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What Bills Do You Pay When Renting?

When you rent, you usually pay Council Tax (rates in Northern Ireland), gas and electricity, water, broadband, a TV Licence if you need one, contents insurance and your phone. The tenant pays these unless the tenancy says bills are included in the rent.

The usual list of bills

  • Council Tax in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has domestic rates instead (see below).
  • Energy: gas and electricity, or electricity only.
  • Water and sewerage. In Scotland this is included in your Council Tax bill and collected by your council, so there is no separate water bill.
  • Broadband.
  • TV Licence, if you watch or record live TV on any channel or service, or use BBC iPlayer. You do not need one just for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or YouTube. GOV.UK lists the standard colour licence at £180 a year.
  • Contents insurance. It is not a legal requirement. MoneyHelper says your landlord won’t usually cover your own belongings, so it is worth having if you can afford it.
  • Mobile phone.

What energy might cost

Ofgem’s price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 is £1,723 a year for a typical household using both electricity and gas and paying by Direct Debit, if that level lasted a year. This is based on the average across England, Scotland and Wales. The cap limits what suppliers can charge for each unit of energy and the standing charge. It does not limit your total bill, so the more energy you use, the more you pay.

Who is responsible: you or the landlord?

Shelter England says you usually pay the bills yourself if a bill has your name on it, or if you are responsible for utility bills rather than your landlord. If the tenancy agreement does not mention bills, you are probably responsible for them.

A few points apply in England:

  • Your landlord must tell you about any bills included in your rent.
  • If you pay the energy bills yourself, you do not need your landlord’s permission to switch supplier.
  • Tenants are often responsible for Council Tax. In a house in multiple occupation (HMO), the landlord is usually responsible.

Northern Ireland works differently. If a rented home’s capital value is £150,000 or less, the landlord pays the rates. Above that, the tenant pays, unless the landlord has agreed to pay under an Article 21 arrangement. The landlord also pays rates for a house in multiple occupation.

Council Tax discounts and exemptions

  • Living alone: you get 25% off your bill if you live on your own, or if everyone else in your home is disregarded. Shelter Scotland confirms the same 25% reduction in Scotland.
  • Students: households where everyone is a full-time student do not have to pay Council Tax. To count, the course must last at least 1 year and involve at least 21 hours of study a week.
  • Low income: you may be able to get Council Tax Reduction if you are on a low income or get benefits.

Tell your council when you move in, and apply for any discount straight away.

What “bills included” means

Some rents include some or all bills. In England, your landlord must give you a tenancy agreement or written information that says which bills are included in your rent.

Shelter England says your landlord must not charge you more for energy or water than the supplier charges them, and should not make a profit from it. Ask before you sign whether there is a limit on how much energy you can use, and what happens if you go over it.

If you are comparing a bills-included room with one where bills are separate, add your own estimate of the bills to the second rent before you compare. The rent split calculator can help if you share bills with housemates.

Monthly budget example (fictional)

Priya rents a one-bedroom flat in England on her own. These figures are made up to show the method, except the TV Licence, which uses the £180 GOV.UK fee.

Item Monthly cost
Rent £850
Council Tax (£160 less 25% single-person discount) £120
Gas and electricity £110
Water £40
Broadband £30
TV Licence (£180 ÷ 12) £15
Contents insurance £10
Mobile phone £15
Bills total £340
Rent plus bills £1,190

The bills add 40% on top of the rent in this example (£340 ÷ £850). That is why it pays to budget for both.

Plan your budget

Use the rent affordability calculator to check what rent your income supports once bills are counted. Moving soon? The moving house cost calculator adds up the one-off costs too.

Related: Do you need contents insurance when you rent? · Do tenants pay Council Tax?

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Report a possible error.