Deciding whose name to put on the bill can lead to problems within shared accommodation. If there are a few of you, it might be possible to put all your names on the bill. So if one person leaves, the rest of you will not all be held accountable. It’s best to ask when signing the contract, what the best possible solution is for your situation.
Having a joint bank account with your flat mates solely for bills could be another alternative – HSBC and NatWest both have accounts which can have up to four different names on the account. This would allow all housemates to set-up a direct debit to this account, ensuring there is always enough money in the “pot” to pay the bills. The money left over at the end of the year can be split up between all the flatmates.
If there are more than 4 flatmates, allocating each person responsibility for one utility would ensure that everyone is taking responsibility for something and can understand the hassle it causes when money is not given in time.
How to get your flatmates to pay the bills
Some suggested examples of ways to get annoying flatmates to pay bills are as follows. None of these are designed to be hundred percent effective (or legal). These are merely advice from other students - the success rate is unknown.
- Choose a bill out of all the household bills which you pay and is used the most i.e. internet. Phone the supplier and ask them to turn off the utility. Tell your housemates the supplier has turned it off because the bill was not paid. This should get everyone moaning at the non-payers, and hopefully they will pay up.
- Ask a drama student friend to pretend to be a bailiff. When everyone is in the house, get ‘the bailiff’ to come round and shout through the letterbox. Tell your flatmates to stay put as if you let the bailiffs in they will take anything of any value – i.e. iPods, TVs, laptops etc.
- Early in the morning turn off the electricity supply and go back to bed. When everyone wakes pretend to phone the electricity company and claim they will only put it back on if the bill is paid asap.
- Phone your flatmates parents and tell them
