Moving out

[Mighty Shrimper]

Forgive me for being nieve but I'm looking to move out and have been briefly looking at flats to rent but i'm a tad confused.

When it says say £550pcm what does this include? Do you still have to pay for gas and water ect or is that all included in that price? Apart from food obviously, what other bills would I most likely have to pay?

I know these may seem like stupid questions but ive never had to think about it before so I havent a clue!

 

[The Big Shrimp]

It usually does mean you have to pay all other bills i.e. gas, water, electric, council tax on top of the rent. If you go into a house share it often differs, as you cannot have multiple people being responsible for these bills.

In other words, yes you do have to pay those bills on top of the rent!

 

[Mighty Shrimper]

Any idea how much extra all that is?

 

[seany t]

Well usually they'll say if they include any of those things on the advert. If they don't, the likelihood is that you won't get them for nowt

Things to be aware of:

Some flats have service charges and these can be VERY expensive in new builds or blocks of flats. For example, one we looked at in London had sold off their entranceway area to a young entrepreneur who was charging people £100-odd a month for access to the bins and lift maintenance. Many won't have these charges, but always worth asking.

Also check out what the council tax is like. This will affect how much you pay per month massively and can be the difference between taking a flat and not. For example, in Wandsworth I pay £50 a month. My friend 2 miles away pays almost 3 times that.

As for bills, make sure you contact an energy company when you move in and say you're the new tenant, so that you don't get charged for any old usage a previous tenant incurred. Some places include the water cost, most don't. And if the old tenant had a TV License, chances are that the monitoring team will know that you now don't...

They might all seem like small things, but when you add up £560 + 100 council tax + 40 a month bills + food + travel + everything else... you get the idea

 

[seany t]

Any idea how much extra all that is?

Depends on how much you use.

Cheap energy providers:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity

Council tax banding:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/YourlocalcouncilandCouncilTax/CouncilTax/DG_10037383

 

[Pubey]

if it doesn't say it includes anything, then it generally won't. You'll need to pay on top for water, gas, electricity and council tax.

If you are on your own then make sure you get your 25% discount on your council tax for single person occupancy. It's also quite handy to see if your landlord will have your gas and electricity supplied by the same supplier so that it's just 1 bill.

make sure you take down readings of all your meters when you move in, and when you are about to leave then take them down a month before hand so you get an accurate final bill.

also if you are moving into a block of flats, there is often a charge (monthly service fee) for the care of your shared stuff... corridors, grounds etc. these are sometime quite expensive but often are included in your rent. worth checking


as you might guess, ive just had to go through this all and learnt about it a bit the hard way!

my council tax in sheffield is £71pcm, when you add on gas, water and electricity it is probably about £85pcm, so quite a lot you have to factor for really

 

[stevie_G_G_G]

Things to be aware of:

Some flats have service charges and these can be VERY expensive in new builds or blocks of flats. For example, one we looked at in London had sold off their entranceway area to a young entrepreneur who was charging people £100-odd a month for access to the bins and lift maintenance. Many won't have these charges, but always worth asking.

This is up to the landlord to pay and not the Tenant so there is no need to worry about this

 

[seany t]

This is up to the landlord to pay and not the Tenant so there is no need to worry about this

Yeah they should be, good point. But not always in my (limited) experience

 

[Southminster_Shrimper]

contents insurance?

 

[Pubey]

This is up to the landlord to pay and not the Tenant so there is no need to worry about this

there is nothing to stop the landlord getting you to pay it directly.. in the end you will pay for it, just depends if it's the left or right pocket! most times it's included in the rent as it is usually fixed, and fairly negligable... however i've stayed in a place where i had to deal directly with the managers of the development i was in

 

[Pubey]

contents insurance?

obviously that's important to consider... personally because my contract was only for 6 months i couldn't be bothered to sort it all out!!

*waits to get back up to sheffield tomoz to find he's been burgled*

 

[stevie_G_G_G]

there is nothing to stop the landlord getting you to pay it directly.. in the end you will pay for it, just depends if it's the left or right pocket! most times it's included in the rent as it is usually fixed, and fairly negligable... however i've stayed in a place where i had to deal directly with the managers of the development i was in

I used to be an estate agent for 6 years and not once did i hear of a tenant paying for a service charge/ground rent for the flat they were renting. However, the landlord could obviously look to charge a little extra each month to cover the extra cost instead of it coming out of his back pocket

 

[Mighty Shrimper]

Anybody know wednesday's lottery numbers?

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I used to be an estate agent for 6 years and not once did i hear of a tenant paying for a service charge/ground rent for the flat they were renting. However, the landlord could obviously look to charge a little extra each month to cover the extra cost instead of it coming out of his back pocket

Did you ever deal with flats?

 

[The Big Shrimp]

Anybody know wednesday's lottery numbers?

It won't be the 6 you pick!!:darkcloud:

 

[sufcintheprem]

Also check out what the council tax is like. This will affect how much you pay per month massively and can be the difference between taking a flat and not. For example, in Wandsworth I pay £50 a month. My friend 2 miles away pays almost 3 times that.

...and me!

Currently considering re-locating now actually as, although the flat's pretty decent, the area's not fantastic.

If you're thinking about moving to London, it's well worth asking advice in here as between SZ, we've probably lived everywhere in London!

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Forgive me for being nieve but I'm looking to move out and have been briefly looking at flats to rent but i'm a tad confused.

When it says say £550pcm what does this include? Do you still have to pay for gas and water ect or is that all included in that price? Apart from food obviously, what other bills would I most likely have to pay?

I know these may seem like stupid questions but ive never had to think about it before so I havent a clue!

They are sensible enough questions, but ones the landlord/agent would be better placed answering. Speak to the existing tenants if you can.