Renting - best deals

New to Tattle Life? Click "Order Thread by Most Liked Posts" button below to get an idea of what the site is about:
Hi!!

Me and my friend are moving into a rented property soon. I’m quite new to all this and we’re trying to sort bills, insurance etc and finding it quite confusing!
Has anyone got any good advice for the best deals on energy, water, bills, wifi etc?

Thanks!
 
Water - you won’t get a ‘deal’ as there will only be one supplier, who that is depends on where you are. The only way to save is to have a meter and use less… you’ll need to contact the company to set up a new account when you move in.

Gas/electric - sadly there’s not many good deals around atm, but some suppliers offer things like sharing £100 between you and a friend who recommends you (we’re with octopus, they do it). When we rented we were moved to a “recommend” (aka crazy priced) supplier so worth checking if you’re renting through an agent.

Internet I’ve had a good deal with EE before. I’m with them on my mobile and got a decent price broadband deal, plus a tonne of free data on my phone contact. Worth shopping around though - try uswitch. If you’ll be working from home, you’ll need a decent speed. We have 2 of us and have 100mbps which has been great with 2 of us on video calls most of the day

Insurance, it’s worth shopping around too- but read the small print! I wouldn’t consider insurance that has a defaqto rating of less than 4/5*.


Also worth finding out about the council tax band for the property so you can budget for that too
 

Yel

Moderator
Broadband is just about the only thing you can get a deal on.

Although I'd say the most important thing is understanding who your landlord is. Are they someone who owns it outright or a buy to let numptie that watches homes under the hammer and is likely to want to raise the rent regularly (because they don't understand that voids cost them)?
 
Unfortunately at the moment gas prices are through the roof so you might struggle with a "deal" as such for energy. I would use Uswitch/other comparison sites etc to see what prices are out there, but don't be surprised if they're high!

In terms of broadband, Sky often do lots of new customer deals which keep you on a set rate for 18 months or so.

Water - there won't be any deals. You'll have 1 water and sewerage provider in your area and that is who you will pay. Your bill will depend on whether you have a meter or not (if there is one, you can't just get it taken away!). I am fortunate that I don't have a meter at my property and pay £12 a month for water! If I had a meter I'd be paying a lot more as I have 2 baths a day and my partner also prefers a bath over a shower so we do use a lot.

Comparison sites for things like broadband, insurance etc will be your best friend as it saves you checking prices individually on each website.

Don't forget to budget for things like council tax!
 
My water is just under £30 a month.
Ive used Talk Talk for cheap deals in the past but that’s about £35 a month.

Nothing is cheap anymore.