How do you split the bills when sharing a flat?

IAC

I am looking to share a flat with a friend. When it comes to the bills, electricity, council tax etc

How do we have it seperated so we are paying 50/50 and it isn't in one persons name?

poppysarah

How many bills?

Gas
Electric
Phone / internet

I'd ask each if you can both be named on the main bills - but you could say one pay the gas, and the other the electric, so you'd only get dumped on for one bill. Hard to say unless you know what they are all going to be..

Council tax (Both got to be on it - half each, see if you can both DD to make payments each month)
TV Licence (Pay in cash half each?)

olly300

I suggest with any large bills i.e. gas you put both names on the bill.

Some companies refuse to do this i.e. BT however most utilities don't if you point out it's a shared property.

With the telephone I suggest you pay the extra a month and block it so neither of you can make foreign, mobile or premium rate number calls directly from the landline. There are lots of phone cards and other services you can use i.e. skype which are individually billed and much cheaper than using BT. Doing this prevents arguments as all the arguments I ever had in shared houses was over the telephone bill.

ds9074

I've got a related question to this which I cant find the answer to. I'm moving into a shared property with 3 others who are working and I trust to pay the bills. We have to pay our rent as a single payment, from one person, with the others then paying that person their share.

I'm quite happy to be the one who makes the payments to the landlord. My only concern is that it will mean a large amount of money comming into my account every month (which will then go right back out again). Could this count against me for tax and also specifically for Working Tax Credit (which I recieve)? i.e would the authorities class payments to me for shares of rent as income?

hamblettamaud

in my vast experience of sharing with others it is just a disaster waiting to happen. one particular girl i shared with kept the three-bar electric fire on in her bedroom nearly 24-hours a day. her attitude was clearly "i don't care, someone else will be helping me pay the bill". plus she would spend all day cooking, every ring on the stove blazing away. the electricity bill was horrendous, but what can you say really! sorry to be so negative, but imho bill-sharing just gives people an excuse to be selfish.

TTMCMschine

Why don't you set a joint account up for bills, and dd a certain amount each month from your own accounts. That way you don't have to worry about a load of money going into your own personal account, and you are all responsible.
I don't think most people use three bar electric fires in their room all day.

Kavanne

TTMCMschine wrote: »

Why don't you set a joint account up for bills, and dd a certain amount each month from your own accounts. That way you don't have to worry about a load of money going into your own personal account, and you are all responsible.
I don't think most people use three bar electric fires in their room all day.

But they will then be financially linked so if one screws up their credit the other will be affected

TTMCMschine

Kavanne wrote: »

But they will then be financially linked so if one screws up their credit the other will be affected

I thought there was a way round this. Surely it works differently if you're not married or in a partnership. You can also let experian know (or whoever it is), and they can note this on your account if there appears to be a link. Can the op set up a company or something?

Kavanne

TTMCMschine wrote: »

I thought there was a way round this. Surely it works differently if you're not married or in a partnership. You can also let experian know (or whoever it is), and they can note this on your account if there appears to be a link. Can the op set up a company or something?

The OP can file a notice of disassociation when their association ends.

tuggy

ds9074 wrote: »

I've got a related question to this which I cant find the answer to. I'm moving into a shared property with 3 others who are working and I trust to pay the bills. We have to pay our rent as a single payment, from one person, with the others then paying that person their share.

I'm quite happy to be the one who makes the payments to the landlord. My only concern is that it will mean a large amount of money comming into my account every month (which will then go right back out again). Could this count against me for tax and also specifically for Working Tax Credit (which I recieve)? i.e would the authorities class payments to me for shares of rent as income?

Yes I just read a thread the other day someone in this situation. Her benefits got stopped as they classed it as income. She showed them that the money came in then straight out and they didnt care. Just said if its coming in, its income. the fact that you CHOOSE to spend it on rent isn't our problem. If i were you i'd not offer to be the person that collects the rent. HTH...

Cornball

Been through many houseshares and the best thing that has worked for me is to have one person the head tenant and the others lodgers, who pay a flat rate each month covering bills and rent. It is a lot to take on, and in your OP you advise not wanting to put it on one person, but it has given me piece of mind and it takes the pressure off the responsible person having to chase everyone each month, which is what always happened with me.

In terms of gas/electricity you will win some months, lose some months, just be upfront about it and they can take it or leave it. I tend to overestimate and I monitor usage closely, but I am honest about this and I refund where I can.

Do NOT set up a joint account with 3 other people. You are linked financially at that point and it's a dangerous thing to do. I set one up with a girl I had lived with for 2 yrs and she transfered her loan payments to come out of it without asking me! :eek: It took ages for her to "remember" to move it. Now she always put the payment in on time but if she hadn't I would have been responsible for any resulting charges. Scary enough with 1 person, never mind 3! Also, it took ages to get the damn account closed and if things go sour it's too easy to be screwed over.

Also if you are going to have a kitty for general household goods, discuss quality of goods to be purchased, rules on claiming from it, and who will keep the goods on end of tenancy. My previous flatmate would claim for brooms, dishtowels, shower curtains, soap dishes, iron/ironing board while I always ended buying consumables like toilet paper, soap etc, so when she left she took all the goods bought with joint money and i had to buy everything from scratch. I felt like a bit of a sucker. :rolleyes: