Your Guide to Student Bills in Birmingham

Quick links:

• First steps when you sign your contract
• Having ‘the money talk’
• Moving week
• Energy bills in Birmingham: Gas and electricity
• Birmingham students’ water bills
• Broadband for Birmingham students
• Council Tax & TV Licence
• The ultimate Birmingham bills and budgeting cheatsheet
• Budget for your Birmingham student life

Ready to jump into your Birmingham student life? Join 80,000 students across five unis in one of the biggest cities in the UK.

Whether you go to the University of Birmingham, Aston University, Birmingham City University, Newman University or University College Birmingham, you’ll need to get your head around:

• Student housing: From Selly Oak to Edgbaston, Harborne, and Digbeth, whichever area you choose, you’ll need to make sure you can afford it.
• Budget: Before you order your first takeaway, it’s worth working out what’s going out your bank.
• Bills: You know your rent, but what about bills? Get gas, electricity, broadband, and other bills sorted now to dodge the stress later.

Moving into a student house in Birmingham? Keep reading to learn how to set up your bills, what you’ll be paying for, and how to make sure everyone pays their fair share.

First steps when you sign your contract 📝

You’ve signed for your Birmingham student house — congrats! 🎉

Now’s the perfect time to get your bills sorted so you can relax over summer.

Gas and electricity: Start by finding out who supplies them — your landlord can tell you. You’ll be responsible for payments from the day your contract begins, even if you’re not moved in yet.

What’s included? Check if water, broadband, and TV licence are included in your rent.

If not, you’ll need to set up your own accounts. Most Birmingham homes use Severn Trent for water, and you can see who supplies broadband in your area using Ofcom’s checker.

Council tax: Don’t forget to let Birmingham City Council know you’re a full-time student so you don’t get charged council tax.

Get these sorted early and you’ll thank yourself when term starts.

Having ‘the money talk’ 🤝

Taking the time to chat to your housemates about how bills will avoid any awkwardness later on.

Here are the different ways you can pay your bills in your student home:

• Manually split them: One person has to track what everyone owes and chase payments each month. If people pay late or it’s not kept up-to-date, it could get messy.
• A bill-splitting feature in the banking app: Most banking apps let you split bills, so you can just send your housemates what they owe. It’s not perfect because people can still pay late.
• A joint house bank account: Each person pays a certain amount to cover the total bills, but if people fail to pay their share, there might not be enough funds.
• A bills package company like Fused: Roll your bills into one monthly payment with Fused. Each housemate sets up their own direct debit, so there’s no chasing or risk of debt.

Now you’ve agreed on how you’ll pay, you can chill over the summer, knowing everything is set in place for when you come back in September.

Moving week 🏠

Moving week is here!

Here’s a quick checklist for the first week:

1. Locate and photograph your meters: Ask your landlord where your meters are– there will be one for gas and one for electricity. Take the readings and snap a dated photo as proof.
2. Submit a meter reading: Send the current supplier the reading. Start browsing deals or set up an account with Fused. If there’s a gap, you’ll need to pay the original supplier for that period.
3. Tell the council you’re exempt: Easily done on the Birmingham City Council website.
4. Test your internet connection: If you sorted it already, your internet should be all set up. If not, you’ll have to wait a week or two for installation.

It’s probably your first time sorting your own bills. Don’t stress, we’ll walk you through what each one means and how to keep things easy.

Energy bills in Birmingham: Gas and electricity ⚡

Student houses in Birmingham usually have gas and electricity.

Your landlord will make it clear which you have, and show you where the meters are.

They’ll also tell you who the current supplier is, so you can send your first reading to them while you shop around for the best deal.

How to set up your gas and electricity

1. Set up an online account with your current energy provider.
2. Take a dated photo of your meters and upload it to your provider’s site (and send a copy to your landlord). This is your proof if there’s ever a dispute.
3. Use the Ofgem tool to find out who covers your area, or get in touch with Fused to set up your bills package.
4. Set up an account with your new supplier and send them an up-to-date meter reading so they know when to charge you from.
5. Set up your direct debit so you don’t miss any payments.
6. If there is time between moving in and switching, you will need to pay a final bill covering that period.

