Utility accounts and access after handover

Electricity · water · internet · access cards · building charges · updated July 2026

This is the step most often postponed, because it looks like paperwork. In reality, while the accounts stay in the developer's name you see neither the charges nor the arrears — and the arrears keep growing. It usually surfaces at the worst moment: when a tenant moves in, at sale, or when management restricts access over a debt you knew nothing about.

What needs transferring and obtaining

Dispute an electricity bill without accidentally missing payment

For a direct electricity account, the written complaint should identify the consumer, address, customer number, billing period, disputed reading or line and the correction requested. Ask the supplier to register it and provide a complaint number. Keep the invoice, meter evidence, proof of submission and written outcome; EAC's general conditions require written complaints for incorrect bills and written communication of the action taken.

A dispute does not automatically suspend the due date. Under the EAC conditions, the bill is paid on time under protest and the amount is treated as an advance while the complaint is resolved. Confirm the supplier's correct wording and payment-reference method before paying. Do not extend this electricity procedure to water, internet or management invoices without checking their own contract and complaint rules.

Identify whether the bill comes from the utility or from the building

Start with the contracting chain: does the owner hold an account with the outside supplier, or does management receive a master bill and calculate unit charges from sub-meters? A direct electricity invoice should identify the supplier and consumer, category, opening and closing readings, billing period, units, separate charge lines and due date. For an internal invoice, request the master-meter and unit-meter references, reading period, units consumed, calculation basis, any administration or common-area components and the legal beneficiary of the payment.

Do not assume that the outside supplier's tariff or complaint route automatically governs management's internal rebilling. Ask for the contractual basis, the owner's right to inspect the calculation, the meter-check procedure and the correction route. Where water, power and building charges appear as one total, obtain an itemised breakdown before payment and store it with the receipt.

Treat internet installation as a service contract

Before paying, check the provider against TRC's published operator information and obtain written terms for the apartment's exact address. The file should state the package price and tax treatment, installation charge, router rental or purchase cost, relocation fee, coverage, required documents, maximum connection wait, billing date, payment routes and delivery method for invoices and receipts.

Record the serial numbers of supplied equipment and any return, minimum-term or early-termination conditions. TRC's current disclosure guidance requires complaint channels, a maximum resolution period and a tracking reference, with the result confirmed in writing or electronically. If the provider does not resolve the issue, the user can escalate to TRC, making the service tickets and technical evidence part of the owner's permanent file.

Maintain one register of physical and digital access

Record every card, remote, key, parking tag and mailbox key by identifier, issue date, holder, permitted area, deposit and status. In a separate part of the same register, list the building app, intercom, smart lock, internet and camera accounts, with the account owner and recovery route. Where the system supports named users, avoid sharing a single owner credential among the tenant, agent and manager.

A change of tenant or manager is not complete when the plastic is returned. Ask management to disable the former identifiers, remove old digital profiles, rotate codes and check the active-user list. NIST account-management controls support managing accounts through modification, disabling and removal. For a sale or new letting, assemble a closure pack containing final meter evidence, last invoices and receipts, a balance confirmation, active-access list, equipment return and deposit status.

Item	What to do	Why it matters
Electricity	Transfer the account into your name	The largest utility bill; without your own account you cannot dispute a charge
Water	Transfer, or confirm how it is billed through management	In some buildings water is billed collectively via management rather than directly
Internet	Sign a contract with a provider	Some buildings allow only a limited list of providers — check before a tenant moves in
Access cards and remotes	Collect, count, and ask the price of extras	The number of cards per unit is often capped, and reissuing costs money
Building charges	Get the schedule, bank details and a way to pay from abroad	Charges run from handover regardless of occupancy
Management contacts	Note the duty phone and how to log an emergency	Looking for this during a leak is wasted time

Which documents are usually asked for

The exact list depends on the building and the provider; we have not confirmed a single Cambodia-wide standard in this review. In practice you prepare: the ownership document or handover record, the owner's passport, meter readings at handover, and an application on the provider's or management company's form. Where a representative acts, a power of attorney.

Request this list from management immediately after handover. This is a case where one question in the first week saves a month of correspondence later.

The order of steps

Get the document list and application form from the management company.
Check the meter readings at handover against those recorded in the handover document.

Record the identity of the meter, not only its reading

Photograph the serial number, reading, unit of measurement and seals, and record the cabinet or location where the device sits. Match the serial to the handover record, first invoice and account-control record. EAC conditions prohibit consumers from disturbing seals and identifying marks, so a broken seal or mismatch should be reported promptly rather than handled or repaired by the owner.

