Focus for Martin - Warning for Students/House Sharers

dillydilly1

a suggestion for a focus for Martin's email/media shows (and forgive me if already raised elsewhere) - those living with others in shared homes need to agree a plan to pay the huge energy bills coming over the next few months. This is based on discussions with my son who shares a house with four others, and my experiences when I did similar 30 years ago. He's currently sat freezing as they have chosen not to put the heating on until the evenings, but he suspects some of the people will have electric heaters in their bedrooms. As they've not agreed on house rules on energy, because it's an uncomfortable conversation for most (one person's thrifty is another person's miserly), they will be getting a huge bill in December which they'll be expected to split equally. This will cause resentment, with risk one or more could move out refusing to pay, leaving the remaining people with an even bigger cost to pay.

Suggest Martin starts highlighting this huge issue now, and advise house sharers to set up an energy fund that they all pay a fixed amount into. Not only will this protect everyone if someone chooses to leave (I'm so sorry everyone, the cat's ill), but it will mean everyone has equal incentive to turn that oil heater off in their room when they go out for the evening, in the hope of getting a bit of a rebate come next April. This is going to be HUGE this winter, as if renters haven't got enough on their plates to deal with.

I remember moving into such a shared house in my youth, and was immediately told I had to pay £100 for the phone bill despite never having used the phone, because 'the rule was bills are shared equally', I only stayed there a month...

dunstonh

a suggestion for a focus for Martin's email/media shows (and forgive me if already raised elsewhere) 

It won't be.  Martin sold this site many years ago and doesn't post here any more.

dillydilly1

dunstonh said:

a suggestion for a focus for Martin's email/media shows (and forgive me if already raised elsewhere) 

It won't be.  Martin sold this site many years ago and doesn't post here any more.

ha yes I appreciate Martin L doesn't read and respond to every post, but I'm guessing he will have some mechanism for gauging the mood of the nation, hence why his weekly email often references a topical debate on the forums