When to Set Up Student Bills:
the Ultimate Guide

Last updated: January 2026

Know when to set up your student bills?

Knowing when, how, and what utility bills to set up as a student can feel a bit daunting. Luckily, we’ve put together this handy guide to help you out! #GoodToKnow

When to set up student bills: The ultimate guide

As soon as you’ve secured your next student accommodation, it’s time to start thinking about setting up your utilities. Now’s the time to let Split The Bills do all the hard work. We set up and manage the whole process. Simple.

That’s why we’ve put together some top tips on setting up bills and have broken down exactly when you need to set up each one. That way, you can get back to thinking about more important things – like that assignment due next week!

Tips for setting up bills in a student house

Make sure you know which household bills you need to set up

The first step should always be to know which utilities your new student house needs. You’ll have to pay three main bills, including water, electricity, and gas.

However, not all houses use gas. Make sure you check whether your home uses gas or not before doing anything else. You don’t want to go through the hassle of setting up a gas bill if your house doesn’t even need it!

The other bill that’s essential for every student house is broadband. If you forget about this one, you could spend the first few weeks in your new house hot-spotting your phone and burning through all your data!

You should also decide if you’re going to need a TV licence. If one of your housemates plans on buying a TV, and you’re all keen to watch live football matches or BBC iPlayer, you’ll need to pay for a TV licence. If you’re not sure if you’ll need one, you can check on the TV licence website.

Students don’t need to pay council tax, so if you’re living in a house with full-time students, that’s one bill you don’t need to bother with!

Decide on how to pay early on

After the house is sorted and everyone’s signed the contracts, you should decide how you’ll handle payments as a household.

The easiest option is to use a bill-splitting service, like Split The Bills. We’ll bundle and split everything easily, setting up and managing all the bills for the house. All you and your housemates have to do is make one simple payment each month. Plus, you won’t have to chase anyone for money – meaning zero household awkwardness!

If you decide against a bill-splitting service, you’ll have to manage multiple utility accounts yourself. This will involve contacting your water and energy suppliers, setting up accounts, and tracking monthly or quarterly direct debits. Don’t forget, the designated bill payer in your house will have to collect these payments from each housemate every month, and then ensure everything is paid on time.

Learn where to start with student bills to understand how to set up each bill in more detail.

Share the responsibility

If you do decide that you’re going to manage the bills yourself, don’t take it all on alone. Sit down with your future housemates and work out who’ll manage which bill. For example, one person tackles the energy bill, one takes the water bill, and another handles the WiFi bill. This ensures that one person doesn’t get stuck with all the boring admin.

When should I set up my bills?

Generally, you should get your bills sorted as quickly as possible. We go over when you should set up individual services below.

When to set up gas and electricity bills as a student

You should aim to set up your utilities ahead of time, and we’d recommend getting the ball rolling as soon as you know your move-in date. This will ensure essentials such as your broadband are in place from the get-go. On the first day, snap pictures of your electricity meters (and gas if you have one). Then, you’ll need to send your meter reading to your current energy provider or utilities management company (like us!). If you can’t find the meters, ask your landlord or letting agent. This is so you’re only charged for your own usage, not that of the previous tenant.

Once you’ve submitted your readings and have told them the date you moved in, the energy company will set up your account. Then, you can set up a monthly direct debit to pay your bill.

Discover more about how to set up your electric and gas bills.

When to set up a student water bill

You should also look into setting up your water bill shortly after you move in. You’ll be assigned one water supplier based on your area, so they’ll be easy to find. Check if you’ve got a water meter or if you’re on a standard tariff. If you’ve got a meter, take a photo of it and send it over to the supplier to get your account running.

Discover how to set up your water bill.

When to set up student broadband

This is the one bill you want to set up before you move in. Most broadband providers will send a router through the post or arrange for an engineer to install it. Either way, this can easily take a couple of weeks. If you want internet immediately, set up your broadband as early as possible, before moving in.

Discover how to set up your broadband bills for more information.

When to set up your TV Licence as a student

This should be done shortly after moving in (if you’ve decided you need one). You can pay for a TV licence online, and then you can start watching live TV or BBC iPlayer immediately.

Explore how to set up your TV licence for more details.

How Split The Bills can help

If you’re looking forward to a stress-free summer and having all your bills set up and managed for you, then a bill-splitting service is the ultimate shortcut.

Split The Bills is a bill-splitting service trusted by thousands of students nationwide. We handle all the hassle of setting up utility accounts, managing direct debits, and ensuring everyone pays their fair share! You don’t need to stress about when or how to set up each bill; you just need to create an account with us, and we’ll handle the rest.

You can create a personalised package based entirely on what your house needs. You can include energy, WiFi, water and even a TV Licence if you plan on watching live TV.

If you want to make your uni experience as simple as possible,  get a price today!

Student sorting bills on laptop

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15th May 2026 No Comments