How to read your bill

Understanding your utility bill is a handy life skill. Each bill comprises the same components:

1. Cost per kWh (kilowatt hour): The unit prices for gas and electricity per kilowatt hour.
2. Daily standing charges: A daily fee that covers factors like maintaining the grid, handling customers and other admin elements.

Your bill may be quarterly or monthly, but you can always pay monthly by direct debit.

What’s The Energy Price Cap?

The Energy Price Cap sets the limit of price per unit (kWh) of electricity and gas and the daily standing charges. The cap does not limit your overall bill. The more you use, the higher your bill will be.

Visit our Energy Price Gap page to get the most up-to-date costs.

The average gas and electric bill for a student house in Birmingham

From modern flats in the Gun Quarter to a terraced house in Selly Oak, the cost of your utilities will vary.

Many apartment blocks, for instance, include bills in the rent, so you don’t need to worry about it.

If you’re in charge of sorting bills yourself, thenremember these average gas and electricity bill costs (when paying by Direct Debit) to help with your budgeting.

Low usage (flat or 1-bedroom house / 1–2 people)

• Gas: 8,000 kWh
• Electricity: 1,800 kWh
• Average cost: £102.88 per month

Medium usage (3-bedroom house / 2–3 people)

• Gas: 12,000 kWh
• Electricity: 2,700 kWh
• Average cost: £143.29 per month

High usage (5-bedroom house / 4–5 people)

• Gas: 17,000 kWh
• Electricity: 4,100 kWh
• Average cost: £202.33 per month

Birmingham students’ water bills 💧

Double-check if your tenancy includes water. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to sort it yourself.

For students in Birmingham, Severn Trent Water is your supplier, so you should make an online account. The average water bill in Birmingham is £556 per year, that’s about £44 a month.

The easiest way to pay for water is via direct debit, so you know exactly how much is coming out of your account each month.

Broadband for Birmingham students 🛜

Broadband might be included in your rent. If it’s not, then you need to find a supplier. You check your coverage on the Ofcom website.

Don’t try to save money on a longer contract! Look out for student broadband deals that cover 9 or 10 months instead of a full 12.

For Birmingham students, the most common providers are Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, Plusnet, Vodafone, and Sky.

Broadband setup can take the longest of any of your bills, as you may need to book an installation week in advance.

Read our student broadband guide to learn more about how it works.

Council Tax & TV Licence 📃

Both TV Licence and council tax are legal obligations, but there are exemptions. Here’s the lowdown:

Council tax for students

Full-time students (on a course over 1 year studying 21+ hours/week) are exempt from council tax - tell Birmingham City Council you’re exempt.

If one of your housemates is part-time or not studying, they’ll need to pay council tax. For one person, this would be classed as a ‘single occupant’, so they’d get a 25% discount.

TV Licence 📺

You need a TV Licence if you watch live TV (i.e. TV as its broadcast) on any service, or you stream anything on BBC iPlayer. Make it simple by rolling it into your monthly bills package with Fused.

If you only watch streaming services (not including BBC iPlayer), then you don’t need one so tell them you’re exempt.

The ultimate Birmingham bills and budgeting cheatsheet

Now you know the basics of student bills, here’s a quick round-up:

Get your free Birmingham student bills and budgeting cheatsheet.

Budget for your Birmingham student life

Before you hit the Bullring for student shopping night, get your bills sorted. You’ll know exactly what’s left for takeaways and nights out.

Sorting your bills early saves stress (and awkward chats) later. With Fused, you can roll everything, energy, water, broadband, and TV licence, into one easy payment, split fairly between housemates.

Get your quote today and make student life simple with Fused.

Get a quote and sort your bills the easy way with Fused.

🏡 A-Z of student accommodation in other cities

• Birmingham student accommodation guide
• Bristol student accommodation guide
• Glasgow student accommodation guide
• London student accommodation guide
• Manchester student accommodation guide
• Newcastle student accommodation guide
• Nottingham student accommodation guide

💡A-Z of student bills in UK cities

• Glasgow student bills
• London student bills
• Manchester student bills
• Newcastle student bills
• Nottingham student bills