It’s important to consider your options when you’re looking to rent, so understanding what your bills are, how they work and how it affects your finances is always a good place to start.
When you’re busy looking at your new home, you might not immediately be thinking about bills – after all there are so many other things on your mind!
It’s important to consider your options when you’re looking to rent, so understanding what your bills are, how they work and how it affects your finances is always a good place to start.
The Basics of Understanding Bills
Every property comes with bills: these cover your basic utilities such as gas, electricity, water and that all important broadband (Wi-Fi), which you need to keep warm, clean, fed and connected. So, we know that these bills are important, but what are your options when it comes to paying them?
Is it Better to Pay Bills Separately or Included in your Rent?
The first thing to check when thinking about bills is whether they’re included in the price that you’re looking at. This will usually be shown very clearly however, if you need any clarification, it’s always best to check with the agency you’re renting through.
If bills aren’t included, you may be offered a bills package by your agents, but you can also access these on your own.
Services such as Housr, UniHomes and Split The Bills offer services to combine all your utilities (and sometimes even TV licence) into a fixed monthly payment that’s split equally between housemates. This is often more convenient (especially when juggling Uni, life and all your other responsibilities!) but more expensive
If that’s not your style, there’s another option that’s often a lot more cost effective – managing your bills yourself. When doing this, you have control over which providers you choose, and therefore more control over cost.
For more information on the pros and cons of including bills in your rent or paying them separately, visit the Housr website.
With both options it’s important to try and document your usage from day one – take pictures of all your meters to avoid getting billed for energy you didn’t use!
All About Energy
Every property in the UK has an Energy Performance Certificate, measuring its energy efficiency and grading it on a scale of A-G (A being the best and G being the worst). Each of these grades comes with associated estimated energy costs which you can check out on the HomeThink website.
This is important to you as a student because this rating directly impacts your bills – the lower the grade, the higher the associated cost. It’s also important to consider the average EPC of your area, which for houses in Selly Oak is D.
There are also lots of things you can do to improve your EPC as a renter and keep those costs down, such as:
- Turning down the heating on individual radiators
- Sealing any big gaps around windows or doors
- Consider requesting a smart meter (if you manage the bills).
Do Your Research
Bills can be an intimidating thing to think about, but by researching your options early, you’re already getting ahead of the game, and you can always find more support through contacting your estate agents, your landlord or Guild advice.
Top Tip: it’s always worth trying to contact your landlord if you have any major concerns!
Written by a Student Community Ambassador.