Your Guide to Student Bills in Edinburgh

Quick links:

• Your first steps
• Work out how you’ll pay your bills
• Student energy bills in Edinburgh: Gas and electricity
• The average gas and electric bill for a student house in Edinburgh
• Broadband & TV for Edinburgh student houses
• Edinburgh Student Water, Council Tax & TV Licence
• The ultimate Edinburgh bills and budgeting cheatsheet
• Edinburgh student bills? Nae bother!

Edinburgh is such a good student city. It’s smaller than other cities but has just as much going on, so it’s easy to access tons of history, amazing, varied nightlife and stunning scenery.

You’ve got a choice of hiking up Arthur’s Seat, shopping on Princes Street and tourist mode Royal Mile. You could probably do all three in the same day. But the downside of all this variety is that it’s not a cheap city, so budgeting is key.

You’ll be paying student rent, which can be cheaper than non-student options, and most of the time you’ll need to cover your bills, so once you’ve got those sorted, that’s your actual budget for making the most of what Edinburgh has to offer.

To live your best Edinburgh student life, you’ll need to sort:

• 🏡Student housing: For University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Napier students, areas like Marchmont, Newington, Bruntsfield, and Leith are popular choices, each with a different price range.

• Budget: Work out how much you can afford, and how far you’re willing to commute, to narrow down locations.

• Bills: Once you’ve sorted rent, you’ll need to set up your utilities. Usually, this means gas, electricity and broadband, but some properties have this included so make sure you check.

Don’t worry if this is your first time paying bills; this guide covers it all. Keep reading to learn:

• How to set up your student bills
• Average bill prices for Edinburgh
• How to easily split the cost without the hassle

Your first steps 👀

Moving into your student place in Edinburgh is exciting, and a bit scary if you’ve never lived on your own before. Make sure you can afford to enjoy everything the Scottish capital has to offer by getting your finances sorted first.

As soon as you sign your contract, you should take these steps:

• Find out what’s included in your rent
• Do this before you even sign up. Some student homes include bills, and a flat that’s a steal with bills included could be out of budget if you need to pay for utilities on top!
• Ask your landlord who supplies gas and electricity:
• You don’t have to stick with this supplier, but you’ll be legally responsible for bills from your tenancy start date.

• Sort out your broadband
• The last thing you want in September is to move in with no broadband. It can take a few weeks to get connected if you need an engineer visit, so get it sorted ASAP.
• Before you choose a new supplier, find out who covers your area on Ofcom’s broadband availability checker.

• TV Licence:
• If you plan to watch TV shows as they’re broadcast or anything on BBC iPlayer, you’ll need a TV Licence. Set this up online or add it to a bills package from Fused.
• Council tax and water:
• Full-time students studying for over a year (for more than 21 hours a week) don’t pay council tax or water bills.* You’ll still need to tell Edinburgh City Council you’re a student, so you don’t get any unnecessary bills.
  *Water bills are included in council tax in Scotland.

Work out how you’ll pay your bills 🤝

Avoid awkwardness and agree with housemates how you’ll pay your bills, and who’ll take responsibility for each one. Make sure each housemate is involved and knows exactly what they owe, and who to pay each month.

Here are some ways to split the bills:

• Manually split the bills:
• One person calculates everyone's share, collects the money, and pays everything from their account. While this can work, it can be risky, especially for the person managing it. If someone pays late or not at all, they’re left covering the shortfall, which can affect their finances and even their credit score.
• Use a banking app to split bills:
• Some banking apps let you split bills through links or in-app features, which can make things more convenient…but it still relies on everyone paying on time.
• One person is usually still responsible for the direct debits, meaning their money and credit score are still on the line if others don’t pay their share, or have the money in their account at all.
• A joint house bank account:
• With a joint account, everyone pays into the same pot, and bills are paid from there. This spreads responsibility more evenly, but if someone misses a payment, it can affect everyone.
• Sort everything at once with a bills package
• Bundle your bills and into one easy monthly payment. Once you’ve chosen your services, everybody adds their own bank details, and pays from their own account each month, so nobody is left stressed if someone’s a bit late. AND you don’t need to handle setup for your chosen services either, that’s: gas, electricity, broadband, TV Licence, and TV package SORTED, with Unlimited Energy included as standard.

