Bills included in rent, explained

• ✓GOV.UK's guidance for tenants in England says energy, water, internet and a fixed-line phone can be included in your rent, and that your landlord can also require you to pay some bills separately.
• ✓Council tax and a TV Licence can be included in the rent where the tenancy agreement says so. If they are not, GOV.UK says your landlord cannot require you to make a separate payment to them for either.
• ✓Anything included must be listed as a term in your tenancy agreement, GOV.UK says. Read that list before you open any account yourself.
• ✓Mobile phones are personal contracts, so expect to keep paying your own.

Sources: GOV.UK: Tenant Fees Act 2019 guidance for tenants (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓Find the allowance and its unit: kilowatt hours, pounds, or a share of the landlord's bill.
• ✓Check the period. A monthly allowance can be breached in one cold month even if the year would average out.
• ✓Check how usage is measured and who reads the meter, and ask to see the readings.
• ✓Ask how the price above the allowance is worked out, and for the supplier bills behind it. Where a landlord resells energy, Ofgem's guidance says they should be able to explain how each share is calculated and show the evidence on request.
• ✓Check how an overage is shared between housemates: equally, by room, or by each person's own meter.

Sources: Ofgem: maximum resale price guidance for resellers (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓Ofgem says the most anyone can charge when reselling gas or electricity is the price they paid, including any standing charges. It applies when a landlord resells to tenants, and to student accommodation.
• ✓Where a landlord pays a standing charge, Ofgem's guidance says it must be divided pro rata between the people using the supply, according to the energy each used or is estimated to have used.
• ✓The rule does not apply when energy is part of an inclusive rent with no separate charge for it. Ofgem says the parties would then need to consider whether other legal controls apply to the overall rent.
• ✓Citizens Advice says that if you pay your landlord for energy, you do not have to pay the supplier as well, and you cannot switch supplier or tariff yourself while your landlord pays the supplier.
• ✓Water is resold on different terms. In England, Citizens Advice says you should not be charged more than the water company would charge, plus a reasonable administration fee.

Sources: Ofgem: maximum resale price guidance for resellers (read 13 October 2026); Citizens Advice: check if you're responsible for paying an energy bill (read 13 October 2026); Citizens Advice: switching energy supplier if you're a tenant (read 13 October 2026); Citizens Advice: paying your water bills if you're renting (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓GOV.UK lists the permitted payments: rent, a refundable tenancy deposit, a refundable holding deposit, a payment to change the tenancy when you ask, a payment when you leave without enough notice, a payment towards utility bills and communication services, a late rent fee and a fee for replacing a key or security device.
• ✓A tenancy deposit is capped at 5 weeks' rent where the annual rent is below £50,000, and a holding deposit at 1 week's rent.
• ✓A change to the tenancy that you ask for can cost up to £50, or more if the work costs more. GOV.UK says to ask for evidence of any higher figure.
• ✓Included bills must be listed as terms in your tenancy agreement, and GOV.UK says they must reflect the actual costs.

Sources: GOV.UK: Tenant Fees Act 2019 guidance for tenants (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓Shelter says fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies signed before 1 May 2026 are now rolling periodic tenancies with no set end date, so a bills-included rent carries on until someone gives notice.
• ✓Shelter says your landlord can only increase rent once a year, with at least 2 months' notice on a special form. If bills are part of the rent figure, ask how a rise in energy prices would be passed on before you sign, and get the answer in writing.
• ✓A landlord cannot ask for more than 1 month's rent in advance, and you can only be asked to pay the advertised rent.
• ✓Tenants usually give 2 months' notice to leave, Shelter says, or less if the landlord agrees in writing.

Sources: Shelter: Renters' Rights Act changes for private tenants (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓An inclusive price is set before anyone knows how much the house will use, so it is likely to carry some headroom. A house that uses less than the landlord allowed for pays for that headroom.
• ✓While the landlord pays the energy supplier, Citizens Advice says you cannot switch supplier or tariff yourself, so you cannot shop around for a better deal.
• ✓Splitting direct can still lose. A heavy-usage house with few sharers may pay more than a good bills-included deal, so run the numbers rather than assuming.
• ✓Compare like with like: price the same bills from official averages, then set the total against the bills part of the rent.

Sources: Citizens Advice: switching energy supplier if you're a tenant (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓Ask in writing for the supplier bills, the unit rates, the standing charges and how your share was worked out. Where your supply is metered, Ofgem's guidance says a reseller must be prepared to show you the supplier's bills.
• ✓Ofgem says tenants can recover overcharges through the small claims court, and interest may be payable on the excess the court orders the reseller to repay.
• ✓Get free advice before court. Citizens Advice says you can get advice from its consumer service if you cannot agree with your landlord about who pays for energy.
• ✓In England and Wales, GOV.UK lists court fees from £35 for a money claim up to £300.

Sources: Ofgem: maximum resale price guidance for resellers (read 13 October 2026); Citizens Advice: check if you're responsible for paying an energy bill (read 13 October 2026); GOV.UK: court fees for a money claim (read 13 October 2026)

• ✓Wales: the Welsh Government says all contract-holders must be given a written statement of the occupation contract. Check it for which bills are included.
• ✓Scotland: Citizens Advice Scotland says there are legal restrictions on the amount a landlord can charge for energy, whether or not it is supplied through a prepayment meter.
• ✓Northern Ireland: nidirect says your landlord must give you a free Tenancy Information Notice within 28 days of the tenancy starting, setting out the rent and your rights and responsibilities. The energy rules above come from Ofgem, which sets the price cap for England, Scotland and Wales, so get local advice on recharged energy.

Sources: Welsh Government: renting homes questions for landlords (read 13 October 2026); Citizens Advice Scotland: problems with renting and energy bills (read 13 October 2026); nidirect: private rent and tenancies (read 13 October 2026)