Paying a Guangzhou utility bill after moving apartments

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I moved within Guangzhou this week and the property office gave me a paper note with water, electricity, and gas account numbers. The previous tenant had been paying through a management office window, but I would rather move everything into phone payments so I can track each bill.

The electric account linked in the State Grid mini program right away. Water and gas are less clear because the paper note uses a building name and meter number instead of my name. Is there a reliable order for transferring these accounts after a move, and should I ask the landlord to unlink anything first?

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Start by taking clear photos of the meters on the day you receive the keys. For water and gas, the account may stay under the property or landlord name, but you can still bind the number in WeChat or Alipay as long as no one else has locked it to a private login. I usually ask the landlord to send a message confirming the handover reading so there is no dispute when the first bill arrives.

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In my building, gas was the one that needed an in-person visit because the safety inspection record had to match the apartment. The office asked for the lease, passport photo page, and a phone number. Water stayed under the building account, so I only needed the meter number and the neighborhood name in the payment app.

The property office can often tell you the exact Chinese service name to search. That saves a lot of trial and error.

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Ask whether there is any unpaid balance before you bind the accounts. I once inherited a small water balance from the prior tenant and paid it accidentally because the amount looked normal. It was not a major issue, but getting the property office to credit it back took longer than setting up all the payments.