Average household bills: what renters should budget for

Why does an average not tell me much?

Because almost nothing about a bill is average. Council tax is set by band and by council. Energy depends on the building fabric, the heating system and how many people live there. Water depends on the region and whether there is a meter. An average is useful for sanity-checking a budget and useless for deciding whether one specific flat is affordable.

How do I work out what this property will cost?

Work from the property rather than the average. The council tax band is public. The energy certificate tells you how efficient the building is and what it is heated with. The water region is fixed by where it is. Broadband pricing depends on what actually reaches the postcode.

• Look up the council tax band, and the charge that council sets for that band this year.
• Read the EPC: the rating, the main heating fuel, and the estimated costs on it.
• Ask the agent what the last tenant paid for energy, with their details removed.
• Ask whether the water is metered.
• Check what broadband is actually available at the postcode, not the area.
• Get in writing which bills, if any, are included in the rent.
• Add something for a cold winter and for prices moving.

• Council tax band checker — the band for an address, and what it costs.
• EPC checker — the rating and the heating, which is most of the energy bill.
• How much rent can I afford — the rent and the bills together, against what you earn.

What if bills are included in the rent?

Get the list in writing, and read it for what is missing rather than what is there. “Bills included” often means energy and water but not council tax, or energy up to a cap with the excess charged back to you. A tenancy that includes everything at a fixed price is worth paying a premium for in a badly insulated home, and worth less in an efficient one.

Can I pay less council tax?

Possibly. A single adult living alone gets 25% off. Full-time students are usually disregarded altogether, and a home where everyone is a full-time student is normally exempt. These are not applied automatically: you have to tell the council.

Council tax discounts on GOV.UK, and who pays council tax when renting.

Do I need a TV licence?

You need one to watch or record live television on any channel or service, or to use BBC iPlayer. You do not need one only to watch on-demand services that are not iPlayer. In a shared house it depends on the tenancy: separate tenancy agreements for each room usually mean a licence each.

TV licensing on GOV.UK.

Does it matter how many of us live there?

Less than you would think for heating, and more for everything else. Heating a house costs roughly the same whoever is in it, so a house share splits the largest bill several ways. Hot water, cooking and appliances do rise with the number of people. Six sharing a three-bedroom house will usually pay less each than two people in the same house, not more.