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A bit of background:

My fiancé is moving to the UK within the immediate future and I am looking to move out of my parent's home into a rented property for 6 months to live with her, while we search for a home to buy of our own.

This will be my first time living outside of my parents' home so I want to make sure I have a budget in place with a rough estimate of the living expenses we will incur.

The rent for a 1 bedroom flat that I found is £650 p/m and I was trying to figure out what our expenditure would be after utility, internet & council tax.

I checked the local council website and the property I wish to rent appears to be in band C (which according to the local council website is £1683.58 gross charge).

I believe this is the price for 12 months?

The tenancy period I have discussed with the letting agency is 6 months, by which time my fiancé and I would have hopefully found a place to buy of our own.

Will I have to pay for the entire 12 months of council tax - for a 6 month tenancy period? Or is it calculated based on the amount of time I will be renting?

As an additional question (if I may); what other expenses should I be taking into consideration - other than energy, water, internet?

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2 Answers 2

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When you move in, you’ll become liable to pay the council tax for the remainder of the tax year, but you can arrange to pay in monthly instalments. And when you move out, what you owe will be adjusted to account for the unused period, so you should basically be able to stop paying at that point.

You’ve pretty much taken account of all the property-based regular outgoings for a tenant. Add in drainage (but it’s included in the water bill, so you’re probably accounting for it already) and a landline (which you’ll need for xDSL Internet even if you don’t want it for voice).

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    Thanks for the answer. Just so I understand this correctly; I can pay monthly, for 6 months and then when I move out, I won't have to pay the rest (for that particular property)?
    – nopassport1
    Nov 7, 2020 at 20:16
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    @nopassport1 There may be some small adjustment depending on exact numbers of days, but that’s basically right.
    – Mike Scott
    Nov 7, 2020 at 20:28
  • Re: paying monthly – a lot of councils offer payment in 10 instalments rather than 12. Which would mean you're paying c.£168 a month April–January, but with February and March off. (I'm sure this is because it suits councils not us, but as it happens this can be handy when there are winter energy bills to pay.) But when you move out it's all reconciled pro rata, so you'll either get money back or have to pay a top up.
    – marktristan
    Nov 9, 2020 at 10:16
  • Re landline, you're probably already accounting for this, too, as ASA rules state that ISPs must advertise the full price of broadband packages incl. any line rental necessary for ADSL service. The line rental should be itemised on your bills. Theoretically, you could have line rental from one company and broadband from another, but that poses all sorts of potential problems, is basically nowhere to be found, and line rental is pretty much standardised at £19/mth anyway.
    – Jivan Pal
    Nov 18, 2020 at 21:28
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I'd also add the following to your list:

  • Contents insurance - I assume your landlord is covering building insurance, you need insurance for your possessions.
  • Increased fuel and travel costs - Living with your parents, you probably car share a lot more than you realise, plus you will also be travelling more to go back and see them.
  • Food - You don't say what your current arrangement is with your parents, but food for two people is probably minimum £50 a week.
  • Going out - You're going to be living with your fiancé for the first time away from your parents. Accept that you will be going out a fair bit (life is for living after all) and make sure you budget this part honestly.
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  • +1 for contents insurance! Tenants often forget.
    – marktristan
    Nov 9, 2020 at 10:12

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