Your Guide to Student Bills in Leicester

Quick links:

• Your first steps
• Agree how you’ll pay your bills
• Student energy bills in Leicester: Gas and electricity
• The average gas and electric bill for a student house in Leicester
• Broadband & TV for Leicester student houses
• Leicester Student Water, Council Tax & TV Licence
• The ultimate Leicester bills and budgeting cheatsheet
• Leicester student bills made easy

Leicester has tons to offer students, whether you’re studying at the University of Leicester, De Montfort, or a bit further out at Loughborough.

Aside from the unis, students can take their pick from beautiful green spaces, a busy city, and all the benefits of a culturally diverse campus, AND all of this is in a city ranked among the 10 cheapest places to study in the UK.

Even though it’s a relatively affordable city for students, you’ll still need to budget to see what your student finance covers, and what you’ll need to find from elsewhere. As a student in Leicester, you’ll need to pay for your student accommodation, bills and budget to enjoy your time at uni too,

Here’s what you’ll need to sort:

• Student housing: For University of Leicester, De Montfort University, and Loughborough University students, areas such as Clarendon Park, Highfields, Evington, the city centre, and Loughborough itself are all great choices.
• Budget: Look at your finances to work out how much you can afford.
• Bills: Get your utilities sorted, including gas, electricity, broadband, and water bills.
  

  Don’t worry if this is your first time paying bills; we’ll cover it all in this guide.
  

Keep reading to learn

• How to set up your student bills
• Average bill prices for Leicester
• How to easily split your bills

Your first steps 👀

Leicester has tons of options for students. There are two universities in the city, and Loughborough is just a 30-minute drive away, so there’s plenty of student accommodation to choose from.

Once you’ve found your spot, take these steps to make sure you’re all sorted for moving in:

• Check what’s included in your rent
• Some student tenancies include bills, while others are rent only, so make sure you know exactly what’s included in your payment before you sign.
• Find out your current gas and electricity provider:
• Check your tenancy agreement or ask your landlord who supplies the gas and electricity.
• Even if you plan to switch suppliers, you’ll need to know the current one ‘cause you’re legally responsible for bills from your tenancy start date.

• • Get your broadband set up:
    • Broadband can take a few weeks to get connected if you need an engineer visit, so get it sorted as soon as you sign your tenancy agreement.
    • Find out which suppliers cover 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. You can set this up online or add it to your Fused bills package.

• Water:
  • If it’s not included in your rent, you’ll need to pay a water bill to Severn Trent Water.

• Council tax
  • Full-time students on a course that’s longer than a year (for more than 21 hours a week) don’t pay council tax. You’ll need to tell Leicester City Council so you don’t get a bill (or Charnwood Borough Council if you’re studying at Loughborough).

Take a look at our student moving guide for more info about what to expect when you’re moving into a new student place.

Agree how you’ll pay your bills 🤝

Work out how you’ll pay your bills now, so you can avoid awkwardness or arguments with housemates later on. Make sure each housemate takes part and knows exactly what they owe, and who to.

Here are some ways to split the bills:

• Manually split the bills:
• One housemate takes charge of working out what everyone owes, gathers the payments, and pays the bills from their own account. This can be risky if someone pays late. The bill-sorter will be left covering the difference, maybe pushing them into their overdraft, cutting their grocery budget, or potentially impacting their credit score.
• Use a banking app to split bills:
• Some banking apps let you split bills using links or in-app features, which can make things a bit easier to manage. It still depends on everyone paying on time, which, depending on your housemates, might not be the most reassuring option.
• Open a joint house bank account:
• Everyone pays into one joint account, and bills are paid from there. This spreads responsibility more evenly, but it comes with extra admin, and missed payments can affect everyone.
• Create a monthly bills package with Fused:
• Set up a bills packages with Fused. Everybody adds their own details to their Fused account and pays a monthly payment to cover half of their chosen bills. This is an easy way to cover shared energy costs, plus your choice of broadband,water, TV package and TV Licence. Unlimited Energy is included as standard.

Got that sorted? Great! Now you can enjoy your summer knowing it’s all sorted for September.

It’s moving week! 📦

Moving day is one hectic day. You’ll be excited about seeing your mates again and getting stuck into studies. But before you head out for a catch-up, here’s a quick bills checklist for moving week:

1. Take photos of your gas and electricity meters:
• Here’s a guide to meter readings if you’re not sure.
• These photos are dated evidence of your energy usage, which is handy to have in case of any disputes.
• If you 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 skip this step and just upload the pics to your Fused dashboard if you set up a bills package 👀
• Make an account on their website and submit your readings to show that you’ll be responsible for the payments from this date.
• You still need to do this even if you plan to switch to another supplier because you’re legally responsible for bills from your tenancy start date.

