Are Bills Included in London Room Rents?
Usually, yes. Of 24,853 London room ads that state bills, 69.6% say all bills are included, 9.3% say some are and 21.1% say none are. The median bills-included room asked £932 pcm. The median room without bills asked £1,000.
Published 14 October 2026. Room ads first seen 15 July to 12 October 2026.
These figures come from London room ads that RentReboot collected. They are asking rents in ads, not the rents people agreed. Only some room ads carry a structured bills field: 24,853 of 34,672 (71.7%). Studio and flat ads in our data do not carry it, so this report covers rooms only. If you are weighing a room against a whole flat, see where in London you can rent a flat for £1,500.
The two medians are £68 apart, but they are not like for like. Letting agents and landlords who live in the home included bills in more than 8 in 10 of their ads. Current flatmates included them in 4 in 10. For double rooms in the same neighbourhood, the median difference between the two groups was £0.
Use the calculator to compare two rooms with your own bill figures.
Bills included or not: which room costs less a month?
Enter the two asking rents, the bills for the whole home and how many people share them. The defaults are the London medians from this report and Ofgem’s typical household energy bill.
Example at the London medians: a room with bills included asks £932 pcm. A room without bills asks £1,000 pcm. Add a share of Ofgem’s typical household energy bill (£1,723 a year, or £144 a month) split 4 ways (£36 each), and the room without bills costs £1,036 a month before water and broadband. The interactive calculator loads in your browser.
How many London room ads include bills?
How many London room ads include bills
24,853 room ads with a bills field (71.7% of 34,672 room ads). Bar length is the share; the label is the median asking rent.
| Bills | Share of ads | Ads | Median ask | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All bills included | 69.6% | 17,298 | £932 | £800 to £1,125 |
| Some bills included | 9.3% | 2,321 | £996 | £850 to £1,200 |
| Bills not included | 21.1% | 5,234 | £1,000 | £840 to £1,200 |
Room ads first seen 15 July 2026 to 12 October 2026 (90 days) that carry a structured bills field. Asking rents in pounds per calendar month (pcm).
- All bills included: 17,298 ads (69.6%), median £932 pcm. The middle half asked £800 to £1,125.
- Some bills included: 2,321 ads (9.3%), median £996 pcm.
- Bills not included: 5,234 ads (21.1%), median £1,000 pcm. The middle half asked £840 to £1,200.
A further 9,819 room ads do not state bills in a structured field. Their median was £910 pcm. This report does not read bills from the ad text.
Who includes bills in a London room ad?
The share changes most with who placed the ad. Use the toggle to see the share by part of London, room size, travel zone and asking rent.
Which London room ads include bills
Share of room ads with a bills field that include all bills, by part of London, who placed the ad, room size, travel zone and asking rent.
| Split | Group | Ads | All included | Some | None | Median, included | Median, not included |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of London | West | 3,166 | 74.9% | 7.5% | 17.6% | £1,000 | £1,074 |
| Part of London | North | 5,528 | 72.1% | 8.8% | 19.1% | £900 | £929 |
| Part of London | East | 7,075 | 69.3% | 11.1% | 19.6% | £900 | £1,030 |
| Part of London | South | 8,007 | 67.2% | 8.1% | 24.7% | £910 | £950 |
