Student Bills Packages vs Doing It Yourself

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Unless your student accommodation includes bills, you’ll have to choose whether to opt for a student bills package or tackle your utilities yourself. Whichever option you choose, it’s essential that you do your research and decide on a method of payment (along with your housemates) before you move in.  

In this guide, we’ll break down the potential pros and cons of each option to help you make the best decision for you and your house.  

Student bills packages

There are now plenty of bill packages available that are designed specifically for students. They’ll handle your house’s utility bills, so you don’t have to. Most packages include water and energy bills, as well as broadband. 

👍 Pros of student bills packages  

The biggest benefit of choosing a bill package is the ease and convenience. They’re typically simple to set up and will take much of the stress and hassle out of setting up and managing utility bills. This is why they’re so popular with students who’ve likely never paid utility bills before.  

Student bill packages are flexible and allow you to choose which bills you want included, e.g. broadband and a TV Licence. This gives you peace of mind that everything is covered by one neat monthly payment. Knowing how much your bills will be ahead of time makes it so much easier to budget and stay in control of your finances.  

👎 Cons of student bills packages  

Of course, if you choose a bills package, you’ll typically pay slightly more than you would if you handled the bills yourself. However, you’re paying for a simple and convenient solution to help you have a stress-free and seamless living experience. 

Doing it yourself

Handling your household bills will typically involve setting up separate accounts for each bill (water, gas, electricity, and broadband) and then setting up a regular direct debit. You’ll also need to pay for a TV Licence if your house plans to watch live TV or the BBC (including iPlayer).  

We’ve got more information about doing it yourself in our blog post on how to find the best student utility bills.

👍 Pros of doing it yourself  

Being in charge of your own bills will likely be the less expensive option, as you can shop around for the best energy deals between suppliers. However, due to a fluctuating energy market, your monthly payments could change and you might end up paying a different amount to what you'd originally anticipated. 

If you don’t mind taking on the added responsibility of working out what every housemate owes for each separate bill, and you're happy to ensure they all pay on time, this option could work for you.  

👎 Cons of doing it yourself  

Although doing it yourself might result in the cheapest student bills, it’s much more stressful than paying for a bill package. It also means that the person who sets up the utility account and direct debit is responsible for paying that bill. So, if one of your housemates doesn’t pay you their portion of the bill in time, you might have to cover it until they do or even chase them for the money.  

Your energy and water usage will likely change from month to month, so your water, gas, and electric bills can also fluctuate. Keep in mind that energy prices can change as well. This means it can be hard to budget as you never know exactly how much you’ll need to pay each month.

How to choose the best option for you and your house 

When weighing up the options for paying your shared bills, it’s a good idea to talk to the people you’ll be living with and ensure everyone is on the same page.  

Even if you feel comfortable handling the bills yourself, you must consider how your housemates feel (unless you’re living by yourself, of course). Otherwise, you could be stuck with the responsibility of setting up utility accounts, calculating how much everyone owes, and chasing your housemates for payment – not an ideal situation!  

With a student bills package, you’ll only ever be responsible for your monthly payment! So this might be the better option if some of your housemates are worried about remembering to transfer each other money on time.  

UniHomes’ student bills package  

If you’ve already found your dream student accommodation for next year but haven’t sorted your bills out, we can help! 

UniHomes offers a bill-splitting service to help students simplify their utility bills and make their lives easier. Our uncapped bills package includes water, electricity, gas, broadband and TV Licence. 

We’re trusted by thousands of students, so you can rely on us to take the stress out of student household bills.  

Pros and cons of UniHomes utilities

Pros

• Low admin - we'll set up and manage your gas, electric, broadband, water and TV Licence (optional), saving you from having to get quotes, choose suppliers and set up accounts for each utility. One quote, one account.
• One simple monthly payment - know exactly what's going out and when for easy budgeting. Avoid juggling different payment dates and budgeting headaches.
• Bills split equally between housemates - each housemate sets up their own Direct Debit, removing drama and financial risk that can happen if bills are managed by a chief bill payer.
• No deposits or setup fees - no upfront costs or guarantors - these would be required by some suppliers otherwise.
• Uncapped energy as standard - use what you need without worrying about over-usage bills or seasonal spikes.
• One point of contact - all utility questions go to UniHomes' dedicated support team, rather than needing to dealing with each utility supplier individually.
• Superfast broadband as standard - supplied by leading suppliers for streaming, gaming and studying.
• Free 24/7 wellbeing support - round-the-clock wellbeing support via Howden for Students should you ever need it.

Cons

• Less control over suppliers - if you'd prefer to shop around and choose your own suppliers, you might be better going it alone.
• Paying for convenience - managing your own bills may work out cheaper, although watch out for bills changes caused by energy market fluctuations.

When you stack the options, managing utilities yourself can quickly become more trouble than it’s worth - juggling suppliers, dealing with any unpredictable bills, and potential housemate drama over the heating or chasing payments. 

With UniHomes, we’ve got you covered so everything clicks into place - superfast broadband, uncapped energy, no over-usage surprises, no deposits or setup fees, and one simple monthly payment split equally for a stress-free living experience.  

As an all-in utility management service designed to remove stress and admin from student life, going all in with UniHomes isn’t just easier, it’s a no-brainer. See what students say about using UniHomes on Trustpilot.

Not found accommodation yet? 

If you’ve not sorted your student house yet, then UniHomes has a huge range of amazing student properties (from trusted landlords and letting agents) in student cities across the UK.  

All our properties come with bills included, so the price you see on our site includes energy, water, and broadband! Our uncapped package means you won’t have to worry about using more energy in the winter than you would in summer. 

Check out our range of student properties and find your perfect student house today. Remember that the price you see includes rent and utilities.