Renting but not living

tyrbgdvs

I am a student and have signed a year contract for a shared house with two others, starting in July this year. No-one has moved in yet and no-one will be living in the house until September.

We have yet to sort out gas and electricity (and water for that matter) for the house but should we be paying for these from the contract start date or the date we actually move in? I know that there will be no unit consumption of gas or electricity but should we be paying for the standing charge when we aren't actually living there?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

bryanb

Yes standing charge is down to you, you can change tariff if you wish. Ignore any contract term that says not, it's an unfair term and unenforceable

dogshome

As already posted, you are responsible for the Utility bills, which include Daily Standing Charges, from the date your tenancy starts.

For your own protection, you must take note of the Gas/Elec/Water meter readings on that day, and also report the meter readings and your occupancy to the suppliers involved

tyrbgdvs

Thanks for the quick replies. I've taken meter readings, now I guess it's just see who is cheapest!

Nada666

"Renting but not living"

Cheer up. Being a home owner does have many advantages but having to rent is not the end of the world.

dogshome

On the day your lease starts, you automatically become a customer of the present Gas/Elec supplier to that address, and as a 'New' customer they will put you on their "Standard" (Most Expensive tariff ) - They will send you a Welcome Pack and once you have this you can Switch supplier.

Tales of Disaster & Misery concerning the payment of Utility Bills in student share households, are frequent on this site. ( One or two of the occupiers not coming up with their share is common, and there has even been a case of one person collecting all the money, but then not paying the bills)

No matter who's name is registered with the Utilities as the account holder, in the event of non-payment the suppliers are entitled to chase any of the occupiers for payment - So be warned
Best to collect the subs for these bills on a weekly basis with at least 2 monitoring the accounts

MillicentBystander

Being the paranoid type in circs like this I would always take a photo of the meter reading on my phone. Takes 2 minutes max and is useful back up if there's a dispute later on.

matelodave

Read the gas, electric a water meters regularly, weekly is ideal but not less than once a month and make sure you record it on a spreadsheet. This will enable you to track usage and make sure everyone knows that they are contributing to the use and cost.

As said above, make sure that everyone pays their dues and that whoever is responsible to actually send the cheque or whatever does it - make sure you all agree that it's been done and save the bills.

Don't let arrears build up and make sure that any estimated bills are corrected immediately - energy is expensive and you could easily end up with a £1000 bill at the end of the year if you don't keep an eye on it.

Don't be paranoid about it but use a bit of common sense and turn off TVs, X-boxes, computers, phone chargers and other suchlike stuff overnight - that will save you at least £100 a year.

Yorkie1

iMeasure is a useful site for recording weekly meter readings for gas & electric.