Problem with Sharing Bills in Shared House: Advice?

TG82

Basically I've just moved in with someone I didn't know and he never wants the heating on. It's absolutely freezing and I'm sorry but I just can't live like that. Jumpers and 3 pairs of socks are just not what I want; I need warm air around me to feel comfortable.

Therefore, I have started using my electric heater in my room, but he doesn't like that because it's expensive.

Therefore I am now in a position where whenever I press for the heating on, or when I warm my room because he doesn't want it, I am leaving myself open to being told I owe the vast majority of the bill. I can barely afford the rent for this place, let along the majority of the utilities.

So, I've thought of a few options:

1) I could buy an electric blanket and spend as much time as possible near my bed.

Question - do electric blankets use less energy than heaters, or more, in proportion to time switched on?

2) As a f/t student (my flatmate isn't), I get an exemption of 25% for the house. As far as I'm aware, that means I can pay no council tax legally and he would pay 75%. Could I use this as a bargaining tool? Or is he entitled to ask me to pay half of the council tax bill minus my 25% discount?

Does anybody else have any ideas?

I've obviously thought of offering to pay 60-40, but I have a feeling he's likely to ask for more, which I can't afford. He literally never wants the heating on, or any heaters, and it's the coldest time of the year.

KimYeovil

Just pay 50-50 and use the heating how you want (within reason and with some compromises.)

He has to grow up - if you live in a flatshare then you split the bills equally. You pay more than if you live on your own but you also have a bit higher standard of comfort for that price. The amount he saves on council tax, telephone rental, broadband, water, rent, splitting a loaf of bread or lettuce etcetera etcetera is more than the extra he has to pay for fuel.

Edit: oops, didn't notice the student and council tax. Strip the council tax from the list. He is still quids in, though.

Fire_Fox

As a full-time student you are not liable to pay any of the council tax, providing you have supplied an exemption certificate.

Have you taken meter readings on the day you moved in and again since? If you are heating your room, couldn't you simply pay the extra over and above half the rest of the bill? If you can "barely afford the rent" then why would you want to put the heating on? Are you confident your housemate is being mean, and not absolutely skint himself?

It's not the coldest time of the year, tho granted it is much colder than it was a few day ago it's not snowy or icy during the day! Electric underblankets use very little heat, literally pennies a day. Electric heaters use a LOT of energy, 10p to 50p per hour (1KW to 5KW) - this really adds up over the course of a winter.

Depending on how many rooms you want to heat, what temperature and how well insulated the house is, 60/40 won't be anywhere near enough - I know people in similar flats with energy bills three times mine, simply because they use the heating all winter and I am very careful. :eek:

dogshome

Hi TG82 - From your post I gather the flat is only heated by plug-in Electric heaters, and I'm afraid your flat mate is right, and they will burn-up a lot of money. Thats OK if you can both afford it, but you say you can't and from your post, your flat mate can't either - If you are a first-time-away-from-home-student, the real cost of Utilities is a valuable lesson

You have two options - Move to digs that have a Gas CH system where the bills are fairly shared - Or fully recognise the situation of where you are, work to keep the bills down and buy that electic blanket
Good luck with the studies