| Part of London | Central | 1,077 | 61.4% | 15.4% | 23.2% | £1,200 | £1,302 |
| Who placed the ad | Letting agent | 8,273 | 84.3% | 12.6% | 3.1% | £950 | £998 |
| Who placed the ad | Landlord who lives in | 4,064 | 83.3% | 8% | 8.7% | £900 | £1,000 |
| Who placed the ad | Landlord who lives elsewhere | 3,411 | 75.3% | 12.9% | 11.8% | £910 | £1,000 |
| Who placed the ad | Current flatmate | 5,591 | 40.6% | 7.5% | 51.9% | £915 | £1,000 |
| Who placed the ad | Outgoing flatmate | 1,621 | 31.7% | 5.7% | 62.6% | £1,050 | £964 |
| Single or double | Double room | 17,907 | 65.7% | 10.2% | 24.1% | £953 | £1,000 |
| Single or double | Single room | 2,029 | 78.9% | 7% | 14.1% | £750 | £848 |
| Travel zone | Zone 1 | 1,896 | 62.6% | 18.8% | 18.7% | £1,200 | £1,250 |
| Travel zone | Zone 2 | 7,204 | 68.1% | 11.7% | 20.2% | £997 | £1,000 |
| Travel zone | Zone 3 | 3,925 | 77.9% | 8.5% | 13.6% | £867 | £875 |
| Travel zone | Zone 4 | 1,076 | 84.4% | 7.2% | 8.5% | £825 | £900 |
| Asking rent | Under £700 | 1,796 | 72.1% | 7.3% | 20.6% | n/a | n/a |
| Asking rent | £700 to £899 | 7,909 | 74.7% | 7.9% | 17.4% | n/a | n/a |
| Asking rent | £900 to £1,099 | 7,233 | 68.9% | 9.8% | 21.3% | n/a | n/a |
| Asking rent | £1,100 to £1,299 | 4,437 | 65.2% | 10.5% | 24.3% | n/a | n/a |
| Asking rent | £1,300 or more | 3,478 | 63.7% | 11.2% | 25% | n/a | n/a |
Groups with fewer than 30 ads are not shown. Room ads first seen 15 July 2026 to 12 October 2026 (90 days) that carry a structured bills field. Asking rents in pounds per calendar month (pcm).
Who placed the ad. 23,001 ads state both bills and who placed them:
- Letting agent: 84.3% include all bills (8,273 ads). Median £950 with bills, £998 without (256 ads).
- Landlord who lives in the home: 83.3% (4,064 ads). Median £900 with bills, £1,000 without (354 ads).
- Landlord who lives elsewhere: 75.3% (3,411 ads). Median £910 with bills, £1,000 without (402 ads).
- Current flatmate: 40.6% (5,591 ads). Median £915 with bills, £1,000 without (2,902 ads).
- Outgoing flatmate: 31.7% (1,621 ads). Median £1,050 with bills, £964 without (1,014 ads).
Who placed the ad also matters for your rights: if the landlord lives in the home and you share facilities, you are usually a lodger. Our London flatshare guide explains the difference.
Single or double. 78.9% of single room ads include all bills (2,029 ads), against 65.7% of double room ads (17,907). Single rooms asked a median £750 with bills and £848 without. Double rooms asked £953 with bills and £1,000 without.
Travel zone. The share was higher in each zone further out: 62.6% in zone 1 (1,896 ads), 68.1% in zone 2 (7,204), 77.9% in zone 3 (3,925) and 84.4% in zone 4 (1,076). Zone 5 has too few ads to show.
Asking rent. 74.7% of rooms asking £700 to £899 include all bills. At £1,300 or more, 63.7% do.
Do bills-included rooms cost more in the same area?
Across London, bills-included rooms asked £68 less at the median. That gap mixes kinds of ads: agent and live-in landlord ads mostly include bills, and flatmate ads mostly do not. To compare like with like, we took double rooms in the same neighbourhood. 53 neighbourhoods had at least 30 double room ads with bills included and 30 without (13,350 ads).
Double rooms in the same neighbourhood: bills included vs not
Median ask of double rooms with all bills included minus the median ask of double rooms without bills, in the 53 neighbourhoods with at least 30 ads of each kind (13,350 ads). Below zero: the bills-included rooms asked less.
