Confirm who pays, arrange service at your exact unit, and keep the handover records.
Source review: November 4, 2026. Practical account instructions, not advice about interpreting a lease or resolving a billing dispute.
Confirm responsibility before opening accounts
Working lights and Wi-Fi do not establish who receives the bill. Ask the owner, manager or housemate to confirm electricity, gas, water/sewer, refuse and internet arrangements at your exact unit.
Copy this request:
> Please identify which services are included, directly billed or shared; who holds each account; and when my billing responsibility starts. Please include meter, equipment and building-access instructions.
Your responsibility worksheet
For each service, record privately:
- Included, directly billed or shared?
- Account holder and provider.
- Unit or building service and meter reference if relevant.
- Billing responsibility start/end.
- Confirmation number and next action.
For shared bills, ask how the charge is calculated, which bill supports it, who pays the provider and what happens when someone moves out. Ask the provider and manager to clarify any meter serving another unit or common area. This worksheet does not determine whether a charge is permitted. Keep documents and account references private.
Electricity and gas: PG&E
Use PG&E Start, Stop or Transfer Service if you are responsible for its account. New customers provide the service address, meter access, requested date and identity verification; existing customers use the move-management branch.
- Confirm apartment number and whether gas serves the unit.
- Report access restrictions, such as locked gates.
- Save the accepted service confirmation and billing start date.
- Check the first bill against your unit and service period.
PG&E’s official no-SSN article says customers without an SSN can call 1-800-743-5000 using accepted alternative identification. Ask PG&E what it needs. This is not a rule for other providers. Never send identity documents to this site.
CleanPowerSF provides electricity generation in partnership with PG&E, which retains its delivery role. Confirm the arrangement for your address. Electricity generation and water/sewer are separate services.
A requested start date is not an accepted service order. Plan from the provider confirmation.
Water and sewer: SFPUC
First ask whether the owner or manager already holds the building account. If you need your own, use SFPUC Start or Stop Service or 415-551-3000.
SFPUC says online requests are reviewed within five business days and a representative then contacts the applicant to complete the request. That is a review window, not guaranteed activation. Power and water/sewer use separate accounts.
- Confirm a new account is needed.
- Prepare service and mailing addresses and contact details.
- Read current identification and deposit requirements.
- Ask SFPUC what it accepts if you lack the listed California identification. Alternative-ID terms were not verified here.
- Save the request reference, completed confirmation and billing date.
Refuse: confirm the building account and bins
Start with your manager rather than a duplicate application. The City’s mandatory refuse-service guidance identifies owner responsibility for maintaining service. This guide does not decide how your lease allocates charges.
Ask where trash, recycling and compost bins are located, how to access them, who moves them on collection day and who reports problems. Confirm whether charges are included or separate. Use Recology’s SF FAQ for sorting and collection questions.
Internet: qualify the exact apartment
A neighborhood page, coverage map or existing socket does not establish orderable service. Check the full address and apartment number. These are official checking routes, not a ranking or complete provider list:
- Sonic: distinguish orderable service from preorder or interest registration.
- AT&T: verify the offered technology; do not assume every result is fiber.
- Xfinity: missing addresses may need investigation; wiring, construction and access can affect serviceability.
- Monkeybrains: approximate coverage map, representative review and building approval required for installation.
Your address-qualified quote sheet
For each viable offer, record:
- Provider, exact plan, unit checked and date.
- Orderable now, review needed or preorder.
- Technology and quoted download/upload information.
- Monthly charge, promotion end and later price.
- Equipment, installation and other charges.
- Contract, cancellation, equipment return and data-allowance terms.
- Building access/approval requirements.
- Confirmed appointment or next action and saved reference.
No citywide advertised price is a confirmed unit-specific quote. This guide asserts no prices or installation durations.
Ask about telecom closet, roof and restricted-area access before ordering work. Obtain required building approval. Do not remove terminals or authorize drilling from a sales-page description alone.
For shared Wi-Fi, confirm the account/router owner, cost division, support access and what happens when the owner leaves. Test a fallback for work-critical connectivity rather than relying on an unconfirmed installation date.
Verify move-in
- Check confirmations against your unit.
- Verify electricity, applicable gas appliances and water; report issues.
- Confirm access to all three refuse streams.
- Test internet where you work, not only beside the router.
- Keep references privately and compare first bills with agreed dates.
Distinguish account problems from building/equipment problems. Use official provider support and notify the manager when access or repairs are involved.
Close only accounts you control
At move-out, agree shared-account handover before the holder leaves. Use PG&E stop/transfer and SFPUC stop instructions for your accounts. Do not cancel building-wide refuse because your tenancy ends. Ask the ISP whether to transfer, cancel or reorder, return equipment as instructed, keep receipts, provide a forwarding billing address where needed and check final bills.
Each service should have a confirmed holder, responsibility date, working connection or documented next step, and saved confirmation.
Review limits and sources
Official pages were checked November 4, 2026. Some City and Recology automated requests were restricted; official search-rendered text was reviewed. Restricted access does not prove closure. No resident address was submitted, no account opened and no service order placed. Provider identification rules differ and coverage is address-specific. Recheck linked requirements before applying.
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