Renting

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Joined
1 Oct 2008
Posts
185
Location
North East of England
Hi everyone

Now me and the girlfriend are thinking about getting our own place, I say thinking, we have a couple of viewings this week and I think its going to happen. I was worried about the money situation though. But really want this to happen. I'm currently working full-time but I don't come out with much. My girlfriend is currently at University full-time and works one shift a week in a supermarket. Were trying to put together the full cost of living on our own but neither of us have had our own place or even rented before. What I need to know really is how much these bills will roughly cost. The flats were looking at our one bedroom flats and the rent cost have been 300-350 pounds. I'm just wondering if any of you guys could help some up some of the costs:

Council/Poll Tax
Gas + Electric
Water Rates (If that's not included in the rent)
T.V licence (how much monthly)

I know these can vary but maybe a estimate will help put things into prospective.

Also I know with my girlfriend being a full-time student we might be eligible for Working Tax Credit. Don't know much about this but will be browsing the net about this this afternoon.

Were aware of the cost of the food etc and how much it costs when you first move in (paying 2 months rent, admin fee's... etc)

If anyone could help us on this it would be much appreciated thanks.
 
Tv License is £11 a month ?

Water rates aren't included in the rent unless stated they will come to around £30 a month.

I pay £60 combinesd for gas and electric. As your missus is a student you are entitled to a reduction i think its 25% I pay £110 a month council Tax.
 
Council Tax depends on (a) the "band" your property falls under (A-H, cheap-expensive, basically based on value of the property), and (b) the council, as each one is different.

To give you an idea, for my flat in the West Midlands, band B, it's £1,100 per year, or 12 payments of £91. Note that since your girlfriend is a full time student, you'll get a 25% discount on the annual figure (also applies if there's only one person living in a property). Depending on when you move in, you might get the payments split into 12 or 10 monthly instalments (no payment in Feb/Mar).

Gas and Electric: if you have a good, energy efficient flat and you're not silly with wasting energy, budget about £30/month for gas and the same again for electric - tends to be slightly less in summer, slightly more in winter. (This can vary A LOT depending on your rates, and whether you have gas or electric shower, hob, oven and central heating.

Water: Depends on the supplier and whether you're metered. Assume about £160-180/year for two of you (unless you know that you use "a lot" of water, eg. two showers a day each and wash the car twice a week!) Metered is generally better than flat rate, and water bills can come in six-month instalments so look out for that.

TV License is £143/year - usually best option is to pay quarterly, which is ~£35/quarter.

Also remember: phone line (~£11/month with BT but there's a nasty £120 connection fee if you're not already connected!), and television if you don't just want freeview (£20-30/month with Virgin or Sky?)

DISCLAIMER: All of the above are ballpark numbers!

So your monthly bill based on the above:

C/Tax: £80-90
Gas: £30
Elec: £30
Water: £15-20
TV: £11

Total per month: ~£170-180
 
Last edited:
Rent £xxx
BT £23.50 - Phone line
gas+elec £90
Water/sewage -£30
Sky/virgin/broadband/tv £xx
Mobile phone £xx
TV LICENCE £12.12
Council Tax £xxx 100ish probably
Lovefilm £xx
Car Insurance £xx
Credit card £xx
Loan £xx
 
Also i would consider the fact you normally have to pay a month & half deposit as well as the months rent. That can be a killer on its own, when first starting out renting.

Also i would add contents insurance to that list at approx £11 a month.
For the 2 of us, we have a big house we do the following

This is each

Rent £650
Gas £20
Elec £20
Water £20
Ins - TV License £16.50
C-Tax £75
Food £75
Gym £35
Virgin which is 2 boxes, phone and 50mb broadband £30

One thingh to note, we dont pay the gas, elec or water by DD. We get the bill check the numebrs and correct it. That way we dont pay more and end up in credit. Keep the money in a bills account and pay that sort of stuff quarterly.

Thats what we pay each.
 
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