Utilities in student house

toadhall

My daughter and 2 friends are moving to their first student house in September and through the letting agency, we were told the landlord wanted £17 a week all in for utilities. Brilliant we thought, until this week he then said he wanted it all up front for the 11 months.
Now neither our daughter or her friends nor any of the parents can afford this much up front so we now have sort it out ourselves.

My question is how can we avoid a full years contract with the utility companies and how do we find out who the current companies are as the letting company is being uncooperative. I would rather not wait until the day they move in and then have to sort it out.
How have other people sorted this out?

devildog

It is pretty rare for landlords to include the utilities in the rental price because it can be risky with students;) I am assuming that he is asking for 11 months to 'smooth' over any higher usage when they are there, as opposed to when they go home (Easter, Summer, Xmas)
You don't have to have a full year's contract with Utility companies, it sounds like that this is a contract with the landlord. I guess if you have signed a contract with the landlord to do this, then that is the way you will have to go. However, if you haven't then it would be totally unreasonable for them not to give you the names of the suppliers for gas, electricity etc.

If you do the utilities yourself it is easy enough to do, Take a meter reading on the day the keys are handed over (it shouldn't be a case of there is no active power to the property) phone up the utility company and give them the details.

None of the properties my 'children' have been in have included the utilities in the price, that has always been down to the students themselves to sort out with the utility companies.

toadhall

Thanks for the advice, will chase up the letting agency for things then.

cotleigh

You can find out who the gas supplier to any property is, by calling this number, and responding to the (better than average) robotic voice prompts, just state the full address and postcode, and it tells you the supplying utility company:

0870 608 1524

I think there is a similar number for finding electricity suppliers but cannot remember it. Usually these days the same utility company supplies both to a given house, because they all offer "deals" if you get both gas and electricity from them.

We rent houses to students, and we don't like offering "bills inclusive" rents, because some students just abuse this completely, leaving the heating on 24/7, and then opening the windows if it gets too hot, leaving all the lights on all the time, etc etc.

I estimate that bills in a house-share should cost around £10 - £12 per person per week, depending on how careful they are with heating, tumble dryers, etc etc.

Landlords offering "all inclusive" bills deals will ALWAYS have to charge much more than the normal usage, to protect themselves against tenants who take the mick and rack up massive bills.

So non-wasteful tenants are better off opting to pay their own bills.

The_Jakal

I thought I would add a little bit of advice.

If you are able to arrange with the landlord to pay for the bills yourself as opposed to though them then there are loads of great 9 month contracts on offer.

I know that the broadband companies will really be fighting for students this year with a number introducing 9 month contracts for the first time.

There's also the energy companies that offer you the ability to switch or cancel at any time without a cancellation fee.

I would definitely look into going direct.

toadhall

brilliant advice, thank you

rosierosierosie

Hi,

When I was at uni a few years ago, I found many student houses had bills included. However, it does depend on what town the uni is based in. For example, I find it's normally cheaper in the north.

This seems very bizarre of the letting agent to ask for money up front - I've never heard of it before. Definitely look at going direct if possible, and highlight your concern to the landlord and why you're taking that action. Often you'll find they're just trying to get as much as possible and may back down if you are firm with them and show that you've got a smart head on your shoulders.