| Neighbourhood | Bills included (ads) | Not included (ads) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stratford & Olympic Park | £900 (194) | £1,136 (104) | -£236 |
| Woolwich & Plumstead | £800 (243) | £975 (30) | -£175 |
| Canary Wharf & Isle of Dogs | £1,100 (332) | £1,250 (65) | -£150 |
| Canning Town & Royal Docks | £953 (246) | £1,100 (103) | -£147 |
| Wapping & Limehouse | £1,050 (57) | £1,148 (35) | -£98 |
| Borough & Bankside | £1,126 (104) | £1,200 (65) | -£74 |
| Hammersmith & Brook Green | £1,000 (154) | £1,050 (67) | -£50 |
| Kennington, Oval & Vauxhall | £1,000 (112) | £1,050 (56) | -£50 |
| Dalston & London Fields | £1,050 (78) | £1,100 (103) | -£50 |
| Kensington & Holland Park | £1,452 (41) | £1,500 (30) | -£48 |
| Bow & Poplar | £953 (393) | £1,000 (124) | -£47 |
| Putney & Roehampton | £850 (244) | £886 (42) | -£36 |
| Greenwich & Charlton | £1,000 (173) | £1,035 (54) | -£35 |
| Shoreditch & Hoxton | £1,165 (156) | £1,200 (103) | -£35 |
| Bethnal Green & Spitalfields | £1,018 (304) | £1,050 (142) | -£32 |
| East Ham & Forest Gate | £800 (484) | £830 (33) | -£30 |
| Stoke Newington & Clissold | £970 (105) | £998 (95) | -£28 |
| Hackney Central & Homerton | £970 (171) | £990 (143) | -£20 |
| Ealing & Hanwell | £950 (410) | £969 (40) | -£19 |
| Wandsworth Town & Earlsfield | £1,000 (191) | £1,016 (119) | -£16 |
| Brixton | £975 (153) | £988 (116) | -£13 |
| Stockwell | £988 (112) | £1,000 (68) | -£12 |
| Bermondsey & Rotherhithe | £1,055 (226) | £1,062 (90) | -£7 |
| Catford & Forest Hill | £850 (153) | £850 (30) | £0 |
| Walthamstow | £850 (161) | £850 (49) | £0 |
| Shepherd's Bush & White City | £950 (136) | £950 (36) | £0 |
| Whitechapel & Stepney | £1,000 (447) | £1,000 (111) | £0 |
| Herne Hill & Tulse Hill | £900 (123) | £898 (38) | +£2 |
| Highbury & Canonbury | £1,100 (82) | £1,092 (84) | +£8 |
| Elephant & Castle & Walworth | £1,040 (162) | £1,018 (94) | +£22 |
| Kilburn & Willesden | £950 (365) | £925 (79) | +£25 |
| Fulham | £1,125 (182) | £1,100 (97) | +£25 |
| Balham & Tooting | £975 (192) | £950 (171) | +£25 |
| Camberwell | £900 (88) | £865 (44) | +£35 |
| Blackheath & Lewisham | £895 (161) | £850 (42) | +£45 |
| Peckham & Nunhead | £950 (115) | £900 (51) | +£50 |
| Tottenham | £850 (348) | £798 (82) | +£52 |
| Acton | £950 (202) | £896 (34) | +£54 |
| Crouch End & Muswell Hill | £922 (106) | £867 (47) | +£55 |
| West Hampstead & Kilburn | £1,062 (112) | £1,000 (46) | +£62 |
| Finchley & Golders Green | £900 (192) | £834 (35) | +£66 |
| Holloway & Tufnell Park | £1,040 (103) | £967 (63) | +£73 |
| Streatham | £975 (157) | £900 (82) | +£75 |
| Deptford & New Cross | £977 (172) | £900 (68) | +£77 |
| Battersea & Nine Elms | £1,190 (227) | £1,112 (140) | +£78 |
| Paddington & Bayswater | £1,300 (139) | £1,207 (30) | +£93 |
| Clapham | £1,100 (153) | £1,001 (132) | +£99 |
| Wimbledon | £950 (105) | £829 (36) | +£121 |
| Harringay & Seven Sisters | £900 (177) | £775 (59) | +£125 |
| Maida Vale & St John's Wood | £1,206 (42) | £1,066 (30) | +£140 |
| Finsbury Park & Tollington | £1,058 (54) | £912 (48) | +£146 |
| Islington & Angel | £1,299 (109) | £1,132 (74) | +£167 |
| Clapham Junction & Northcote | £1,250 (81) | £1,050 (62) | +£200 |
Room ads first seen 15 July 2026 to 12 October 2026 (90 days) that carry a structured bills field. Asking rents in pounds per calendar month (pcm).
