someone tell me about bills

[ed miliband]

like electricity, gas, all of that.

i'm renting a house in leeds with ten people. one girl has appointed herself the head of the house and she's set up a bank account and said we all have to pay £43.50 a month for bills, beginning last week (july 1st). nobody will be living in the house for the next two and a bit months though, so... roughly £900 spent that will be wasted, right? she says it's because if we don't pay we'll be cut off (understandable), but surely we should just start our accounts in september, since no one is living there over the summer.

'sup with all this?

[Terminator X]

Not sure, but I think if you're going to start renting a unit, you are obligated to have the utilities turned on, regardless if you will actually be inhabiting the domicile or not.(If you were actually starting the lease in September, that would be ideal.)

That cost seems astoundingly high, however.

[The Douche]

As terminator said, at least in the states, you are required to turn on your utilities when you sign the lease for the spot. Why did you guys sign a lease so early if you won't be moving in? Why not try and work with the landlord to give them a security deposit to hold the place until you're ready to move in. That way you don't need the utilities.

Sounds to me like homegirl is moving in early and wants you guys to pay your share of utilities while only she lives there.

[ed miliband]

all student leases, at least in leeds (i know it's different in london), begin in july. i don't know why, the most you can do is request a lower rent for the summer period. i know for a fact she won't be moving in 'cos she wants people who might spend time in the house over summer (like me) to pay a higher rate.

but that all makes sense... i'll ask around and see what other people i know are doing.

[human strike]

I didn't pay the gas bill in 7 months and they never cut me off (although they threatened). I still haven't payed the electricity or water since December. It's very unlikely you'd get cut off after 2 months, especially at the beginning of the lease.

[Blake's Baby]

OK; the traditional way this works in college towns in the UK is that you pay the landlord a 'retainer' (typically half the normal rent) over summer; he doesn't rent the place to anyone else but you don't live in it; there's no reason to have the services connected at this point.

£870 for two months is ridiculous even if you're there - OK I live in a much smaller house but we pay about £75 gas and electric a month and £25 a month for water. What else are you supposed to be paying for? Even if it is a 10-person house there's no way you're liable for £435 a month. Has she included the actual rent in that as well?

When does term start? Isn't it about September 25th? That's all of July, August and most of September - more like £1,100 at £435 a month.

I presume you're off to study though - good luck with that! Are you at Leeds, or Leeds Met? Either way, have a good one!

[Arlekino]

I should not complain if we all refuse to pay such huge expensive bills. It hard life what we earn we have to pay. Winter time afraid to put heating because is bloody cost too much. So fuck them I wish we should do something about that.

[ed miliband]

OK; the traditional way this works in college towns in the UK is that you pay the landlord a 'retainer' (typically half the normal rent) over summer; he doesn't rent the place to anyone else but you don't live in it; there's no reason to have the services connected at this point.

£870 for two months is ridiculous even if you're there - OK I live in a much smaller house but we pay about £75 gas and electric a month and £25 a month for water. What else are you supposed to be paying for? Even if it is a 10-person house there's no way you're liable for £435 a month. Has she included the actual rent in that as well?

When does term start? Isn't it about September 25th? That's all of July, August and most of September - more like £1,100 at £435 a month.

I presume you're off to study though - good luck with that! Are you at Leeds, or Leeds Met? Either way, have a good one!

it was worse for one of my friends actually; the landlords encouraged her and her housemates to sign up for some scheme where they take a set amount for bills (inc. wireless) and include it with the rent. she found a grand gone from her account the other week, needless to say she was horribly overdrawn. naive students are big money for landlords obviously.

actual rent isn't included in that. i've paid over £200 at the beginning of the month. :(

i'm at u of l, going into second year.

[Blake's Baby]

As I say our gas & elec bill is taken directly and is about £75 a month, for the household. Water rates £25 (your landlord would often pay these out of the rent anyway), about £30-50 a month for phone, broadband and TV - and this is for the household, not just me. OK I'm not a full-time student any more but I am still renting.

For a 10-bedroom house, I'd expect the gas & lec to be about £130 (but only after you move in) so about £13 a month each; water rates... could be £50 a month maybe, depends how many bathrooms there are, if you're all in individual bedsit type flats (as opposed to rooms with common bathrooms/kitchens) it could be more. But then the landlord might pay water rates. TV phone broadband etc shouldn't be more than about £70 a month, assuming you're not getting a load of extra TV packages, even if you're making lots of landline calls - but who uses a landline now? Everyone's got mobiles, right? Anyway that only applies after you move in. That doesn't include TV licence however, you'll need to check that out because you can get a licence for a communal TV in the main living room but if everyone has a TV in their bedroom you might need individual licences.

Totals would be about £23 a month each for water gas elec TV and broadband, if you have to pay water rates, after you move in. So £43 a month before you move in looks fucking ridiculous to me. You don't need supplies connected if no-one's living there so you don't need to pay for them (except, someone, either you or the landlord, has to pay the water rates).

