We recommend owners get “continuous service” policies for water, electricity and gas. The advantage to continuous service is that service reverts to the owner's account on after a tenant moves out and terminates service in the tenant's name. It can be a bit of trouble to get continuous service arranged but it is much better than having to turn utilities on and off every time you have tenant turnover. With utilities off, it is generally impossible to arrange cleaning and maintenance for a property. It is much harder to market a vacant property if utilities are off.

Below is an application for getting “continuous service” with Georgia Power:

GeorgiaPowerContinuousService.pdf

For other utilities, owners must contact the provider and ask for a “continuous service” or “landlord” policy.

Here is a “one stop” website for turning on utilities in North Georgia which you may find helpful: http://www.movegeorgia.com

Dekalb County

City of Atlanta