• Let the council know you’re exempt from council tax:

• Full-time students don’t pay council tax, but you’ll still need to tell the council you’re exempt. Your uni will issue you an exemption certificate, sometimes on your student portal, which lets the council know not to bill you.
1. Test your internet connection:
• If you sorted your setup in advance, everything should be working smoothly. If not, keep scrolling down to thebroadband sectionfor full setup instructions.

It’s time to dig deeper into each bill: gas, electricity, and the other bills you’ll be paying in your Leicester student house.

Student energy bills in Leicester: Gas and electricity ⚡

There are a few different setups for student energy bills:

1. Energy bills included in your rent: You won’t get to choose your supplier, contract type, or tariff, but you also don’t have to manage the payments ‘cause everything is rolled into your rent.
2. Electricity only: Most common in flats where water is heated by an electric boiler. This is more expensive, but you can still keep costs low by being careful.
3. Gas and electricity: This is the most common setup. You’ll need to find an energy supplier and choose a tariff that works for your budget.

If you don’t know who pays for your energy bills, ask your landlord or check your tenancy agreement.

How to set up your gas and electricity

Sorting your own student energy bills? As a reminder, Fused handle set up for you if you get a bills package, but here’s how to do it on your own:

1. Set up an online account with the property’s current supplier so you can settle up before you switch.
2. Take a photo of the meter readings on move-in day, and send them to your supplier and landlord. This marks the day you’re responsible for your gas and electricity, and it will show which usage you actually need to pay for.
3. Choose a tariff: The default tariff is the most expensive with most suppliers, so shop around, or skip the hassle and get Unlimited Energy with a Fused bills package.
4. Set up a direct debit with your chosen supplier, so you’ll never miss a payment. One person pays, then you split the bills. With a Fused bills package, everybody pays their share from their account, which can cut down on drama.

Now, let’s look at how to actually read your energy bills (it’s not as complicated as you might think!)

How to read your energy bill

Energy bills can seem complicated, especially if it’s your first time dealing with them. But they all follow the same basic structure, so once you know a few key terms, it’s simple.

Your bill is made up of two main parts:

• Cost per kWh (kilowatt hour): what you pay for each unit of gas or electricity you use.
• Daily standing charge: a fixed daily fee that covers the cost of supplying energy to your home.

If you’re on the standard variable tariff, these are set by the Energy Price Cap.

What’s The Energy Price Cap?

The Energy Price Cap limits how much suppliers can charge per unit (kWh) of gas and electricity, as well as the daily standing charge, for their standard variable tariff. You might see the cap communicated in an annual cost, but this is for the ‘average household’, and makes it easier to see changes in a way that makes sense. The cap doesn’t set an actual limit on your bills, so you’ll pay more the more energy you use.

Check out our guide to saving energy to get rid of energy stress, or check out Unlimited Energy.

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

Average energy bills are a good place to start budgeting, but remember, they are only rough estimates. Your costs will vary depending on the size of your student house in Leicester, how many people you live with, and your lifestyle, among other factors. Having the heating on, running the tumble dryer or dishwasher frequently, or taking long showers can all make a big difference to your energy costs if you opt for a traditional capped energy deal.

For larger houses with higher usage, it’s worth considering a bills package with Unlimited Energy.

While bills can vary, here’s a rough idea of what you might expect to pay on average each month by Direct Debit for a standard capped deal.

Remember: If you go over your supplier’s estimate, your bills will increase mid-contract, or you’ll be billed for the difference at the end.

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 Leicester student houses 🛜

Some Leicester student houses include broadband in the rent, so ask your landlord or agent to be sure what you’re already paying for.

If broadband is your responsibility, then get it sorted ASAP because you might need to wait for an engineer visit to complete the setup. Find who supplies broadband to your area on the Ofcom website, then visit their site to find the best option for your budget.

In Leicester, the most common providers are Virgin Media, BT, Sky, Plusnet and Vodafone.

Watch out for 18-24+ month contracts, as they typically have lower monthly payments, but you’ll have to pay an exit fee to cancel. Keep an eye out for student deals that work for your timeframe and budget, or roll your broadband into a bills package with Fused.

Take a look at our student broadband guide for more info.

Leicester Student Water, Council Tax & TV Licence 🏡

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

Here’s the lowdown:

Council tax for students

Good news! If you’re a full-time student (on a course that’s at least 1 year and 21+ hours/week), you are exempt from council tax, but you do still need to tell Leicester City Council, so you don’t get any bills.

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

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.

You can always roll it into your Fused bills package and pay it all together.

The ultimate Leicester bills and budgeting cheatsheet 👈

✨ Here are the bills to expect as a Leicester student:

Download your free cheatsheet for student bills and budgeting.

Leicester student bills made easy ✅

Before heading out to meet your mates in Victoria Park, make sure your bills are sorted first. That way, you’ll know exactly how much you’ve got left to spend and enjoy everything Leicester has to offer. It’ll also save you from those awkward money chats with your housemates later.

With Fused’s all-in-one student bills packages, you can bundle your energy, water, broadband, and TV Licence into one simple monthly payment, split evenly between