- Median difference: £0. Bills-included double rooms asked less in 23 neighbourhoods, more in 26 and the same in 4.
- Range: from £236 less to £200 more a month.
So in the same area, a bills-included double room did not reliably ask more or less than one without bills. Compare the two total costs for the rooms you are looking at.
Bills-included room ads in each London neighbourhood
83 of our 100 London neighbourhoods have at least 30 room ads that state bills. The median neighbourhood share was 68.2%. 38 neighbourhoods were at 70% or more, and 3 were under 50%.
Share of room ads with bills included, by neighbourhood
83 of 100 London neighbourhoods have at least 30 room ads with a bills field.
| Neighbourhood | Region | Ads with a bills field | All bills included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wembley | North | 222 | 93.2% |
| Edmonton & Ponders End | North | 167 | 90.4% |
| East Ham & Forest Gate | East | 861 | 90.1% |
| Eltham & Kidbrooke | South | 160 | 88.1% |
| Croydon & Addiscombe | South | 243 | 87.7% |
| Ealing & Hanwell | West | 640 | 87.5% |
| Chingford & Highams Park | East | 92 | 85.9% |
| Leyton & Leytonstone | East | 312 | 85.3% |
| Harlesden & Kensal Green | North | 361 | 85% |
| Acton | West | 377 | 84.9% |
| Hendon, Colindale & Mill Hill | North | 360 | 84.7% |
| Barnet & Whetstone | North | 82 | 84.1% |
| Erith & Thamesmead | South | 43 | 83.7% |
| Putney & Roehampton | South | 436 | 82.6% |
| Bromley, Beckenham & Penge | South | 82 | 81.7% |
| Enfield & Southgate | North | 166 | 81.3% |
| Woolwich & Plumstead | South | 380 | 81.1% |
| Wanstead, Woodford & Snaresbrook | East | 55 | 80% |
| Kilburn & Willesden | North | 785 | 79.1% |
| Notting Hill & Ladbroke Grove | West | 142 | 78.9% |
| Finchley & Golders Green | North | 322 | 78.6% |
| Catford & Forest Hill | South | 279 | 78.1% |
| Blackheath & Lewisham | South | 325 | 77.2% |
| Queen's Park & Harrow Road | West | 205 | 77.1% |
| Tottenham | North | 665 | 76.5% |
| Chiswick | West | 96 | 76% |
| Mitcham & Morden | South | 261 | 75.9% |
| Walthamstow | East | 327 | 74.9% |
| Canary Wharf & Isle of Dogs | East | 645 | 74.3% |
| Paddington & Bayswater | West | 302 | 74.2% |
| Shepherd's Bush & White City | West | 251 | 73.7% |
| Herne Hill & Tulse Hill | South | 237 | 73.4% |
| Bow & Poplar | East | 806 | 73.1% |
| Whitechapel & Stepney | East | 909 | 72.6% |
| Wimbledon | South | 224 | 72.3% |
| Streatham | South | 368 | 70.9% |
| Soho & Covent Garden | Central | 85 | 70.6% |
| Richmond & Kew | West | 44 | 70.5% |
| Camden Town & Primrose Hill | North | 183 | 69.4% |
| Chelsea & Earl's Court | West | 149 | 68.5% |
| Harringay & Seven Sisters | North | 340 | 68.5% |
| Bermondsey & Rotherhithe | South | 465 | 68.2% |
| Greenwich & Charlton | South | 414 | 67.9% |
| Clerkenwell & Farringdon | Central | 169 | 66.9% |
| Deptford & New Cross | South | 349 | 66.8% |
| Hammersmith & Brook Green | West | 311 | 66.6% |
| Pimlico & Victoria | Central | 133 | 66.2% |
| Peckham & Nunhead | South | 229 | 65.5% |
| Canning Town & Royal Docks | East | 599 | 65.3% |
| West Hampstead & Kilburn | North | 236 | 65.3% |
| Stratford & Olympic Park | East | 464 | 63.6% |
