Moving into a flat for the first time bills advice

guideme

Hello,

I'm moving out soon and I've done a bit of searching but can't seem to find a definite answer and I know you're all really helpful here.

When I move in all I know is that I have to set up an account for each bill. I don't think there's gas as the heating is electric wall heaters only (unless it's also gas for the bath?), so I need to sort out water, electric and council tax as soon as I move in.

Do I pay council tax straight away or at the end of the month? How about the other utilities?

I am currently renting but it's a HMO with bills inclusive so I'm not completely clued up on what it's like to rent and be responsible for a self-contained flat but I'm going to sort it all out from now.

Please also advise me on average costs (perhaps the bills you pay in a one bedroom flat yourselves) per week or month, in addition to how to get the cheapest water/gas/electric.

Thanks in advance.

Torry_Quine

For council tax you need to let your local council know that you have moved in on x date and will be liable from then. As it's coming up to the end of the year there will only be two months for this year and from April it's a new one and it's most common to pay in 10 instalements although some pay in 12.

Make sure you read the electric meter and the water if there is one to ensure you don't pay for the previous useage. For electric you will be deemed a customer of the previous user at least initially until at some point you wish to change.

dancingfairy

Tell the council the date you are responsible for the property from and the date you are moving in. You are liable for council tax from the date you are responsible but you may be entitled to a reduction if you don't actually move in for a period of time. It will be however many days until the end of March as the daily rate. You should be able to look up council tax bands in your area on line and then just divide by 365 to find the daily rate. To find out what bank you are in you can go to the VOA website and you should be able to look it up. Don't worry too much though as I'm sure the council will tell you how much you owe. That's how much you will owe up until April but given it's the beginging of Feb you might miss the payment date for Feb (the council has to give a certain amount of notice if they want to take a direct debit if this is something you are interested in) so you will either have to make a manual payment this month or pay it all in Mar.
From April you will owe council tax for the next year APril to April but the council will allow you to pay this in 10 or 12 month installments.
In relation to water bills I don't think you can choose who you have. I think it depends on your local area. The only way to lower bills is to get a water meter and watch what you are using but this may not be possible if you are renting.
Electricity is the one where it will pay to shop around. There are comparison websites. Martin also probably has an article on getting a good deal if you have a look at the main part of the site. df

newbutold

Council tax - Let the council know the date you moved in. They will bill you in. March for the coming 12 months, normally payable monthly for 10 months. So Feb & Mar are non paying months. Think you can now ask to pay over 12 months. Council will normally will let you pick the date do the DD. Also you will be able to look up your council tax banding and how much your council charges on their website. Although they normally set the coming years amount in. Feb, so you will probably have to use last years figures as a guide for a few weeks. Look your council tax band up here

Water - will either be a yearly fixed amount bill, which again is paid monthly with Feb & March being unpaid months. Or will be on a water meter which you can also pay monthly for. You have no choice in who your water supplier is.

Electric - Have a look on the switch comparisons site to see which supplier is best for you.

Gas - as you have electric heaters, I will guess that your bath, (presume you mean hot water here) is heated by electric, so you will not need to worry about a gas bill.

Millie_Millsters

If you are going to be living on your own, make sure you let the council know you want to claim single person's discount (25%) they should send you a form to fill in.

AlexMac

It might sound a bit cynical, but you can buy a bit of time by delaying setting up accounts, especially as, if you're moving to a rental flat, you may have also had the expense of deposit, agent fees and a month's rent in advance.
Based on my experience of moving around London Boroughs and SE County areas, utilities companies (energy and water) will not usually chase you too quickly for their money but will continue to supply the address (they don't actually cut power or water off between occupiers) and will just send a series of letters addressed to 'the occupier' asking you to contact them.

When you do, and again in my experience, they won't be too fussed about the 'gap' in meter readings between when you moved in and the last account holder moved out. So you could satll for a few weeks, although you'll then have to catch up.

And, in the case of energy, having worked out the cheapest tarrif and supplier via comparison sites for your area and size of property, and assuming that you'll usually find it cheaper (and less hassle) to set up a monthly bank Direct Debit, which you can do by phone when you eventually contact them...

don't let the energy company set too high an initial payment- you can talk this down by telling them you'll not use much heat or power as you're out all day, as otherwise they will make their own guess at your consumption and probably aim to build up a credit balance from you!

Again, while the Council will want Council tax from day 1, in practice, they won't take you to court if you take a couple of weeks to contact them, and then they'll take a bit of time to calculate waht you owe, pro-rata for the last 2 months of this fiscal year, Feb-March.

Of course this cunning plan of mine will fall apart if the Landlord or Letting Agent are efficiant and advise your name and meter readings on day one direct to the Utilities and Council as some efficient ones do in my experience!

As regards costs, have a look at another recent post on the same topic- https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4883693 but reduce these by 25-30% as yours id a smaller property.

Best wishes

guideme

Thanks so much everyone!!

One more question - If there is only an electric bill and electric heating is typically more expensive than gas will the electric bill be pretty much the same as what the bill would be if you had both gas and electric, or even more so? I can't find average monthly bills for a decent sized one bed flat with electric Economy 7 heating.

(At most I will use the washing machine once or twice a week, cooker most days, TV and laptop)

fed_up_and_stressed

newbutold wrote: »

Council tax - Let the council know the date you moved in. They will bill you in. March for the coming 12 months, normally payable monthly for 10 months. So Feb & Mar are non paying months. Think you can now ask to pay over 12 months. Council will normally will let you pick the date do the DD. Also you will be able to look up your council tax banding and how much your council charges on their website. Although they normally set the coming years amount in. Feb, so you will probably have to use last years figures as a guide for a few weeks. Look your council tax band up here[)

No no no !!! Your post gives the impression the OP will not have to pay Council Tax from when they moved in till the end of March which is totally wrong !!!

Council Tax from move in / tenancy start date and end of the council tax year (31st March) must be paid in our local council area by then so no arrears are taken foward into the new council tax year which starts 1st April.

Some people choose to spread there bill over 10 months in a financial year (april -march) rather than 12 month but you are still paying council tax liability for the whole year just compressing PAYMENTS into 10 months.

ConfusedofYorkshire

Is the oven electric? The hob etc?

guideme

ConfusedofYorkshire wrote: »

Is the oven electric? The hob etc?

I think everything is electric which I'll confirm next weekend

I have searched everywhere and it is so difficult to find estimate bills for this type of plan apart from the horror stories (unless they all are haha)

newbutold

fed_up_and_stressed wrote: »

No no no !!! Your post gives the impression the OP will not have to pay Council Tax from when they moved in till the end of March which is totally wrong !!!

Council Tax from move in / tenancy start date and end of the council tax year (31st March) must be paid in our local council area by then so no arrears are taken foward into the new council tax year which starts 1st April.

Some people choose to spread there bill over 10 months in a financial year (april -march) rather than 12 month but you are still paying council tax liability for the whole year just compressing PAYMENTS into 10 months.

No no no, it doesn't! I explained the billing cycle of Council tax.

I put "they will bill you in march for the coming 12 months, normally payable monthly for 10 months", which is how it works where I live!