And just think, once this is sorted you can enjoy summer knowing you’re sorted for next year. .

It’s moving week! 📦

Whether you’re coming from student halls or another student house, moving is stressful. Check out our students’ guide to moving for a list to keep you on track.

Here’s a quick bills checklist for moving week, remember you don't need to sort any bills that are included in your rent payments!

1. Take dated photos of your gas and electricity meters when you move out of your old place and into your new one:

• • • This means you can send the meter readings to suppliers yourself, and you have evidence in case of any disputes.
    • Can’t find your meters? Ask your landlord or letting agent. Meters are usually under the stairs or in a utility cupboard.

2. Send your current utility provider the readings

• • • You can do this online by making an account on their website.
    • Even if you’re planning to switch, you’ll need to do this as you’ll still owe your initial supplier for some energy, because you’re legally responsible for bills from your tenancy start date.
    • If you have a bills package, Fused will sort this step for you 👍

• Tell the council you’re exempt from council tax:

• Full-time students in Scotland don’t pay council tax or water, but you’ll still need to tell Edinburgh City Council that you’re exempt.

3. Test your internet connection:

• • If you sorted your setup in advance, your router should be ready to plug in and use on move-in day. If not, keep scrolling down to thebroadband sectionfor full setup instructions.

Keep reading for everything you need to know about gas, electricity, and the other bills you need to pay in your shiny new Edinburgh student house.

Student energy bills in Edinburgh: Gas and electricity ⚡

If you choose to set up bills on your own, your Edinburgh student energy bills will be set up in one of the three ways outlined below.

If you go with a student bills package, Fused will set up your energy bills for you 🌟

1. Energy bills included in your rent: If you have energy bills included in your tenancy, then you won’t get to choose your supplier, contract type, or tariff, but you also don’t have to manage the payments.
2. Electricity only: More common in homes where water is heated by an electric boiler. This is more expensive, but you can still keep costs low if you’re careful with your usage.
3. Gas and electricity: The most common combination. You’ll need to find a supplier and choose a tariff that works for your budget.

If you don’t know how your energy bills work, ask your landlord or check your tenancy agreement, so you know exactly what you’re responsible for. Or set up a bills package so you don’t need to worry about it 👀

How to set up your gas and electricity

If you’re in charge of sorting your own energy bills, here’s how to do it:

1. Set up an online account with the property’s current supplier – you need to do this even if you’re switching because you’re legally responsible from your tenancy start date.
2. Take a photo of the meter readings on move-in day, and send them to your supplier and/or landlord. This establishes the start point for the gas and electricity you have used and are responsible for. Learn how to take meter readings if you’re not sure.
3. Choose an energy tariff. An energy tariff is how much your supplier charges per unit of energy. The default tariff from any supplier is usually the most expensive, so it’s worth shopping around for a better one or skipping the hassle with a Fused bills package.
4. Set up a direct debit with your chosen supplier. This is the cheapest payment option and means you’ll never miss a payment if you lose your card. This works even if you’re manually splitting the bills, or if you’re paying separately with your Fused package.
5. If you’re switching to a new supplier, you might need to pay a smaller, one-off bill to cover the period between moving in and switching.

Now you’ve set things up, let’s look at how to understand an energy bill.

How to read your energy bill

Energy bills have a lot of jargon, which is confusing if you’ve never dealt with them before. Basically, most bills are the same, so there are only a couple of new terms to get to grips with.

Your energy bill is made up of:

1. Cost per kWh (kilowatt hour): The price per unit (kilowatt hour) of gas and electricity you’ve used. T
2. Daily standing charges: A fixed fee charged daily to cover the supplier’s costs.

