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A student house with bills included sounds ideal when you're first heading to uni. You have tons to think about and it's a quick option. You pay your rent each month, and your share of utilities is covered too.
But it's not the only way to sort your bills easily, and not all bills-inclusive student houses are created equal.
There isn't a standard list of which costs your payment covers, and you can't usually choose your supplier or services. So you might not get the energy deal or broadband that's best for you.
Let's cover the info you need to make the right choice for you and your housemates, and look at other easy options with more choice, like a student bills package from Fused.
Do you know what you're actually paying for? 💸
'Bills-inclusive' just means that any household bill is included in your rent payment. There is no standard definition of what's included in your monthly payment.
e.g. Water or energy could be the only bill included, meaning you'd have to sort your other utilities.
Lack of transparency is a red flag 🚩
Many student houses are advertised as 'bills inclusive' with zero information on important details, like which utilities are covered by your rent.
Even leading student accommodation providers prompt you to get in touch for utilities info on most bills-inclusive listings. This means more work for you just to find out if the listing is even within your budget.
💡Tip: Push for a cost breakdown from the landlord or agent so you know what you're paying and for which services before you sign your tenancy agreement.
Lots of housing providers are great, but some bank on students not knowing their stuff when it comes to utility bills, so don't get stuck with a deal that's not right for you!
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What to look for in your student house bills 🔎
These are some of the payments it could be referring to when you see this service advertised:
Energy bills ⚡️
- Many properties advertised as including utilities include energy bills, but it's best to check if it isn't clear in the listing.
Important questions to ask about your energy bills 🙋
- Is it a fixed or variable tariff?
- A variable tariff changes price throughout your contract, so your monthly payment could go up or down.
- Is it a capped orunlimited energydeal?
- Capped energy deals have lower monthly payments, but you'll get billed later if you've used too much energy, so may not be cheaper in the long run.
- Unlimited Energy deals cover all the energy you need for a higher monthly payment.
- A Fused deal offers truly unlimited energy for residential use, but but check the fine print from other suppliers 'cause some have hidden usage caps.
- Make sure the landlord doesn't do anything shady, like limit your access to the heating, or control it remotely via app 👀
- Your landlord can't unilaterally change your bills agreement once you've signed, so seek help from Shelter or Citizens Advice if this happens!
- Often included, but you won't always get a choice of which supplier or broadband speed is covered.
- If you and your housemates are heavy internet users, or connect a lot of devices to WiFi, getting your preferred broadband setup is a must. Without enough bandwidth, you'll have aslow broadband connection.
- If broadband bills aren't included, you'll have to handle the internet installation yourself, but you'll at least get to choose yourinternet service provider.
- Often included but not always, so you may need to set up a separate water account with your local supplier.
- If the property has a water meter, check for additional charges or 'fair use' policies in the fine print.
TV package 📺
- If the property is advertised as having Sky TV or similar, then you know TV at least is covered.
- If that's the case then your TV Licence should also be included.
- You need a TV licence if you want to watch TV as its broadcast on any channel, or watch anything on BBC iPlayer
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Should you go Bills inclusive, get a student bills package or set up yourself? 🤔
Most students choose accommodation with utility bills included because they don't want the hassle of bills setup, who would? But this isn't the only way to pay utilities for your student house.
Your other options are:
Here's a quick rundown of how they compare, and there's a handy table below for quick reference.
All options 🌍
For all options you usually have to:
- Provide meter readings to your supplier and/or your landlord when you move in.
- Electricity meter
- Gas meter (if you have one)
- Water meter (if you have one)
- Sign a contract
- Give payment information
Set up utility bills yourself ☎️
Time: Variable. Allow a couple of hours in total for all suppliers to allow for hold time, complications, and switching. It could be more or less! Add extra time for research and discussion with housemates.
- You choose utility companies, but you'll need to shop around and research each supplier to get a good deal.
- You'll also need to handle setup separately for each supplier.
- Your payment only covers a certain amount of energy. Keep an eye on the smart meter, no matter which energy company you go with.
- Someone needs to handle bills setup. Sometimes you can sort it on the suppliers' websites, but often you'll need to call individual suppliers to set up.
- Each supplier takes a monthly payment, and you'll need to figure out how everybody is paying their share.
- Usually payments come out of one person's account, which can cause argumentsand evenfinancial problemsif people are unreliable.
- Some people set up joint bank accounts with housemates which comes with its own risks, and is another set of admin.
This all takes time, energy and stress, especially the first time you handle it. For a full rundown of what a faff utility bills can be, check out ourfull guide for students.
Student bills packages 📦
Time: 3 mins to get a quote from Fused, and the team handle setup with your chosen services.
- Student bills packagesvary between suppliers, but you can usually choose your services and suppliers, and you won't need to handle setup with your chosen suppliers.
- One monthly payment covers your chosen utilities, AND each housemate can pay their share, so finances are simpler all round.
- Your quote includes a full cost breakdown so you know what you're paying for when you get a quote.
- Many packages offer Unlimited Energy,which is a game changer. According to research by Save the Student in 2025, 59% of students avoid putting the heating on because they're worried about the cost of energy 😔
- Unlimited Energy has higher monthly payments than a supplier, but it's a totally different service. And you won't receive a bill for 'overuse' at the end of your contract.
- Some suppliers also charge management fees on top of unlimited energy fees, so check the fine print. Fused doesn't charge management fees for student contracts tho, dw ✨
Bills inclusive accommodation 🏡
- Time: Sorted with your accommodation.
- Lots of students choose this option, 'cause like a student utility package, this can make things simpler.
- But you may not get a choice of energy tariff, broadband, or other utilities,which can leave you with a compromise of services you aren't 100% happy with but are paying more for.
- Not only that, but it's the leading bills inclusive accommodation is more expensive than taking 3 mins tocreate a Fused package, or spending even more time setting up yourself.
- Transparency can be an issue, and depending on your landlord or property agent, you might have a hard time getting details of what you're actually paying for.
- Check your tenancy agreement. This has details of your monthly payment, how much energy is covered, details of whether you can change suppliers, etc.
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Your choices compared 🤔
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So...how should I pay my uni bills?
There are a lot of options and ultimately there's no one-size-fits-all option.
Convenience is good, but make an informed decision and do a bit of research before you default to the easiest option.
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Here are a few more handy guides to uni bills that might help you make the decision.