For a direct electricity account, EAC rules allow the consumer to request a supplier test for the prescribed fee, attend through an authorised representative and receive the result in writing. If the error exceeds the permitted limit, the meter is replaced, the test fee is refunded and affected bills are revised under the regulatory method. A private sub-meter inside a condominium may have a different owner and testing process; establish both before relying on the same remedy.

File the applications to transfer electricity and water.

An electricity transfer is a fresh supply arrangement, not a database edit

Where the unit has its own contract with a licensed electricity supplier, first establish who the current consumer is and whether the proposed change follows the supplier's transfer process. EAC's general conditions contemplate an application by the existing and incoming consumers, the supplier's written consent, a fresh supply agreement and a security deposit from the incoming consumer. The outgoing consumer remains responsible for dues up to transfer, after which the old agreement and deposit are closed subject to adjustment.

Ask for evidence of completion rather than a receipt for submitted paperwork: the effective transfer date, new consumer number, opening reading, deposit recipient and confirmation of where the former consumer's liability ends. A condominium supplied through the building's master account may follow a different internal arrangement, so do not present the direct-supplier procedure as universal; obtain the management rules and owner agreement that govern that billing chain.

Establish whether any arrears attach to the unit as at handover, and who clears them.
Obtain the schedule of charges and the payment details.

Create a control record for every account

Keep a separate record for electricity, water, internet and building charges. Capture the legal provider or management entity, consumer number, unit address, meter serial number, tariff category or contractual rate, billing cycle, due date, deposit balance, authorised payee and the reference that must accompany each payment. Add the invoice-delivery route, complaint channel and every person allowed to obtain information or change the account.

File the first invoice and the first successfully allocated payment with that record. A bank transfer proves money left an account; it does not by itself prove the correct customer ledger received it. When a bank account, manager or beneficiary changes, retain the former instruction, the date of change and independent confirmation of the replacement rather than overwriting the history.

Collect access cards, learn the per-unit limit and the cost of extras.
Connect internet if you plan to let — a furnished apartment without internet lets less easily.

Step four is the one most often skipped, and it matters: a debt from an earlier period can remain attached to the unit.

Obtain a dated opening-balance statement

At handover, request a statement or signed confirmation identifying the account, meter serial and reading, last closed billing period, charges raised, payments received and balance. It should allocate consumption and building charges on each side of the transfer date. A bare statement that there are 'no arrears' is weak evidence if it has no date, consumer number or covered period.

If the external provider has not yet completed the consumer change, obtain an interim acknowledgement from the developer or management and reconcile it to the first invoice issued after transfer. Any mismatch should be corrected through a visible adjustment showing the original charge, the reason for correction and the final balance, not hidden in an informal net-off between messages.

Paying from outside the country

Establish in advance whether the management company accepts transfers from abroad and in which currency, whether it has an owner portal or app, and whether invoices are emailed. If a representative or manager pays, agree that copies of the receipts still reach you — otherwise you learn about a problem only once it is large.

Once a quarter, ask for confirmation that nothing is outstanding. Five minutes that close the most common surprise at sale. More on setting up remote ownership is here.

What passes to the tenant

Decide in advance which bills stay with you and which pass to the tenant, and record it in the contract. Typically metered electricity and water fall to the occupant while building charges stay with the owner — but that is a matter of agreement rather than a rule.

At move-in, take meter readings and enter them in the record, or at move-out it will be impossible to work out who consumed what. The procedure is in the guide to move-in and move-out.

What we help with

NovAsia helps transfer utility accounts and obtain access, including when you are outside the country: we collect the document list from the management company, prepare the applications and arrange filing through a representative. Availability and procedure depend on the specific building — some actions can only be carried out by the project's management company.

Just taken handover and unsure where to start? We can assemble the document list for your building and set out the order for transferring accounts and obtaining access.

Ask about your property or on Telegram

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I do not transfer the accounts into my name?

Charges keep accruing but you cannot see them. Arrears build quietly and surface at the worst moment: when connecting a tenant, at sale, or when management restricts access over a debt you did not know about. Without an account in your own name it is also hard to dispute an incorrect charge — formally you are not a party.

Which documents are usually required?

As a rule the ownership document or handover record, the owner's passport, meter readings at handover, and an application on the provider's or management company's form. The exact list depends on the building and the provider — request it from management straight after handover rather than once bills have piled up.

Can this all be done without travelling?

Usually yes, through a representative under a power of attorney or through the management company, and NovAsia helps arrange it. Some steps need physical presence — collecting access cards and connecting internet, for example. Establish in advance which actions require a personal signature and which can be delegated.

Sources

Practice supporting owners in Phnom Penh · NovAsia corpus on ownership and management · checked July 2026. A Cambodia-wide document list for transferring utility accounts and a standard basis for building charges are not confirmed in this review — they depend on the building and the provider. This content is for general information only.