How to split bills with flatmates (UK house share)

• Energy (gas and electricity): often the biggest bill, and much higher in winter.
• Broadband: a fixed monthly amount, easy to share.
• Water: billed separately in most house shares.
• Council tax: depends on your tenancy (see below).
• TV Licence, if anyone watches live TV or BBC iPlayer, and shared cleaning products, loo roll and light bulbs.

Council tax liability depends on how the property is let. A few basics from gov.uk:

• You usually have to pay council tax if you are 18 or over.
• A full bill is based on at least two adults living in the home; you get 25% off if you live alone, or if everyone else in your home is “disregarded”.
• Full-time students are disregarded, which means they are not counted when working out how many people live in a property. You still need to apply to your council for the discount.

In practice, house shares fall into two cases. On a joint tenancy, the people named on the agreement who live there are typically jointly and individually responsible for the whole bill. Where rooms are let on separate tenancies (a house in multiple occupation), it is usually the landlord’s responsibility, as Southwark Council explains, for example. If you are not sure, ask your local council.

An energy or broadband account is usually in one person’s name. They get the bill, the direct debit comes out of their account, and they are the one the supplier chases if it goes unpaid. Two good habits:

• Spread the accounts: one flatmate takes energy, another broadband, a third water. Nobody fronts everything.
• Plan for someone moving out: before they leave, take meter readings, move or close accounts in their name, and settle what they owe or are owed.

The most common rule is equal shares, since everyone uses the heating and the Wi-Fi the same way. A few common adjustments:

• A couple sharing a room: bills can be split per person rather than per room.
• A flatmate away for weeks: you can agree to reduce their share of variable bills for that period.
• One heavy user (a portable heater, full-time working from home): a slightly bigger share, if everyone agrees.

For the rent itself, when rooms are different sizes, use our rent split calculator.

Four housemates on a joint tenancy share £180 a month of energy, £35 of broadband and £45 of water, plus £160 of council tax. That is £420 a month in total.

1. Split equally: 420 ÷ 4 = £105 each a month.
2. Aisha pays energy (£180), Tom broadband (£35), Priya water (£45) and Ben council tax (£160).
3. Balances: Aisha has paid £75 more than her share, Tom £70 less, Priya £60 less, Ben £55 more.
4. Settling up: Tom pays Aisha £70, Priya pays Aisha £5 and Ben £55. Three transfers, and the month is square.

1. Log each bill as soon as it is paid, with who paid it.
2. Set fixed bills (broadband, council tax instalments) as recurring expenses.
3. Settle up monthly: everyone pays what they owe, and you start again from zero.

In SAVY, each housemate adds what they pay and the app works out who owes whom, keeping the number of transfers down. Free: unlimited expenses, equal splits, up to 4 members, 2 recurring expenses. SAVY Plus, paid by the household’s owner and unlocked for the whole house, adds unlimited members, custom splits, unlimited recurring expenses and a payment link. No ads, no bank connection.