student house

animalandy

just renting a house with 5 others starting july 1 bills not included whats the best way forward ,do i need to get everyone signed up to the utility companies , ive heard horror stories of being lumped with a big bill at the end if only 1 person named on bills .please advise.:beer:

Lokolo

Bills you will have to pay;

Broadband and Phone
Gas
Electricity
Water

Put 1 person on each. Then when bills come in you can work out who owes what.

When you move in, make sure you take meter readings for both gas and electric.

melancholly

you can also put multiple names on each bill. give meter readings for gas and electricity every quarter so that you don't end up over or under paying.

nursenancy

In my last student house there was 4 of us, one person was named on each of the bills and they were split equally. Trouble free - apart from one of the girls had a 3 month placement she didn't tell us about when we made the decision and so didn't pay for that quarter, not even towards the standing charge. It made sense she didn't pay since she didn't use the gas/electric (even though she didn't turn off the heating in her room...). It led to bad feeling though; because she hadn't told us in advance, we hadn't planned ahead.
Another bill is the tv license - you may all need seperate ones, it depends on your tenency agreement
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/students-aud1/

stevenhp1987

nursenancy wrote: »

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/students-aud1/

If you all signed one contract, then you only need one license for the house and this would cover all TV's in your rooms and any common rooms (if you watch any live TV). If you signed seperate contracts, then you need a license for your individual room (if you watch live TV in there) and one again for the common room (if again, you watch live TV in there).

Remember if you don't watch live TV, TV that is broadcast live on the TV, laptop, PC, then you don't need a license. Watching "catch-up" shows is not live and therefore requires no license. In that case, write a simple letter to TVL stating you use your TV as a DVD/games monitor or have no TV and they will leave you alone.

Remember to take meter readings for the gas & elec on day one. Sign up to BT (or other phone provider) and broadband. Remember if you need a BT line to move to another company, BT charge a fortune for this (as it's a 12 month minimum contract), so try to avoid it!

Stubert

stevenhp1987 wrote: »

If you all signed one contract, then you only need one license for the house and this would cover all TV's in your rooms and any common rooms (if you watch any live TV). If you signed seperate contracts, then you need a license for your individual room (if you watch live TV in there) and one again for the common room (if again, you watch live TV in there).

Realistically even if you sign different contracts, in a shared house you will only need one licence. It'd be a complete waste of money as TV licensing will only have one address for a house listed.

nursenancy

Stubert wrote: »

Realistically even if you sign different contracts, in a shared house you will only need one licence. It'd be a complete waste of money as TV licensing will only have one address for a house listed.

They sent a letter to individual rooms in our house, though perhaps this was because it was already known to them as a student house?

melancholly

Stubert wrote: »

Realistically even if you sign different contracts, in a shared house you will only need one licence. It'd be a complete waste of money as TV licensing will only have one address for a house listed.

sadly you would need separate ones if it was separate tenancies - they used to send a letter to every room in a halls of residence!! however, if the tv is only in shared areas, then you only need one licence.

if it's a student house, the chances of getting a letter or a visit are higher than anywhere else.... been caught by that in the past myself!

Mankysteve

The problem with student houses is you get stuck if previous tenets have been stupidly enough to actually each get individual licences for each room then they'll keep sending letters.

Lokolo

If you are worried about it, just put the TV in the living room, which is communal, so then you won't each need a licence.

Mankysteve

Well get one tv licence then don't let the first set of inspection guys as your entitled too do. Then move the TV into living next time call your laughing