A housemate is moving in mid-tenancy: bills, splits, council tax and the TV Licence

When someone joins your house partway through a tenancy, sort the paperwork before the bills. Get the landlord's written agreement to the new arrangement, take dated meter readings on the day they arrive, decide whose names go on each account, re-split from that date, and tell the council if the household's council tax position changes. This checklist was written with January moves in mind and checked against official guidance on 13 October 2026.

Does the new housemate need to be added to the tenancy?

Usually, yes. The process depends on where you live, and halls or lodgings can follow different rules.

• England: Shelter says all joint tenants and the landlord need to agree to a replacement tenant, and that it is often best to end the old tenancy and sign a new agreement naming everyone who now lives there. If that does not happen, the person who left is still a tenant and the new person could be a lodger. Shelter says a landlord or agent could charge up to £50 to amend the agreement or draft a new one.
• Wales: the Welsh Government says a contract-holder can make another person a joint contract-holder with the landlord's consent, which cannot be unreasonably withheld or made subject to unreasonable conditions. Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, the new joint contract-holder takes on all the rights and obligations of a contract-holder.
• Scotland: Shelter Scotland says private tenants have no automatic right to add a joint tenant, so ask the landlord. Someone joining an existing joint tenancy does not need a new tenancy agreement, but should get the landlord's agreement in writing and sign a document saying they have become a tenant.
• Northern Ireland: nidirect says a landlord must give a free Tenancy Information Notice within 28 days of a tenancy starting, and a free Notice of Variation within 28 days of a change taking effect. Ask for the paperwork that reflects the new household.

Shelter also advises paying your share of the rent straight to the landlord or letting agent, and keeping evidence that you have a contract with the landlord.

Which bill accounts need a new name?

Start with a shared list of every account: the provider, the account holder, the contract end date and how to get in touch. Keep full account numbers and personal details out of a group chat.

• Energy: ask each supplier whether it will add the new housemate as a named customer, and what each named person is then responsible for. Shelter says that when more than one person's name is on a bill, everyone named is responsible for it.
• Water: some companies can put several names on one account. Yorkshire Water, for example, says it can do this for a student house.
• Broadband: the contract stays with whoever signed it. Agree the new housemate's share in writing rather than changing the contract.

A private agreement about shares is between housemates. It does not change what a supplier can ask its named customer to pay, so get any account change confirmed by the supplier. Our guide to whose name goes on house share bills covers liability in more detail.

How do we re-split the bills from the move-in date?

Take a dated reading of every meter on the day the new housemate moves in. Citizens Advice says to read your meters on the day you move in and give the readings to the current supplier. Photograph each meter with its serial number in view.

Then separate fixed charges from usage. Standing charges and a broadband subscription run every day, so share them by the days each person was responsible. Use the readings for usage: units before the move-in reading are split between the original housemates, and units after it between everyone.

Worked example: a 31-day January bill has £93 of fixed charges. Three people share the first 10 days and four share the remaining 21. The first £30 is £10 each. The remaining £63 is £15.75 each. The new housemate pays £15.75, and each original housemate pays £25.75. This illustrates household arithmetic, not a supplier's legal allocation.

If the move falls around the new year, take a reading on 1 January as well. Ofgem's price cap rates for 1 October to 31 December 2026 end on 31 December, and Ofgem sets the cap every 3 months, so the rates on a default tariff can change on that date. Use the bill-splitting guide and calculator to check that the shares add up to the bill.

What changes for council tax?

It depends on whether the new housemate is a full-time student.

• If everyone, the newcomer included, is a full-time student, GOV.UK says the household does not have to pay council tax. The council may want evidence, and Citizens Advice says your university or college must give you a certificate when you ask, unless more than a year has passed since your course finished.
• If the newcomer is not a full-time student, GOV.UK says the household will get a bill but might still qualify for a discount. You get 25% off if everyone else in the home is disregarded, and full-time students are disregarded.
• Citizens Advice says that where one non-student lives with students, they will probably be liable for 75% of the bill. With two or more non-students, it says the council can only pursue the non-students for payment.

GOV.UK says you need to apply for a discount or an exemption even if you are disregarded, so tell the council the date the household changed. Our guide to council tax when you live with a non-student covers the detail, and the student council tax exemption guide explains how to claim. Wales and Scotland also exempt homes where everyone is a full-time student, under their own rules, and Northern Ireland has rates instead of council tax.

Do we need a new TV Licence or a faster broadband deal?

GOV.UK says a licence is needed to watch or record live TV on any channel or service, or to use BBC iPlayer. One TV Licence covers a home on a joint tenancy agreement. If the new housemate has a separate tenancy agreement for their room and watches TV there, GOV.UK says they need their own licence. A licence costs £180 a year.

For broadband, check the speed still suits one more person. An upgrade can start a new minimum term, so agree it in writing before the account holder signs.

What should the house write down?

Keep one record the whole house can see:

1. The move-in date and the dated meter readings.
2. Who holds each account, and any change the supplier has confirmed.
3. The split rule for each bill, and the date it starts.
4. Who pays what, and by when.
5. The council tax position, and the date you told the council.

Taupia can hold the split and show who has paid. It moves no money and does not change who a supplier bills. When someone leaves, the housemate moving-out checklist covers the same ground in reverse.