Looking to rent a 1 bedroom flat, what are the monthly costs?

Raan91

Hello,

After months of searching and claiming JSA, I have found myself a job at a Care Home working with elderly who suffer from Dementia and Alzhiemer's disease.

I have always wanted my own place. I'm not talking about buying, but about renting a 1 bedroom flat. In the area I live in, the rent for a 1 bedroom flat ranges from £385-£425 per month. I earn £6.36 an hour and work 48 hours a week, however I only get paid for 44 hours (since I work 4x 12 hour shifts and only get paid for 11). Before tax, I earn £1,119.36 a month. Since I have only just started work and never had a job before, I'm unsure at how much I will be taxed. My tax code is 1000L.

I'm just wondering if anyone could advise me if it's possible to rent a 1 bedroom flat on my salary, in terms of bills, council tax (apparently if you live alone you pay 25% less council tax?! Not sure on this), etc?

I'm currently living with my parents and would desperately love to move out. I'm 23 years old, and it's not that I don't like living with my parents, but I just think that since I have a job it's time to move out.

benjus

Energy usage depends a lot on things like how big it is, when it was built, what type of heating it has and how much you feel the cold. We pay about £90/month for gas and electricity (on average over the year) but that's for a fairly large flat in an early Victorian building - so not very energy efficient - and my wife is from a warmer climate so needs the heating on more than most. Council tax on our place is a little over £100, but as you say you should get a discount on this. Water is about £25. So you're looking at around £150-£200 per month for the essentials. Then you've got things like phone, broadband etc.

RAS

Hi

Your starting points are

1. You will need a month's deposit at least, a month's rent in advance and estate agent's fees that could be as much or more than a month's rent.

2. You are unlikely to pass the credit check until you are on a permanent contract and not in the probationary period. Check you are regsitered on the electoral roll etc.

3. Check the Local Housing Allowance (shared room rate) as if your job goes pear-shaped that is the maximum you can claim and you have to make up the rest from your own resources. Make sure you have at least 3 and preferably 6 months difference saved up before you take on a rental contract.

You are aware that if you sign for 12 months, you have to pay for 12 months even if you move out?

PasturesNew

I'd suggest you look for a studio flat, probably costing £75/month less, and £10/month less council tax and £10/month less heating/fuel.

PasturesNew

RAS wrote: »

3. Check the Local Housing Allowance (shared room rate) as if your job goes pear-shaped that is the maximum you can claim and you have to make up the rest from your own resources. Make sure you have at least 3 and preferably 6 months difference saved up before you take on a rental contract.

You are aware that if you sign for 12 months, you have to pay for 12 months even if you move out?

I was going to say this, so instead I'll just highlight it.

To move in somewhere you need to have the full term's rents all tucked away safely - and then start saving another pile of money towards future fees etc. This is to make sure you don't come unstuck.

sulphate

According to salary calculator (listentotaxman.com) your net wage would be £1,007.39 per month (assuming no pension contributions etc).

Here's some very estimated figures...

Rent: £425
Food: £100
Council tax: £76
Gas/electric: £50
Transport: £50
Water: £30
Total: £731

That gives you £276.39 per month for "spends".

Food you could probably do cheaper if just for 1 person, council tax assumes 25% discount for single person occupancy for my area, water assumes you will be on a meter, everything else estimated (obviously). That doesn't include tv licence, sky, mobile phone, landline, any debts you might have (?), etc.

It's doable (I've lived on less) but tight.

PasturesNew

Costs will be:

Council tax: £80-120 depending where you are.
Gas/electricity: £60-100/month, depending on how insulated it is and how much you use stuff
Water: £15-40 depending on where you are and whether it's got a water meter fitted yet (best if it has, otherwise you can get it changed)
TV License: £12/month, but for your first one you pay double up front or something, so £24/month for awhile
Phone line/broadband: £20-30 depending who you're with, what area etc.

So £200-250 realistically.

Then there's food. And "housey stuff" that you need to buy (a plate, a mug, some saucepans, kettle, a rug, a Xmas tree)

BitterAndTwisted

The OP won't be moving out of the parents' home this side of Christmas. At only 23 they really should be thinking of a flat or house-share. Living on your own is heinously expensive, and lonely if you can't afford to go out. At least in a share there will be other people about to keep you company and have a laugh with.

RAS

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

The OP won't be moving out of the parents' home this side of Christmas. At only 23 they really should be thinking of a flat or house-share. Living on your own is heinously expensive, and lonely if you can't afford to go out. At least in a share there will be other people about to keep you company and have a laugh with.

The issue being that in our shared house we always refused to take people who had never lived away from home. They needed house-training and it is a nightmare.

PasturesNew

I just kept it pretty much to answering the original question .... it gets emotive after that

Raan91

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

The OP won't be moving out of the parents' home this side of Christmas. At only 23 they really should be thinking of a flat or house-share. Living on your own is heinously expensive, and lonely if you can't afford to go out. At least in a share there will be other people about to keep you company and have a laugh with.

Thank you for your reply. However, it is OK for you to address me specifically and not in the third-person.

I was only enquiring - is there any harm on that? I was hoping there could be someone in a similar situation and could shed some light on the situation.

I was recently speaking to a friend of my brother who lives in the same area as me. He works as a chef at one of our local pubs and brings in around £1,300 and seems to get by perfectly. He mentioned that combining his rent and bills he spends around £690 a month, and gets to spend the rest of his wages on whatever he wants.

I know everyone is different, but like I said I was simply enquiring.