I guess this'll apply to only a few people.

Without going into detail, I'm moving out of the parental home (again) into a three bed house with two other adults. I've lived in a student house before and I've rented flats too but no idea of what it'd be like to rent a house in terms of costs so wondering how much things are likely to be.

Any ideas?
Rent would be around £750pcm.
But no idea how much things like council tax, utility bills etc are likely to be.

Also some places are unfurnished. Where would I obtain furniture from when it'd be "temporary"? I have a stable job for three years but after that, I would have to look for work until I found a permanent position. Hence I'm thinking about renting for 2-3 years and buying once I have a stable, lifelong job. Which is why I'd rather not spend money on furniture unnecessarily until I have my own house.

I guess it depends massively on location.

I have 3 bed house

Gas and Electric vary from about 30 a month to about 60
My council tax is £1200n a year but that does vary a lot depending where you are
Water is about £200 a year

Don't forget telephone and internet. Find out if they have them with the same company as that will reduce costs

PM if you want to know any more

Last year I rented a house in Camberley...

Rent: £995 per month
Electricity: ~£30 per month
Gas: ~£30 per month
Water: ~£400 per annum
Phone & Net: £20 per month (Tiscali)

In Aber, the purple one has to pay council tax (our flat is band D and she gets a 25% discount because she's the only on paying council tax), she pay's ~£70 per month.

HTH,
Ben

Our three bedroom semi:

Council Tax - about £100 per month.
Elec & Gas - about £120 per month (may be lower, but that's how much I pay with all my stuff) I think we're a bit behind which is why it's so high.
Water - depends, rates are about £40 per month, but a water meter would probably be cheaper.
Landline & ADSL, About £20 per month for 10GB download, line rental and Unlimited landline phone calls. (Plusnet)

It's expensive down here, ain't it! Hrmph!

Furniture: A friend of mine got two settees (3+2 man) on ebay for £20. True, a hire van for the day to get it plus petrol cost her another £70, but that's still two settees for less than £100

Also worth checking small ads in the local fish-wrap.

Furniture – http://www.uk.freecycle.org/ + the back of your local rag.

My costs are similar to the others. £129 a month for council tax, £200 a year for water, gas and electric between £50–£200 a quarter depending on time of year and price of oil.

Houses can come in 3 main states

Furnished
Semi – Furnished
Unfurnished

Semi normally inc cookers, fridges (White Goods) but nothing else
Unfurnished may have them or maybe an empty shell. If its empty then you need to think about those as well (Cooker, Fridge/Freezer, washing machine etc)


Furniture and Stuff

e-bay
Local papers still have classified ads
Freecycle – see if there is one in your area – Google it – you often get old sofa etc on it – we have got rid of a load of stuff that was just not worth the hassle of e-baying
Friends / Family – is anyone looking to get new of anything – Both of my sofas for years were friends cast offs until I could afford to buy new ones. It saved them the hassle of getting rid of their old ones


Costs

Gas / electric mentioned above look OK
Council tax – Have a look on Rightmove.co.uk and then at a house in the same area for sale – They normally give you the Council Tax Band in the sale info and then you can assume its the same for your house and look it up on the council web site

Another idea is to get a cleaner – normally charge £10 / hr give or take depending on area – so if you had someone come in for 3 hrs a week that’s only £10 each and gets rid of a lot of arguments over keeping the shared areas clean – esp if some are lazier / messier than others

Don’t forget to allow enough for a deposit

Paid £600 for a 3 bed house in Monmouthshire, paid £600 for a 2-bed cupboard in Cardiff. You either pay less and commute miles or live close and have your wallet pulled out through your nostrils.

You CAN haggle though, especially when the rental market is particularly slow.

Costs will obviously depend very much on where you are living.

If you don't have your own furniture then a furnished property is obviously quite tempting but do bear in mind you will be responsible for looking after the furniture as well as the property (i.e if you cause any damage you may have deductions from your deposit).
Unfinished properties will typically include the 3C (Curtains, Carpet/floor covering and Cooker) and then you can get your own furniture which obviously gives more choice in what you need to get and you don't have to worry about spillages quite as much.

Also consider that with a furnished property you will be stuck with whatever the landlord decides to put in there. If you need a particular type of bed for instance then you may not get on well with one the landlord supplies.

I've lived in both and have to say I prefer unfurnished as they are usually cheaper and I've acquired quite a bit of stuff over the years anyway.
If you are planning to eventually buy your own place then renting unfurnished and acquiring some basic furniture will mean you don't have to spend as much when you do eventually buy.

Council tax will depend on the property band. Ask the agent/landlord and then check out the charges on the local council website.
Gas, electric (and water with a meter) will depend on consumption. Some people can have a tendency to whack up the heating when nobody is looking so can cost a fair bit. I'd suggest it's not unreasonable to budget for £40 pcm each. The general rule of thumb it that if you have more bathrooms than people then a water meter will probably be cheaper. The converse is also true.

Phone/broadband/TV depend on what you want and who you get it from obviously. If you can get cable then Virgin have some very good deals.

You will also need to provide insurance for you possessions. The internet is your friend on this one. Budget about £20 pcm although you may need more cover if you have a lot of high value items. Accidental damage cover for the landlords possessions may also be a good idea (and may in fact be required by the letting agent).

If you are renting with tow other non-related adults then you may be a renting a HOMO ( , but seriously, a House of Multiple Occupancy). In which case the landlord has additional obligations to do with things life fire alarms and the general quality of the property. What the local council classes as a HOMO varies so you might want to check with the council and also make sure the landlord knows before you move in.

When looking at properties bear in mind that it is now compulsory for the landlord/agent to provide you with an energy performance certificate for the property (like you get in a Home Information Pack). Your deposit must also be protected in a government approved deposit protection scheme. If it isn't then the landlord is breaking the law.

You also need to budget for food obviously. Whether you and you prospective house-mates want to share the cooking or do your own thing can impact the cost. It's generally cheaper per head to make larger quantities to communal cooking can work out cheaper.

And finally, the Shelter website has lots of useful information for tenants. Or if you want to know specific legal stuff then rented accommodation comes under department for Communities and Local Government - clickey.

Cool. Thanks for the info guys.

Where I stayed last year was an expensive part of town and my expenditure was around £1000/mth all in (except food) so wasn't sure if this time it'd be more.

Main reason I was concerned about furniture is transport and costs. Didn't really wanna have to lug around furniture every year for three years. However, if I find a good place that works out well, I'd stay for three years which would make buying furniture worthwhile.