"How Much Are The Bills"

[GreenlandTheMovie]

Does anyone know the answer to this question? I've advertised my flat for rent (various reasons why I can't sell it for another couple of years). It's an 8 year old small house and it's EPC (Energy Performance Certidicate) is a B, which is very efficient. This is in the advert, along with a description of its gas central heating system.

Yet I keep getting asked "how much are the bills""Are bills included? " (it's for a minimum years' let, renewable)." What's the average cost of bills? "

How do I know? What if someone likes the heating on all the time and I guve a figure thats too low? What if its a really cold spring? Or if lockdown is extended and people continue to wfh? How does anyone actually answer this question? Is everyone now renting out property with bills included in the rent?

@ScaredOfDinosaurs

I read it as the OP included the proposed cost of council tax in her ad (for reference) rather than saying they were paying it.
I would probably agree about wifi.
Some people are quite particular about supplier and which supplier can provide fastest broadband etc. Its prob easier for the tenant to arrange that themselves

Which sites are people finding the best for advertising? I've just put it on gumtree for the first week, and I've had 8 enquiries, but 7 have asked me how much the bills are! Literally everything else around here has WiFi included for some reason (perhaps it's a regional thing - it's Scotland). I take the point about council tax and will just put that it's band B.

Honestly thought it would have been pretty obvious that this is a small modern house with gch that's going to be amongst the cheapest in bills to pay anyway!

If it's EPC B, it should be pretty low for utilities shouldn't it? Certainly when I've looked at for sale listings, most average houses seem to be more like D or E on that scale.

But obviously will depend on which tariff they are on and how much they use, so they'll have to work that bit out for themselves, but I think most energy comparison sites have calculators that ask you about the heating, showers etc and give an estimate based on that.

In Scotland, I believe that water is included in council tax isn't it? Direct them to the local council website, which will give the bill.

As for broadband and phone, the cost will depend on whatever tariff they choose. Or are you in a contract that you're planning to let them use and pass the cost on?

@Macaronirabbit haha you might be right there, I may have misinterpreted it.

@GreenlandTheMovie - A system like openrent will post your ad simultaneously to rightmove, zoopla, their own site and I think a couple of others.

I also posted it separately to other places like facebook. Facebook was good for the comedy value in some of the responses, but shite for actually finding suitable tenants.

Whichever system you choose, FGS get a credit check and LL insurance. You can never predict who is going to have trouble paying the rent at some point in the future, and without a credit check on your tenant pre-tenancy then most rent insurance products will be invalid.

you say young people, lots of uni student houses do include bills in the rent so that may be why they are asking, I know my current house does. It might not be that they are surprised at having to pay bills, more the fact that any previous properties have had them included

Ah, Scotland - in which case you have lots of different things to consider.

I'd think long and hard about having any tenant who wasn't able to figure out their own likely bills when looking at property.

@jimmyhill

I'd think long and hard about having any tenant who wasn't able to figure out their own likely bills when looking at property.

Yeah, they'd probably be surprised that they were expected to pay the rent every month.

Rent? I paid that last month.

What??? I have to pay it again?

OP

I'd think long and hard about having any tenant who wasn't able to figure out their own likely bills when looking at property
I'd think the same.
If they've been in student properties with bills included and are moving on, then they are at least 21, probably degree educated and should really have the sense to work out that they pay their own bills.

It's not that unreasonable a question. I got caught out on my last flat which was not only tied to a pre-payment meter (which I didn't even know existed - landlords didn't want credit bills run up which they'd have to deal with if a tenant left without paying, which is fair enough) but that the heaters were old storage ones which meant they were inefficient and another heater was required if the flat was cold by the evening. My fault, I should have checked but as it was the first flat I'd rented that didn't have bills included ( the previous one did, it was a large old house divided into flats, so the landlord just charged everyone a flat rate) I didn't think to ask. It doesn't mean I don't know how to work out a bill or that rent is paid every month

If I was renting again I'd want to know the answers to some more specific questions:

What fuel does the property have?
What type of heaters does it have and what KWh are they?
What type of meter does it have and can this be changed if it's a pre-payment one?
What tariff is the property on, how much is is currently and can I change it if I wish?
Is the water metered?

When I left the flat,I left a letter for the landlords stating how much the council tax currently was, what the water supplier were charging (a flat rate as they'd been unable to fit a meter) and roughly what my monthly electricity usage had been averaged across the year, so they could tell the new tenants.

Oh, and another reason they might be asking is because they've been lied to by letting agents previously. I asked the agent if they knew roughly what the electricity bills were, including the heating, and he said "About £30 a month". It was more than double that, and that was without the additional heater, so he'd more than likely pulled that figure out of his arse.

Maybe it’s their first time renting a whole property so want a general estimate to decide whether they can afford to live there or not

Has any of the properties in the street been advertised on Zoopla? They give an overall figure of how much it is to run the house. That might be what the people who are enquiring are used to.

I think that most places advertising wifi mean that the property has WiFi- not that the landlord pays the bill.

Also there is a massive difference between renting a room and a whole property. For a whole property I would always use an estate agent to advertise, credit check, reference check and hold deposits etc even if not using them as a management company

@jimmyhill

I'd think long and hard about having any tenant who wasn't able to figure out their own likely bills when looking at property.

I agree totally. Unfortunately, they're pretty much all asking the same question. Mostly students young people but by no means all.

I've rented out properly before and had thus question, but not with the same frequency!

Anyway, my friend rents out the property next door and she asked her tenant how much the bills were. And she said she had no idea, she didnt think it was extortionate, but she just paid the bills when they came!

she just paid the bills when they came!

That’s nice.

Have you ever considered that your tenants might be working to a budget? That doesn’t mean they’re going to run up rent arrears or be terrible people, just that they’re careful with money. Like, you know, a lot of people.

@GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin

she just paid the bills when they came!

That’s nice.

Have you ever considered that your tenants might be working to a budget? That doesn’t mean they’re going to run up rent arrears or be terrible people, just that they’re careful with money. Like, you know, a lot of people.

Eh? I haven't got any tenants yet. And don't most of us work to a budget?

What do you want me to do? Castigate my friend's tenant for paying her bills and not being able to recite them to a third party on demand?

@GreenlandTheMovie

You seem to think that any potential tenant who wants to know what their bills might be is an indicator that they’re going to be a bad risk. Hence my comment that it’s nice that some people can just pay whatever bill comes their way, whatever size it is, but others need to ensure that bills are affordable.

[quote GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin]@GreenlandTheMovie

You seem to think that any potential tenant who wants to know what their bills might be is an indicator that they’re going to be a bad risk. Hence my comment that it’s nice that some people can just pay whatever bill comes their way, whatever size it is, but others need to ensure that bills are affordable.[/quote]
BrightYellowDaffodil yes, I am aware that some people struggle to get by. Do you think I'm stupid?

Some people might be bad risks, but it would take more than them asking about bills to ascertain this. Ie a credit check. Why on earth have you convoluted this into something else?

The whole point of the thread is that no one else knows what bills someone will run up. How warm or cold they like their home to be. I don't want to give a figure because I don't want someone else coming back to me complaining that their bills cost more than that.

Landlords now have to provide Energy performance certificates. This 2 bedroom house is a B rated. Thats very good. The advert states there is gch. That's more than enough information to work out whether you can afford the bills. There will be few houses where bills would be cheaper. 2 bedroom 8 year old houses with central heating aren't really known for being expensive on bills...

Obviously I don't want any "bad risks" as you put it.