Shared Utilities - What Is Reasonable

[SymphonyofShadows]

DS has moved into semi-independent living accommodation where he shares a house with others. The place is owned by a housing trust. He has ASD, and is quite high functioning.

He is expected to pay for his share of utilities but it seems a bit on the high side - £90 per month. We already pay for his landline & broadband so this is gas & electricity for a room and his share of kitchen/shower room/living area. There is a bath/bathroom, but he uses the shower room by choice. I have asked for a breakdown but I'm not holding my breath. There is currently no one else there as it's a new acquisition. The place sleeps 3 plus a 'sleep-in' so once it's full the trust will be getting over £3000. U Switch seems to suggest it should be much lower than that. It's a roomy 3 bed Victorian terrace. Does anyone have experience of shared bills of this type please, and can guide me with what is reasonable?

I don't know the set up here but shared utilities is common in student house shares. There are companies who will organise suppliers and bill the tenants separately for them such as Glide and SplitTheBills. I wonder whether the problem here might be that he is the only occupant and therefore there is no one to actually share the bills with him so they are billing him for the whole property?

I have queried this but they say it's done on an average of what other residents are charged. It just seems a bit high considering he is at college during the day and comes here Saturday daytime to Sunday evening, so his use is fairly limited. I think I'm going to insist that they are demonstrate how it's worked out, as he should not be responsible for everything. I am a bit surprised that the other rooms are taking so long to fill as he has been there a few weeks and it's been standing empty for a while. It makes me suspicious that they are trying to claw back whatever costs they can.