| Battersea & Nine Elms | South | 531 | 62.5% |
| Fulham | West | 385 | 62.3% |
| Bloomsbury & King's Cross | Central | 172 | 61.6% |
| Kentish Town & Gospel Oak | North | 130 | 61.5% |
| Waterloo & South Bank | Central | 41 | 61% |
| Bethnal Green & Spitalfields | East | 710 | 60.6% |
| Holloway & Tufnell Park | North | 263 | 60.5% |
| Kennington, Oval & Vauxhall | South | 230 | 60.4% |
| Maida Vale & St John's Wood | West | 154 | 60.4% |
| Crouch End & Muswell Hill | North | 222 | 59.9% |
| Wandsworth Town & Earlsfield | South | 431 | 59.6% |
| Elephant & Castle & Walworth | South | 371 | 58.5% |
| Dulwich | South | 57 | 57.9% |
| Hampstead & Belsize Park | North | 77 | 57.1% |
| Stockwell | South | 261 | 57.1% |
| Borough & Bankside | Central | 272 | 55.9% |
| Marylebone & Fitzrovia | Central | 137 | 55.5% |
| Islington & Angel | North | 294 | 55.4% |
| Kensington & Holland Park | West | 101 | 55.4% |
| Camberwell | South | 203 | 55.2% |
| Balham & Tooting | South | 487 | 54.2% |
| Brixton | South | 390 | 54.1% |
| Clapham Junction & Northcote | South | 174 | 54% |
| Clapham | South | 357 | 53.8% |
| Stoke Newington & Clissold | North | 267 | 53.6% |
| Hackney Central & Homerton | East | 424 | 53.5% |
| Wapping & Limehouse | East | 137 | 51.1% |
| Highbury & Canonbury | North | 239 | 50.2% |
| Shoreditch & Hoxton | East | 505 | 50.1% |
| Finsbury Park & Tollington | North | 147 | 49.7% |
| Dalston & London Fields | East | 229 | 42.8% |
| Mayfair & St James's | Central | 38 | 36.8% |
Room ads first seen 15 July 2026 to 12 October 2026 (90 days) that carry a structured bills field. Asking rents in pounds per calendar month (pcm).
- Highest shares: Wembley 93.2% (222 ads), Edmonton & Ponders End 90.4% (167), East Ham & Forest Gate 90.1% (861), Eltham & Kidbrooke 88.1% (160) and Croydon & Addiscombe 87.7% (243).
- Lowest shares: Mayfair & St James's 36.8% (38 ads), Dalston & London Fields 42.8% (229), Finsbury Park & Tollington 49.7% (147), Shoreditch & Hoxton 50.1% (505) and Highbury & Canonbury 50.2% (239).
By region, West London had the highest share (74.9% of 3,166 ads) and Central London the lowest (61.4% of 1,077).
How much are bills in a London flatshare?
Our ads do not say what bills cost. These official figures are a starting point. Split them by the number of people in the home.
- Energy. Ofgem's price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 is £1,723 a year for a typical dual-fuel household paying by Direct Debit, about £144 a month. Split 4 ways, that is about £36 each. A shared house of working adults can use more than Ofgem's typical household.
- Council tax. The London area average Band D council tax for 2026-27 is £2,068 a year (GOV.UK), about £172 a month. When rooms are let on separate agreements in a shared house, councils such as Westminster say the landlord is liable. Joint tenants are liable together.
- Water and broadband. Ask the household or check the provider's charges. We found no official London average to quote.
The median room ad that states bills lists 4 rooms in the home (23,006 ads), so the calculator splits bills 4 ways by default. Change it to fit the home.
