Moving a gas meter in London: who does what

Two jobs, two different people

People search “move gas meter” expecting one tradesperson to do it all. In practice there are two jobs.

Part of the job	Who does it	Source
Moving the meter and the service pipe from the street	Cadent, the gas network for North London, as a “service alteration”	Cadent alterations
Changes to the meter itself	Your gas supplier may need to be involved	Cadent alterations page
Pipework from the meter to your boiler, hob and fires	A Gas Safe registered engineer	HSE pipework guidance

HSE explains the split. Installation pipework runs from the meter to the appliances and belongs to the property. The service pipework from the meter outwards is the pipeline operator’s. A gas engineer working on your house should not be cutting or moving the supply side.

Why Islington homes need meters moved

Islington is full of Georgian and Victorian terraces, and the council lists 42 conservation areas. Owners spend a lot of effort on rear extensions, basement digs and kitchen moves within those old footprints. The gas meter often sits in exactly the wrong place for the new layout:

• On the back wall where a side return extension is going
• In a front vault or cellar that is being turned into a room
• Under the stairs in a hallway being opened up
• In the kitchen of a ground floor flat that is being reconfigured

Cadent lists the reasons for a service alteration as relocating the meter, increasing the gas supply, or moving pipework to allow renovations.

Cadent’s process, step by step

From Cadent’s alterations page, the journey looks like this:

1. Apply online or by phone.
2. Initial preparation. Talk to your existing supplier, who will say whether the meter needs changing. Tell Cadent if you are digging your own trenches.
3. Quote and payment. You have up to 90 days to sign and pay.
4. Site survey. Cadent meets you on site to discuss options.
5. Planning works. Cadent says it takes 6 to 8 weeks on average from payment to doing the work, subject to survey and local authority permits.
6. Site preparation. Cadent calls the week before.
7. Works complete. Cadent reinstates grass and beds it disturbed, but internal decorating is yours.

Before you apply, Cadent asks for the distance of external pipework from the old meter position to the new one, and the distance of internal pipework needed to reconnect the boiler to the new position if you want Cadent to reconnect it. Cadent also has a price estimate tool for standard domestic work.

In Islington streets, permits for digging in the pavement or road are a real factor in timing. Build the gas move into your project plan early, not after the extension walls are up.

Where the Gas Safe engineer comes in

Once Cadent has moved the meter, the gas installation inside the house has to meet it. That is where a Gas Safe registered engineer comes in. The work usually includes:

• Running new pipework from the new meter position to the existing pipe route or straight to the appliances
• Sizing the pipe so the boiler and hob get enough gas when both are running
• Removing or capping redundant pipe from the old meter position
• Testing the whole installation for gas tightness
• Purging air from the new pipe, then relighting and checking each appliance

If you are also changing appliances, such as a new boiler in a new position, plan the pipe route and the flue route together. Our guide on boiler flue rules for flats and terraced houses covers the flue side.

Builders, timings and the gap without gas

The tricky part of a London refurbishment is the order of work. The builder wants the wall gone. Cadent has a lead time. The household wants hot water.

Some practical points:

• Apply to Cadent as soon as the new layout is fixed. The 6 to 8 week average starts from payment, not from your first phone call.
• Agree with your builder where the new meter will go before plastering, so the internal pipe can be run in the right place.
• Make sure nobody on site disconnects or moves gas pipework unless they are Gas Safe registered. Gas Safe Register says it is illegal for unregistered people to do gas work and get it checked afterwards.
• Ask how long you will be without gas on the day of the switch, and plan heating and cooking around it.

Flats and shared meter positions

In converted houses in Highbury, Holloway and Archway, the meters for every flat may sit together in a basement or hall cupboard. Moving one flat’s meter can mean working in a shared space owned by the freeholder. Check the lease, and get the freeholder’s or managing agent’s consent before applying. The new position also needs to be somewhere the occupier can reach the emergency control valve in an emergency. Our guide to finding your gas emergency control valve explains why that matters.

What we can help with

London Gas Engineers handles the pipework side: surveying the internal route, altering and extending pipework to the new meter position, and testing and recommissioning your appliances. See the gas pipework page. The price is confirmed after a look at the job, because pipe length, floor access and the number of appliances all vary.