Both of these things are set by your energy tariff, and if you’re on a variable tariff, they’ll change with the energy price cap.

What’s The Energy Price Cap?

The energy price cap is a limit on how much suppliers can charge per unit (kWh) of gas and electricity, as well as the daily standing charge. The cap doesn’t limit your total bill, only the per-unit cost. You might see the price cap communicated as an annual cost in headlines, but this is only to illustrate the change for an average family. With a traditional energy deal, your bill will always be based on your usage, i.e. if you use more energy, you’ll pay more.

Check out our guide to saving energy and keep your costs down. Or go for an Unlimited Energy deal with Fused so you don’t need to worry.

The average gas and electric bill for a student house in Edinburgh 🏡

Average energy bill costs are really just an average and might not reflect what you end up paying. Your bills are affected by a lot of factors, including the size of your student house in Edinburgh, how many people you live with, and how much energy you use. This is massively impacted by lifestyle. Even something like the temperature you wash your clothes at, or how long your showers are, can make a surprising difference to your energy bills.

For big houses with high usage, consider a bills package with Unlimited Energy.

While bills vary, here’s an idea of what you can expect to pay on average each month by Direct Debit.

Remember: Your bills will be based on an estimate. If you use more than your provider predicts, your bills could increase mid-contract, or you could get a bill for overuse at the end of your contract.

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

Broadband & TV for Edinburgh student houses 🛜

Broadband is included in some Edinburgh student houses, so check your tenancy agreement so you don’t end up doing extra admin for no reason.

If you need to sort your broadband, make it a priority because an engineer appointment can take a few weeks, and there isn’t much your provider can do to speed this up. Check who covers your area on the Ofcom website, then visit their site to find the best option for your budget. In Edinburgh, the most common providers are Virgin Media, BT, Sky and Vodafone. Check each one for speeds, tariffs, and perks and any student deals they might have.

If you’re only planning to be in your student house for a year, watch out for 18-24+ month contracts. They typically have cheaper monthly payments, but you’ll have to pay an exit fee to cancel, which could end up negating any savings you made. Keep an eye out for student deals that work for your timeframe and budget, or roll your broadband into a bills package with Fused.

Check out our student broadband guide for more info.

Edinburgh Student Water, Council Tax & TV Licence 🏡

The last two bills on our list are legal requirements, but there are exemptions.

Here’s the lowdown:

Water bills and council tax for students

Good news! Students don’t pay water bills or council tax in Scotland. If you’re a full-time student (on a course that’s at least 1 year and 21+ hours/week). Make sure you tell Edinburgh City Council, though. They don’t magically know that you’re a student!

Remember: if one of your housemates is a part-time student or not studying at all, they owe council tax as a ‘single occupant’, so there would still be a council tax bill to pay, but with a 25% discount. If more than one housemate is part-time or a non-student, they owe 100% council tax between them.

TV Licence

If you watch TV as it's being broadcast or stream on BBC iPlayer, you’ll need a TV Licence.

If you only use other streaming services (like Netflix or Disney+), you don’t need one, but you’ll need to claim an exemption.

A TV Licence costs £174.50 per year, and you can pay quarterly (£44.89) or by monthly direct debit, which is £29.10 for the first 6 months, then £14.54 a month after that.

OR you can add it into your Fused bills package and pay it with the rest of your bills.

The ultimate Edinburgh bills and budgeting cheatsheet 👈

✨ Here are the bills to expect as an Edinburgh student:

Edinburgh student bills? Nae bother! ✅

Before you get to enjoy a mooch along Princes Street (or any other street) make sure you’ve sorted your bills. It’ll just mean that whatever you spend is guilt-free, ‘cause you know the essentials are covered. It’ll also save you from awkward money chats with your housemates…

A Fused student bills package really does make everything easier (for bills anway…) You can bundle your energy, water, broadband, and TV Licence into one simple monthly payment, split evenly between everyone in the house. No chasing, no stress.

Make your student bills simple, get a quote with Fused.