Uni halls or flat dilemma - which would be best?

ryan92

Ok, I'm about to start my 4th year at uni in September, and last year was the first year of the new halls, and the monthly payment for them was £560 for a single room in a cluster of 5 ensuite rooms, with the 5 of us sharing a kitchen.

I felt for what I got, the price was a little too high added to the fact my course ended in April, and the halls were contracted to June, meaning I had to pay £560 for a month which I would not need them so this year I'm thinking about going for a flat.

What would be the average cost of running a 1 bedroomed flat would you think, obviously minus the rent costs as I'm unsure of this yet.

It's just so I can make sure that a flat would be more cheaper for me. I wouldn't intend to make use of any live television facilities, and my phone contract is £36 so there is that included right away.

Thank you

phill99

It's more cost effective to rent a roomin a shared house than a 1 bed flat as the common area costs (kitchen, bathroom etc) are shared between all occupiers, not just you.

Hoof_Hearted

I think respondents will need a clue to location....

dancingfairy

Ryan - don't forget that you are likely to sign up for a years contracts for student rentals so you will likely be paying for longer.
A few of the typical bills you will need to consider (on top of rent):
1) COuncil tax - you may well be exempt but you will need to consider this.
2) water rates - included with rent (or not?).
3) gas/electric
4) contents insurance
5) tv licence
6) sky/broadband/phone line - whatever you and your housemates agree to/have provided.

Not to mention all the other costs you will have now anway - including obviously food, clothes, entertainment, text books etc etc. Also check out whether travel will change much - how far to lectures and nights out etc.
Best of Luck
df

Oxid8uk

Have you thought about lodging? My partner and I currently have a student lodging with us -£320 a month inclusive of bills (East Midlands).

propertyman

Bear in mind that your Halls Fees are ( in most cases) all in. Once you compare you might be surprised, and it does take out the uncertainty of sharing a house where one person is frugal but others can't turn a light or tv when they have finished with it.

https://www.york.ac.uk/students/housing-and-money/financial-support/budgeting/

I am sure your University has a counsellor that can help with budget planning.

Don't overlook that for many when it comes to finals having other people around "suffering" is better for you than feeling isolated in a flat.

PasturesNew

Extra bills on a flat over halls for one might be:
£40 electricity/gas
£20 water
£30 Internet/phone

So say £100 in case something's a bit more.

As a student you'd not pay council tax in either place; you'll have to buy a TV license whichever you choose, so I've excluded these two. In a flat you might need to pay for a landline in order to get the Internet, in Halls it'd just be wi-fi fitted already.

happy-chappy_2

I live in a 2 bedroom flat in Leeds, so not exactly what you are after but it will give some guidance:

Water - £19 per month
Gas & Electric - £72 per month
Council Tax - £85 per month - though pretty sure as a student you wont have to pay this!
TV License - £12 - though you will not need this!

Remember though that if you want broadband, you will need a phone line which I think is in the region of £12 per month for line rental.

I do agree with the others though that a shared house may be cheaper - my sister is a student and lives just across town from me and pays £30 a month for all her bills including internet etc - obviously this depends how many people you would share with but definitely worth considering!!

tbs624

OP has several threads referring to accommodation. Appears to be in Wishaw Lanarkshire

see also:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/43777722#Comment_43777722

ryan92

Thanks for your replies everyone and tbs624 for linking me back to a previous thread. Must admit, I forgot about that one so thanks .

The area my Uni is in is Ayr, so would be a flat in the Ayr town centre, which is a little more costly with it being a tourist town. The cheapest I've found at the moment is £395 which is furnished.

tbs624

Does your Uni retain a list of accredited private sector LLs?