Voltura or subentro: electricity and gas when you move house

You have signed the contract, you get the keys in two weeks, and your to-do list has a line that says "electricity and gas". You call a supplier and they ask whether you want a voltura or a subentro. The answer does not depend on you, but on what the last people living there did. And the answer decides how many days you will spend without power or without gas.

The rules below come from the consumer guide (Atlante per il consumatore) of ARERA, the Italian authority that regulates electricity and gas, checked on 13 October 2026.

Voltura or subentro: the meter decides

A voltura is a change of account holder on a supply that is still active. The meter stays on, the supply keeps running, and only the name on the contract changes. For electricity, at that point you can pick a different contract with the same supplier or switch supplier. For gas, ARERA describes it as a change of account holder with the same supplier, with the option to pick a different contract.

A subentro is needed when the previous occupant closed their contract and had the meter switched off. ARERA treats it as a reactivation: you choose the supplier, and the supply comes back once the network operator has done its part.

So the first question goes to the landlord, or to whoever is leaving: are the utilities still active? If they say yes but do not know which supplier it is, ARERA points to the Smart Info service of its consumer help desk (Sportello per il consumatore), which will tell you, free of charge and quickly.

Who to ask and what you need

In both cases you make the request to the supplier, not to the network operator.

You will be asked to prove that you have a right to the property: ownership, or lawful possession or occupation, and a self-declaration is accepted. A rental contract or a purchase deed is enough. Without it, the supplier can refuse the voltura.

Then you need two things you can find yourself:

• The supply point code. It is called POD for electricity and PDR for gas, and it is printed on the bills. Ask whoever is leaving for a photo of their last bill.
• The meter reading. With a voltura, that number splits the usage: everything before it goes on the closing bill of the person leaving, everything after it goes on yours. Take a photo of the meter when you collect the keys, with the number clearly readable.

One thing to know before you sign with a supplier. The supplier cannot charge you for unpaid bills left by the person before you. The exception is someone with a link to that debt, for example an heir or someone who already lived there with the old account holder, and to check this the supplier can ask you for a self-declaration.

How long it takes, and what it costs

With a voltura the supply does not stop. The normal processing time is five working days for electricity and four for gas.

With a subentro, by contrast, the home has no supply until the network operator steps in, and this is where the days matter. The supplier has two working days to send the request to the network operator. The operator then has five working days to switch on electricity and ten for gas. If it misses the deadline, you are owed automatic compensation on your bill. Gas has one extra case: if the system has been altered, the ten days only start once the operator has all the safety paperwork.

Added up, the maximum times for gas come to twelve working days, which is more than two calendar weeks. If the subentro is for gas, and you use gas at home for cooking and hot water, request it as soon as the contract is signed, not when the keys arrive.

On costs, ARERA lists the items, not one single figure. On the free market the fee for the request depends on the contract. Stamp duty and a security deposit can be added, if the contract provides for them. You will find the figures in the offer before you accept it.

The home you leave

There are two ways this goes. If someone moves in after you and does a voltura, the supplier tells you that your contract has ended, and your last bill closes with the reading from that day. If nobody moves in, you close the contract yourself: you tell the supplier in writing, and the notice period cannot be longer than one month.

The usual mistake is closing too early. The last evening in the old home is for the last boxes and the cleaning, and you need the lights on. With cardboard, those boxes are closed with tape and scissors. A Cangubox closes by locking the two halves of its lid together, without tape. You still need the lights, though, to see what you are putting in and to clean.

When you leave the keys behind, take photos of the electricity, gas and water meters, as you would when handing back a rented flat: if the closing bill looks wrong, you have the number in a photo.

What to do, in order

1. As soon as you sign, ask the landlord whether electricity and gas are still active, and for a photo of a bill showing the POD and PDR.
2. If they are active, ask the supplier for a voltura. If they are not, ask for a subentro straight away, starting with gas.
3. In the home you leave, close the contract with a date that falls after the last evening, not before.
4. On key day, in both homes, take photos of the meters.

The other utilities, internet included, are in the moving checklist.