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When you’re studying away for university, it can be tricky to wrap your head around which bills you’re required to pay, especially if you haven’t really had to think about them before.
Don’t let this intimidate you though, bills are easy enough to understand once you get the hang of them. After all, most people are in the same boat when it comes to adjusting to student living.
Do students have to pay water bills at uni?
Yes, you will be paying a water bill at university – there is no student discount for water bills (unless you live in Scotland). You’ll need to pay for both water and sewerage services.
Full time students are expected to pay a water bill in full once a year on a standard tariff. Alternatively, you can pay once every six months if you are on a meter. Most companies will also give you the option to pay monthly to help you spread the cost, whether your student house has a meter or not.
Water is one of several bills you’ll need to look after at university, with other bills such as electricity, heating, broadband, and more to pay too.
How you and your housemates pay bills is entirely up to you! We’ve got all the information you need in our blog, ‘How to set up your water bill’.
What are the two different types of water tariff?
Metered Tariff
A metered tariff is a typical type of water bill. It records the amount of water your house uses and then continues to charge you for this amount of water.
If you have a water meter, you’ll need to submit a meter reading when you first move in. Our guide, ‘How to submit meter readings’, has more information.
Standard Tariff
Standard tariffs are very different to metered tariffs in the sense they don’t record how much water your home is using. The government estimates how much water your house will use based on a survey they conducted and charges you this amount.
In many cases, the standard tariff is the cheaper option out of the two.
Do students pay water bills in Scotland?
Currently in Scotland if you are living in a home occupied solely by university students, you qualify for a student water bill exemption. This is because most homes in Scotland have their water supplied by Scottish Water. Water and waste water charges are included in your council tax bill (unless the property has a meter). As students are exempt from paying council tax, they’re also exempt from paying for water.
We recommend checking this with the water company to ensure they don’t charge you for this bill.
More information can be found on this topic via the Scottish Water website or Citizens Advice.
Who’s exempt from paying water charges in the UK?
You’ll have to pay for water unless you’re a full-time student who lives in Scotland with other full-time students.
Isn’t my landlord responsible for my water bill?
While living in your university accommodation, your landlord is not responsible for your water bill even though they own the home. This is why we recommend you check utility meters and take a water meter reading when moving in, and organising your bills as soon as possible.
How do uni students usually pay their water bill?
For many years, student houses have found different ways to pay bills as a group. In the past this has typically been done by allocating one person to send the money to each month and have it paid out of their account.
Luckily there’s now a range of ways you can split the bills with people in your accommodation, so the pressure no longer needs to fall onto one person. Here’s several ways students currently split their bills with housemates:
Which is the best way to split bills such as water?
While we may be biased, our opinion when it comes to the best method of splitting bills is via our Split The Bills service. With this service, one person is not responsible for paying all of your accommodation’s student bills and can even save you money.
Find out how it works here!
How do I set up a water bill if I’m not looking to split it?
Would rather not split your bills with housemates? That’s not a problem!
Luckily, we have a full blog dedicated to helping you set up your water bills, you can find it here on our website.
Electricity. Gas. Broadband. Water. TV Licence.
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