Student Accomodation bills help

Hi everyone,

I hope I am posting in the correct section. I have recently graduated from the University of Exeter and will be starting a postgraduate degree in Cardiff in September. I am living in a house of 7, and will be paying £560 monthly rent. I am looking for some help on our bills clause in the contract. It is worded as follows:

The initial rent is £3920 per month (including gas, water and electricity bills up to a total of and including the equivalent of 7.5% of the monthly rent).

7.5% of 3920 is £294 a month, so am I correct in assuming our rent includes £294 worth of gas, electricity and water bills? Or am I missing something with the “up to a total of and including the equivalent of 7.5%”?.

If it is £294, does this seem a reasonable amount for bills for a 7 person household? I am very tight on finances and have budgeted for this £294 to cover all of our usage. I lived at home during my undergraduate degree so am not particularly experienced with all of this.

Many thanks

Reply 1

ReadingMum

That doesn't sound like very much for a house of 7 to me. If water is metered (likely) then your bill could easily be £60+ if everyone is showering every day plus 7 people doing their washing. I live in a 4 bed house (with 2 or 3 people) and we are very careful on our heating usage and we pay £200 per month for gas & elec (we use less in summer but lots more in winter). If the house is modern and well insulated and everyone watches usage it might be enough but if it is old/draughty/badly insulated and you want to live in comfort then you might need to pay more.