[EveL]

hey there...
I'm moving to London in Sept because I'm doing my Masters degree at the University of London...

However I wanted to start calculating whether it's cheaper to live in a student's residence or in a private flat-share.

I'm not sure if I would feel comfortable in a student residence, because I've lived on my own in various flat-shares for the last 7 years...

So, to decide in favour of private living, what do I have to except on utilities and common charges, such as electricity, heating etc etc ???

thanks...
jools

[Bluey]

It's pretty much impossible to determine as it depends on how many people there are to split the bills with and whether you stay in an all student house which means you will be exempt from council tax or stay with professionals, in which case I don't think there's much of a discount.

Electric heating is very expensive.

At my previous place it worked out about £60 per person pcm including a share of council tax and all bills. You could compare adverts on the Gumtree for the places you are interested in to see how much they are charging on an inclusive and exclusive basis. Or if you apply for a place that is exclusive, ask them to give you an estimate of monthly bills per person.

Council tax pcm could be around £100-£125
Water rates pcm: £25-35
Gas/electricity pcm: £30-60
Internet: £15-20
Phone: £10-15
TV licence: £11

An average place might have outgoings of between £190 to £265 pcm, less if there is a council tax exemption for students and the final sum per person is going to depend on number of residents....

[EveL]

thank you... this helps me at least to get an idea of what to expect...