Moving in !!!

whizzing

Any advice on how to deal with utilities, internet, cleaning stuff etc when sharing with other students who are friends. Also how do you find out who your utilities suppliers are when you move into rented accommodation?

beckie89

The most important thing is to make sure you all sit down and talk about it. I lived with friends who really didn't have a clue about life skills when we first moved out of halls...that is, paying bills etc. I ended up with all the bills in my name as I was the first to move into the house, weeks before anyone else did. I definitely don't recommend this as I ended up constantly chasing housemates who owed me money for bills.

My advice would be for you each to take one bill on, your responsibility is to make sure that one bill gets paid in full on time. Whether you choose to pay it all from your account straight away and then collect the money after from housemates, or the other way round is up to you(depending on how long you have to pay it).

Keep a noticeboard in the kitchen or lounge which has a list of the bills paid, how much each person owes for them and when the money is owed by. I usually set a date for all my housemates to have paid me the money a week before I knew the bill was due, then I had plenty of time to sort it out. If it is a bill of a regular amount (i.e.internet bill) then suggest the housemates all set up direct debits into one account, make sure the payments go in a few days before the bill is due to go out.

With cleaning products, loo roll etc, just try to set up a rota and take it in turns to buy. If this isn't working (some people might see it as an opportunity to not contribute) then again, keep reciepts and divide the cost up between you. We were all quite fair in taking it in turns. However when it came to actual cleaning that was another matter!!!

Utility bills wise... when you move in, there should be a letter in the post from the company who currently supply your gas or elec, saying that they have the house/flat as unoccupied - please call them to set up an account. This will happen if the previous tenants let the company know they were moving out and requested a final bill. If you don't get any letters like this, call your letting agency or landlord - they should be able to tell you who the property is registered with.

Just make sure that it isn't one person who is lumbered with all the organising and paying. It gets stressful for that one person. Make sure you all talk about dividing the responsibilities up equally!

Hope this helps! Good luck!

mrcrazy04

I only share with one other person, which makes it a bit simpler.
We worked out what each bill would be monthly, and then have taken on bills to cover roughly half the total cost of bills each.
I pay the contents insurance, phone line and TV licence. My housemate pays the broadband and sky subscription. The utilities are on a pre-paid meter so we top it up alternately.
With groceries we each like different things so do our own shops. There are some shared things, like washing up liquid and things like that. Typically whoever sees it is running low or is doing shopping the soonest will buy a replacement. That seems to work out well and seems to have split the cost reasonably equally.

rmiller

First advice: agree to a cleaning rota! I learnt this the hard way with friends I lived with in year 2. The dishes stack up and your house becomes unliveable!!!!

The best part of having a rota is that you aren't stuck doing the same chore all the time and sometimes a roommate may ask for a favour in doing a chore for them and you can yes, if you buy me a bottle of wine

Bug you landlord for the bills stuff, that's all we did. Plus, make sure they know you won't be walked all over. Our landlord seemed to think that because we were students it didn't matter that the shower door fell off!!!! Set a precedent.

most of all....HAVE FUN!

minerva_windsong

Your rental agreement should tell you who your suppliers are. However be aware some letting agencies will not let you change the energy suppliers (ours didn't).

We didn't have a cleaning rota but did have specific 'rooms' we had to clean out of the bathroom, kitchen, living room and hall/landing, as well as our own bedrooms. I was in charge of cleaning the bathroom and did it once a week, with smaller tidy-ups as I went along.

Re: bills, each of us took responsibility for one - TV licence, electricity/gas, phone/internet etc - we split the amount by four and then the others paid the person who was responsible for it. I'd strongly advise you to pay the bills by direct debit and online if you can as quite often you'll get a discount that way. Some people I knew set up joint bank accounts and paid the bill money into that, but it isn't something I'd be comfortable with personally due to being credit linked to those people in the future.