A room where the electricity is "included in the rent" sounds like the easy life for a student. No account to open, no bill to watch, one payment and done. But that convenience comes at a cost, and it is one you rarely see. Depending on the deal, you can quietly end up paying noticeably more for your energy than you would on a tariff in your own name. Here are the numbers.
Three ways student housing charges for energy
Before comparing anything, work out which situation you are actually in. Student lets broadly come in three set-ups:
- University halls: the weekly rent is all-inclusive, covering heating, hot water, electricity and usually wi-fi, with no separate bill ever landing.
- Private accommodation with bills included: purpose-built student blocks and many shared houses run a single account for the building and pass energy on as a fixed monthly amount rolled into the rent.
- A let with its own meter: the electricity is yours to pay, you choose the supplier and the tariff, and it is the only case where you control the price.
That one distinction, a charge you cannot control versus a meter in your own name, is what determines what you actually pay.
What electricity really costs in a small flat
Take a typical studio without electric heating, using around 1,000 kWh a year. On the current Ofgem price cap, electricity costs 26.11p per kWh on direct debit, with a daily standing charge of 57.19p. The yearly bill works out at about £470, just over £39 a month. Pick one of the fixed deals currently sitting below the cap and it drops to roughly £450.
One detail is worth flagging. The standing charge, around £209 a year, is payable however little you use. In a low-usage flat, the standing charge accounts for almost as much of the bill as the electricity itself, which is exactly why an all-inclusive charge can look deceptively reasonable. Our guide to the standing charge explains where that daily amount goes.
All-inclusive or your own meter: who comes out ahead
A fixed charge costs the same no matter how much you actually use. For a light user in a small flat, any energy charge much above £40 a month means paying more than your own supply would cost, which sits around £37 to £39. In a flat heated with electric radiators, where winter bills climb fast, that same fixed charge can work in your favour.
The real catch is something else entirely: an all-inclusive charge removes every reward for being careful. Whether you switch the radiators off or leave everything running, the amount stays exactly the same. In all-inclusive halls the deal usually still stacks up, because at that level of usage the standing charge eats most of the bill anyway.
Good to know: if your landlord resells you electricity through a sub-meter, Ofgem's Maximum Resale Price rules say they cannot charge you more per unit than they paid themselves. An all-inclusive charge buried in the rent is much harder to police, which is precisely why it needs questioning before you sign.
Check the small print before you sign
A tenancy with energy included cannot be judged on the words "bills included" alone. Take a private studio charging £65 a month for energy: that is £780 over the year, against roughly £450 to £470 for a metered supply. If your usage is low, that is more than £300 down the drain.
- Is the energy genuinely unlimited, or is there a fair-usage cap? Many bills-included lets cover energy only up to a set allowance, with extra charges once you go over it.
- What exactly does the amount cover? Electricity alone, or heating and hot water too, which makes a huge difference in a poorly insulated flat.
- Is the charge written into the tenancy agreement, or could you have the meter in your own name instead? If you pay a supplier directly, Ofgem confirms tenants have the right to switch.
The fair-usage cap is where the surprises hide. A generous allowance you never reach means paying upfront for nothing, while a tight one turns bills included into a bill with extra steps. Ask what the allowance is, how usage is measured, and whether anyone in the house was charged for going over it last year. A landlord who cannot answer those three questions is telling you something.
If the meter is in your name, two things to check
When the electricity stays in your hands, two levers matter. First, check what you actually use: a small flat sits far below the national average, and our guide to average consumption in the UK helps you see where you stand. Then look at the tariff, because fixed deals are currently landing below the price cap.
Over a nine- or ten-month tenancy the saving is modest, a couple of pounds a month, but not to be sniffed at on a student budget. Start by understanding what sits inside your energy bill, then compare what you pay per unit against what the market offers.
Energy included never means energy free. Before signing for a bills-included tenancy, ask the one question that matters: does this amount match what a meter in your name would really cost?