What "bills included" can leave out
- Broadband or TV licence. An ad can include energy and water but not broadband.
- Fair use limits. An agreement can cap energy use and charge above it.
- Council tax. Check who pays it, especially on a joint tenancy.
- Price rises. Ask whether the landlord can raise the rent when bills rise.
Get the list of included bills in the written agreement before you pay a holding deposit. Under the Tenant Fees Act, a landlord can ask you to pay utilities, council tax, a TV licence and communication services only if the agreement says you pay them. Our guides to the total monthly cost of renting in London and deposits and tenant fees cover these costs.
How we measured London room bills
- Data: London room ads RentReboot collected and first saw from 15 July to 12 October 2026 (90 days). For each property record we keep the latest ad in the window, with an asking rent from £300 to £30,000 pcm. These are the same rules as our report on how much a room in London costs vs a studio. We read the data on 14 October 2026, a day after that report, so a few counts differ by up to 21 ads.
- Bills field: two listing sites publish bills as a structured field ("all", "some" or "none", or yes or no). One of them supplies 92.6% of the ads with the field. We do not name or count individual listing sites. We do not read bills from free text.
- Areas: each ad's ward is mapped to one of our 100 London neighbourhoods and five regions. A share or median needs at least 30 ads.
- Who placed the ad, room size, zone, rooms in the home: structured fields that only some room ads carry. Each figure uses only the ads that have the field.
- Duplicates: a room posted on two sites can count twice. When we count each distinct ad text, rent and area once (24,232 adverts), 69.1% include all bills.
- Prices: asking rent in pounds per calendar month. Weekly prices are converted at 52 weeks ÷ 12 months.
The queries and results are in our code repository under scripts/analysis/london-room-bills-included-2026.
London room bills FAQ
Are bills included in London rent?
For rooms in shared homes, usually. Of 24,853 London room ads that state bills, first seen 15 July to 12 October 2026, 69.6% said all bills are included, 9.3% said some are and 21.1% said none are. Studio and flat ads in our data do not state bills in a structured field, so check each ad.
How much are bills in a London flatshare?
It depends on the home. Ofgem's typical household energy bill is £1,723 a year from October 2026, about £36 a month each split 4 ways. Add water and broadband. Council tax averages £2,068 a year at Band D in London, but the landlord usually pays it when rooms are let separately.
Is a room with bills included more expensive?
Not in our data. Across London the median bills-included room asked £932 pcm against £1,000 for a room without bills. For double rooms in the same neighbourhood, the median difference was £0: bills-included rooms asked less in 23 of 53 neighbourhoods and more in 26.
Who usually includes bills in a London room ad?
Letting agents and landlords. 84.3% of agent ads and 83.3% of ads from landlords who live in the home said all bills are included. Only 40.6% of ads from current flatmates and 31.7% from outgoing flatmates did. Check each ad, because the rent can mean different things.
Do I pay council tax if I rent a room in London?
Usually not directly. When each tenant rents a room on a separate agreement and shares the kitchen or bathroom, councils such as Westminster say the landlord is liable for council tax. If you sign one joint tenancy with your flatmates, you are liable together. Ask the landlord and check the agreement.
What does "all bills included" usually cover?
There is no fixed definition. It can cover gas, electricity, water, broadband and council tax, or only some of them. An agreement can also set a limit on energy use. Ask for the list of included bills in writing before you pay a holding deposit.
Where in London are bills most often included in room rents?
In outer areas. 84.4% of room ads near a zone 4 station included all bills, against 62.6% in zone 1. By neighbourhood, Wembley (93.2%), Edmonton & Ponders End (90.4%) and East Ham & Forest Gate (90.1%) had the highest shares of the 83 areas we could measure.
Get alerts for London rooms and flats
RentReboot watches London portals, letting agents' sites, landlord-direct listings and flatshare sites, and emails you new listings that match your budget and neighbourhoods. We try to filter out likely scams, but always view the home and check the agreement before you pay. Set up London rental alerts.