Living by yourself.

whohasmynameukwhohasmynameuk Posts: 782
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I have recently started to research the cost of moving out of my parents house. I like the idea of owning my own house and living by myself. I read on another ds thread about water rates and someone said that if you live by yourself you get a slight discount. I told my sister this and she told me that if you call the council they will give you a slight discount on council tax, is that true?

Is there anything else you can get discounted as a single occupant?

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  • Keefy-boyKeefy-boy Posts: 13,561
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    You would be entitled to a 25% discount on the Council Tax.

    As far as water rates go, as a single person you are probably better off with a metered supply where you pay for what you use. If you moved to a property with a water meter you wouldn't have any choice anyway!

    I'm not aware of any other single person discounts though.
  • CaptMcMallisterCaptMcMallister Posts: 227
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    I have recently started to research the cost of moving out of my parents house. I like the idea of owning my own house and living by myself. I read on another ds thread about water rates and someone said that if you live by yourself you get a slight discount. I told my sister this and she told me that if you call the council they will give you a slight discount on council tax, is that true?

    Is there anything else you can get discounted as a single occupant?

    Council tax you get 25% off.

    Water is a trickier one, the water companies really want you to have a meter, and you sort of get a discount that way in that you will use less being on your own, and I have heard some companies have a low use category for the standing charge. If you live in a house that can't have a meter, for example you are on a shared supply from the stop cock in the pavement, then you can apply to go on the "Assessed Usage Charge", which does have a single person discount component.
  • HypnodiscHypnodisc Posts: 22,728
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    As far as I know, my Thames Water bill doesn't give me any single person discount, I just pay the going rate for this size of house (small).

    It's somewhere just under £20 a month.. £230 a year or so.
  • joules22joules22 Posts: 1,585
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    Keefy-boy wrote: »
    You would be entitled to a 25% discount on the Council Tax.

    As far as water rates go, as a single person you are probably better off with a metered supply where you pay for what you use. If you moved to a property with a water meter you wouldn't have any choice anyway!

    I'm not aware of any other single person discounts though.


    Wot he said.
  • digimon900digimon900 Posts: 4,249
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    Hypnodisc wrote: »
    As far as I know, my Thames Water bill doesn't give me any single person discount, I just pay the going rate for this size of house (small).

    It's somewhere just under £20 a month.. £230 a year or so.

    I remember moving from a 3 bed house in North London in early 2002, my Thames Water bill was about £22 a month, and my council tax was £128 a month. In Conwy North Wales where I moved to, Welsh Water charged nearly £700 a year £68 a month! My council tax was £226 a year, and they didn't have a monthly payment program. In those days the Welsh did not put properties into Bands as the English did. In 2006 they Banded their properties under the English system and my council tax went up to £900 a year :eek:
  • whitecliffewhitecliffe Posts: 12,006
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    digimon900 wrote: »
    I remember moving from a 3 bed house in North London in early 2002, my Thames Water bill was about £22 a month, and my council tax was £128 a month. In Conwy North Wales where I moved to, Welsh Water charged nearly £700 a year £68 a month! My council tax was £226 a year, and they didn't have a monthly payment program. In those days the Welsh did not put properties into Bands as the English did. In 2006 they Banded their properties under the English system and my council tax went up to £900 a year :eek:

    Rated water bills do vary greatly throughout the country. Thames Water has always been a cheaper whilst where I live in South Kent we are over £700pa. Just gone on to metered so hoping that will be a bit cheaper.
  • whohasmynameukwhohasmynameuk Posts: 782
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    striing wrote: »
    Was that my water thread by any chance? :D I have lived on my own for years and didn't know anything about a possible water discount until I posted the thread - but I will find out when the water board come out in the next couple of weeks and find they can't fit a meter.

    As others have said, council tax is 25% off which I've always thought is a rip off. It should be 50% as I use a fraction of the services that families use... . But life is just more expensive all round if you live on your own. I wouldn't change it though. I'm not saying I will live on my own for ever more - but I certainly value the fact that I didn't go through houseshare hell in my 20s and 30s!

    It was your thread striing, and very useful to know too. At the mo I am just trying to get a rough idea of what things will cost me to see how poor I will be at the end of the month when everything is paid for. I agree about the council tax although even at 25% that would would work out at about £31 so I should be able to afford heating lol.

    I have always lived with my parents so I just want stand on my own 2 feet for a bit. It doesn't feel that scary either.
  • stud u likestud u like Posts: 42,100
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    Rated water bills do vary greatly throughout the country. Thames Water has always been a cheaper whilst where I live in South Kent we are over £700pa. Just gone on to metered so hoping that will be a bit cheaper.

    In Folkestone my water bills are 8 pounds with Veolia and 9 pounds with Southern water a month.
  • stargazer61stargazer61 Posts: 70,906
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    In Folkestone my water bills are 8 pounds with Veolia and 9 pounds with Southern water a month.

    Mine are just a little more.....£10 and £12 per month. I live on my own and geting a water meter dramatically cut my bills
  • digimon900digimon900 Posts: 4,249
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    Rated water bills do vary greatly throughout the country. Thames Water has always been a cheaper whilst where I live in South Kent we are over £700pa. Just gone on to metered so hoping that will be a bit cheaper.

    I went on a meter eventually because we ended up spending large amounts of time away in London. My water bill on the meter was £145 a year!
  • CaptMcMallisterCaptMcMallister Posts: 227
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    Hypnodisc wrote: »
    As far as I know, my Thames Water bill doesn't give me any single person discount, I just pay the going rate for this size of house (small).

    It's somewhere just under £20 a month.. £230 a year or so.

    It would do on the assessed charged:

    http://www.thameswater.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/corp/hs.xsl/568.htm

    but to get on that they have to conclude you can't have a meter.
  • Annie1fortennisAnnie1fortennis Posts: 905
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    Um I see that you are investigating what discounts you can get on your water rates and council tax - all good. But - what about the major outgoing of your rent or mortgage? I suggest that you look at that first
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