourg City, Strassen, Hesperange and everywhere else. Collections run on a published calendar by category, containers are provided or specified by the commune, and larger or hazardous items go to a parc de recyclage rather than to the kerb.

Get your commune's collection calendar in the first week. In an apartment building, ask the syndic or the concierge where the containers are and which is which. Getting this wrong is a common and entirely avoidable source of friction with neighbours.

A sequence for the first fortnight

• Before the move: order the internet connection and book the installation date.
• On the day you take possession: photograph every meter, complete the inventory, locate the stopcock, the fuse board and the waste containers.
• Within the first days: open the electricity contract, and any gas contract if the heating is individual.
• Within the first week: the declaration of arrival at the commune, and the waste calendar.
• Within the first month: confirm with the landlord or syndic exactly which utilities are inside the charges, and on what basis.

Heating: the largest bill, and the one you influence most

In a Luxembourg apartment, heating is normally the single biggest line in the energy account, and how much it costs depends on the building, not only on your habits.

• Find out how the building heats. Gas boiler, district heating, heat pump or individual electric heating produce very different costs and very different behaviour.
• Ask for the energy performance certificate. A class A or B building and a class F building are not comparable propositions, and the difference over a winter is substantial.
• Understand how heating is allocated. Where consumption is metered per apartment you control your own bill. Where it is allocated by surface area you do not, and the incentive changes entirely.
• Underfloor heating responds slowly. Turning it down at night and up in the morning wastes energy; a steady setting is cheaper and more comfortable.
• Ventilate briefly and fully rather than leaving a window ajar for hours. Short cross-ventilation exchanges the air without cooling the structure, which is both cheaper and better for moisture.

Ask for the last two years of heating costs for the specific apartment before you sign. Not the building average, the apartment. It is a reasonable request and the answer can change a budget by a meaningful amount each month.

Three questions we are asked

Can I choose a renewable electricity tariff?

Yes. The Luxembourg market is open and several suppliers offer tariffs based on renewable generation. The network operator and the physical supply are unchanged; what differs is the contract and the pricing.

Who pays if the boiler breaks?

In an apartment with collective heating, maintenance and repair of the shared installation sit with the co-ownership and are paid through the charges or the reserve fund. In an apartment with individual heating, the boiler is typically the owner's responsibility for repair and replacement, with routine servicing often falling to the tenant. The lease should say, and if it does not, ask before you need to know.

What happens to the utilities when I leave?

Terminate your contracts with a final meter reading on the day you hand back the keys, photographed and countersigned on the exit inventory where possible. Do not simply cancel the direct debit. An untidy exit produces an estimated final bill that is difficult to contest a year later from another country.

Where we can help

In the furnished apartments and rooms we manage, electricity, heating, water and internet are inside the monthly figure and there is nothing to set up on arrival. For unfurnished lets we tell tenants exactly which contracts are theirs before they sign.

A useful editorial test for waste and recycling, which is more regulated than you expect is to look at the consequence rather than the headline feature.

One of the easiest mistakes around three questions we are asked is judging the visible result while ignoring the process that produces it. Then ask what happens when one assumption fails.

For the distinction that explains the market, note what you can see, what you can measure, what you need to ask and what would be expensive to change.

When comparing two options on where we can help, avoid scoring them only on the feature named in the title. For the question raised by “Where we can help”, the useful detail is not a generic list of advantages.

A stronger reading of internet: the part to start first starts by asking what would change for the resident on an ordinary weekday.