If I were you I'd demand to see what she's being charged and find out where the money's going. Looks like you're being taken advantage of to me.

[Deicide]

Some mad partying is going to happen, oooh i'm jealous!

[Lanky Wanker]

one girl has appointed herself the head of the house and she's set up a bank account and said we all have to pay £43.50 a month for bills

I know a capitalist when I smell one...

[Firebrand]

Those bills sound pretty suspicious to me. Does your friend actually know what shes doing or does she just happen to be the bossiest person in the house. It is always important to have the best person to negotiate bills, not just the one who thinks they should be in charge. The gas companies and the water board are total bastards and unless you are very good at dealing with capitalist bloodsuckers they will try to bleed you dry. They've probably put you on packages that cost twice as much as the ones you should be on.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

That sounds a LOT of money to be paying, for a 10 person house, that won't be used for 2.5 months.

I live in a 6 person house and our bills never exceed 27 or 28 quid per month. We're with EDF, by the way. Surprisingly cheap.

But tell me about bills. I pay 30 quid a month for my mobile contract, and 12 quid a month fucking INSURANCE on top of that. Nuts :(

[Blackscare]

First off, I wouldn't be down for a living situation where one random person gets to "appoint" themselves the head of household and take care of all the numbers. Get involved with the landlord, review the bills yourself, and just generally take more of an interest in the details of your living arrangement, don't just delegate that responsibility to her. You're asking to get ripped off unless you get totally involved in the process, don't take her word for anything. Not that she's necessarily trying to rip you off, but unless you start looking into things yourself, you just don't know. Why is she the only one talking to the landlord? Why is she the only one dealing with utilities?

[ed miliband]

i still haven't paid them. i'm going to be over £100 in their debt by the time i move in, and i have just £3 to my name atm - seriously, until my student loan comes in i have nothing... - i'm fucked, basically.

my attitude was basically that since they didn't contact me again i was in the clear. obviously that won't be the case. i know these girls, and i don't think they're ripping me (or anyone else) off, but they're incredibly cliquey and yeah... this is gonna be used against me, which i guess is my own fault.

ah well, i enjoyed the money rather than spending it on bills for utilities i wasn't using, so i'm happy.

[bcbm]

bills suck. when i lived in an @house we never paid them

[F9]

has appointed herself

Fascist!!!!!!!
Really now, im renting a house too in the uk, commencing from september and fuck, i thought bills were a lot lower than that.:mellow: Im screwed if i have to pay 40 pounds per month :D

[ed miliband]

more margaret thatcher fan than fascist tbh.

where in the uk? (if you want to say...)

[F9]

im in manchester!! (cops fuck off, let me leave my peacefull life:D)

btw, now i recalled that i have one important thing to do!i need to set up an internet connection for the house... and my 2 roomates want a fast connection, i also want one but can live even with a slow one but anw, one even needs it for his school so i am going for a fast one as it seems.Anyone got any companies/offers to suggest?(PM could be better on this maybe ;p). I see many companies with different offers allthough so far only sky i have seen giving a speed like the one they both want(40mbps) and while their price isnt thaaat bad 20 pounds, they add a phone line for another 15 pounds, a line that we dont need nor want.Didnt see similar speeds to other companies though and i am afraid i will have to give in to their choice :p. it was their only requirement :laugh: i pretty much chose everything else:)

[Sam_b]

i'm renting a house in leeds with ten people.

whaaaaaa?

[Crux]

more margaret thatcher fan than fascist tbh.

where in the uk? (if you want to say...)
So no house party when Thatcher dies?

[human strike]

whaaaaaa?

There are a lot of wankers making a lot of money from a lot of houses they own letting them to a lot of students for a lot of money. There's a lot of potential too for kicking off when it comes to student rent and accommodation. An untapped subversive market, if you will. My advice to students is to try to avoid agencies and landlords that target students - they'll usually rip you off. That and to organise, of course. It's a similar story when it comes to young migrant workers. The young and old are being royally screwed over when it comes to housing.

Just think how much money they make off just one house renting 10 rooms for like £300+ p/m each. And that's not even uncommon. And the university halls are just as bad; massively exploitative. I might try and stir some shit about this this year but it'll probably mean dealing with the Student Union and urgh, I don't know if I have it in me.

[ed miliband]

whaaaaaa?

well basically... 18 people lived in the hall i lived in last year; it was a smaller annexe of a larger university hall. three girls lived down the road and made friends with some of the people in my hall, and then when it came to the time to decide where and with whom we'd be living, they made a facebook group inviting everyone that lived in or associated with our hall (20+ people) to live together. things got pretty messy and i just sort of sat out of it and went with whatever house i was put into.

fucking horrible situation, but the books for houses open in early january and people are rushed to make a decision as to who they'll live with in december. i'm not happy with my situation, and most people i'm friends with aren't either. lots of personal politics i don't want to get into, and tbh it's my own fault for being so apathetic about it all at the time.

don't care about it now tho.