Your Guide to Student Bills in London

Quick links:

• SoYou’ve signed your housing contract
• Splitting bills with student housemates
• Energy bills in London: Gas and electricity
• Water bills for London students
• TV & broadband for London students
• Council Tax & TV Licence
• The ultimate London bills and budgeting cheatsheet
• Sort your London student bills today

Student life in London is a dream come true for a lot of students, but there’s no denying it can be pricey.

Get your bills sorted early to help stay on top of costs, avoid surprise charges (or mid-essay Wi-Fi dropouts!), and spend more time enjoying the best bits of the capital.

It’s time to get to grips with:

• Student housing: From a Camden flat to a Clapham townhouse or a houseshare in Shoreditch, Brixton or Islington, you’ll need to pick somewhere you can afford. 
• Bills: Work out what gas, electricity, water and broadband will cost you, so you know how much you’ve got to play with. 

Want predictable outgoings? An all-in-one student bills package from Fused makes things fair, predictable, and hassle-free. You’ll always know exactly how much you owe and when.

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

You’ve signed the contract! 📝

Before you hop on the Tube to Oxford Street IKEA for tealights and glasses, it’s time to get your bills sorted.

Some services, like broadband, can take a little longer to set up, so it’s worth planning ahead. Here are a few steps to tick off as soon as you sign your contract to avoid internet downtime when you move in.

• Gas and electricity: Ask your landlord who currently supplies them. You can make an account on their websites straight away, or set up a Fused student bills package and we’ll sort it for you. 
• Water: Check if it’s included in your rent or if you’ll need to set up an account with your local authority.
• TV & Broadband: If broadband’s included in your rent, your landlord should get it sorted. If not, use Ofcom’s broadband checker to see which providers cover your area and compare deals. Installation can take up to two weeks, so start set up as soon as you sign your contract.
• TV licence: You’ll need one if you watch live TV or BBC iPlayer. It’s easy to set up online, and you can split the cost with your housemates through Fused.
• Council tax: Full-time students don’t pay council tax. Apply for an exemption with your local council here. 

Before you start your summer, it might be worth getting together with your future housemates and having ‘the money talk’.

Splitting bills with student housemates 🙏

Here are some options for how you can pay your bills in your student home:

• Manually split them: You can track and divide bills in a shared spreadsheet, but it takes time and relies on someone managing it properly. If payments are late or missed, the account holder ends up out of pocket.
• A bill-splitting feature in the banking app: Most banking apps have a bill-splitting feature, so you can easily share what everyone owes. It’s simpler than doing it manually, but it still depends on everyone paying on time or having the money in their account.
• A joint house bank account: Everyone pays into one shared pot, and bills come straight from there. It keeps things fair, but joint accounts aren’t usually student accounts, and giving everyone access to the money can be risky.
• A bills package company like Fused: Get your London student bills sorted fair and square with a single monthly payment with Fused. Each housemate adds their payment details to set up their own direct debit for their share each month. It’s as simple as that.

Decided how you’ll pay? Now you can rest easy knowing that things are all in place for when your contract starts.

It’s moving week 🏡

Being a uni student in the capital is exciting and daunting. On the one hand there’s nightlife, culture and food…and on the other hand you need to get to grips with the London Underground. 

No matter which London uni you’re at, your first-week setup looks pretty similar. Share this checklist with your housemates so everyone can do their bit. 

1. Locate and photograph your meters: Ask your landlord where they are (usually under the stairs or in a cupboard). Take a photo for dated proof of your first readings.
2. Submit your meter readings: Send your initial readings to your provider — or add them to your Fused dashboard if you’ve sorted your bills the easy way. 
3. Contact the council: Apply for your student council tax exemption early to avoid surprise bills later.
4. Test your internet: Check your connection as soon as it’s set up. You’ve got a 14-day cooling-off period, so now’s the time to flag any issues.

This is probably the first time you’ve ever had to handle your own household bills, so let’s dig a bit deeper to make London student living as simple as possible.

Energy bills in London: Gas and electricity 💡

Most student homes in London will have gas and electricity, while some might only have electricity. Your landlord will tell you what you have and where the meters are.

How to set up your gas and electricity

When you first move in, you need to send a meter reading to the company that currently supplies your property.

1. Make an online account with your current utilities provider.
2. Take a dated photo and submit it to your landlord and online to the current supplier. Keep this photo in case there are any disputes later.
3. Start looking for the best deal: Use this Ofgem tool to find out who covers your area. Or get a quote from Fused for a student bills package.
4. Choose your new supplier and set up an account and direct debt with them. Send them an up-to-date meter reading, so they know what you’ve actually used.
5. Pay for any energy supplied with the original supplier.

How to read your bill

Utility bills look complicated, but they are actually pretty simple once you know how to read them:

1. Cost per kWh (kilowatt hour): That’s the price you pay for gas and electricity per kilowatt hour.
2. Daily standing charges: This is a daily fee

Your bill will show your usage per quarter or month. Even if you’re billed quarterly, you can still pay monthly by direct debit.

What’s The Energy Price Cap?

The Energy Price Cap is a national limit set on the price per unit (kWh) of electricity and gas. The cap does not limit your total spending, just the individual unit cost. You are charged for how much you use, and your bill could be high if you use a lot.

Read our guide to The Energy Price Cap for the current rates. 

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

Student housing can vary. You might share a small flat with two pals or be part of a big houseshare. That’ll obviously impact your bills, as will other factors such as your home's energy efficiency and usage.

Here are the Direct Debit averages 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

Water bills for London students 💧

If water is included in your rent, then you don’t need to worry about it.

If it is your responsibility, you’ll need to set up an account with Thames Water. The average Thames Water bill is £639 per year, so that’s about £54 a month.

Set up a direct debit with Thames Water or roll it into a single monthly payment alongside your other bills with Fused.

TV & broadband for London students 🛜

Broadband might be included in your rent. If it’s not, then you need to sort it out ASAP. 

Find out which suppliers are available at your address on the Ofcom website. Compare deals to find the best for your budget. Don’t be tempted to save on a longer-term contract, as there will be exit fees. Look for 12-month or student-specific deals.

There can be a few weeks of wait time for broadband setup, so prioritise setting it up as soon as you sign the contract.

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

Council Tax & TV Licence 📺

Finally, let’s talk about council tax and TV licence: both are legal obligations, but there may be exemptions, so read this section to make sure you know your stuff.

Council tax for students

Full-time students (on courses over 1 year across 21+ hours/week) are exempt from council tax. Find out which is your council and tell them that you’re exempt. 

If one of your housemates isn’t a full-time student, they’ll need to pay council tax. They’ll usually get a 25% single-person discount, meaning they’ll pay 75% of the full rate.

TV Licence

If you watch live TV on any service  (e.g., Sky Go, BBC One, ITV Hub) or watch or stream anything on BBC iPlayer, you need a TV Licence. You can roll this into your monthly bills package with Fused.

For students only watching streamed TV (not including BBC), you won’t need a TV licence, but you still need to tell them.. 

The ultimate London bills and budgeting cheatsheet ☑️

Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t panic, here’s a shareable cheatsheet for your student bills. Send to your housemates so they know exactly what to expect:

Download your free London student bills and budgeting cheatsheet. 

Sort your London student bills today 💂

Sorting your student bills in London doesn’t have to be a hassle. With a bit of prep (and Fused on your side), you can skip the stress, split costs easily, and get back to enjoying student life.

With Fused, you can bundle gas, electricity, water, broadband, and your TV licence into one simple monthly payment.

So, before you hit the SU, get a quote and sort your bills the easy way with Fused.