Moving to the UK – Quick Financial Guide (For Renters)

January 30, 2004

If you’re going to move to the UK, here are a number of bills you should plan to expect in the first month or 2 if you plan on renting.

  1. 1 Months rent in advance, and 1 months rent as bond. This is standard fare, but can be painfull if you live in (expect a medium sized apartment to be about 250-350 pounds per week) or very near to London (In the area that Sarah and I are in expect anywhere from 500-900 per month for a decent place, dependant on size)
  2. Over here rent tentants pay council tax (rates), expect about 700-1000 pounds per year. Luckily you can pay in installments so expect about 200-300 pounds in the first month
  3. Sewerage Bill (Charged in 3 monthly blocks of about 30 pounds each)
  4. Water Bill (Again charged in 3 monthly blocks), Most places are on a “rates” style system where you pay a fixed fee every 3 months but some places are on a meter. For rates expect about 50-70 per 3 months.
  5. Telephone Bill (Charged in 3 monthly blocks), Price depends on what connection plan you use but you will pay line rental up front.
  6. Gas Bill (Charged in 3 monthly blocks). Haven’t recieved this yet so can’t give an estimate in price
  7. Electricity Bill (Charged in 3 monthly blocks). Again, haven’t received this yet so can’t give an estimate in price

So intial outlay could be anywhere from 2,800 – 3,500 pounds ($AUD 5,500 – 9,000) depending on where you live.

Some other things to watch out for:

If I think of anything I have missed here I will update this post.