How do I split shared bills when a housemate moves out mid-contract?

The problem in a shared house is that utility companies do not recognise your internal arrangements. If two names are on an account, both are liable for the whole amount. The private agreement between housemates is real between you, but it is not a defence to the supplier, which is why the account changes matter as much as the arithmetic.

Step by step

1. Take every meter reading on the day they leave.Gas, electricity and water, photographed with the date. This is what lets you split a bill by dates rather than by a billing period that suits nobody.
2. Ask each supplier for a statement to that date.Most will produce an interim statement on request. It converts an argument into a figure.
3. Split fixed and variable costs differently.Standing charges, broadband and TV licence are per day regardless of usage. Metered energy and water are usage-based. Splitting everything by headcount is simpler but less accurate.
4. Handle council tax carefully.Liability and discounts change when the household composition changes — a single remaining adult may qualify for a discount, and a departing student may end an exemption. Tell the council promptly.
5. Change the names on every account.Until the account is changed, the person who left remains liable and, more importantly to you, so do you for anything that follows. Do this within days, not months.
6. Deal with contracts that have a minimum term.Broadband and some energy tariffs have terms that do not end because somebody moved. Someone has to hold the contract, and the group should agree who and on what basis.
7. Settle the deposit position separately.A tenancy deposit is usually held as one sum for the whole tenancy — in a protection scheme in all four UK nations, though the schemes and timescales differ — and is not returned when one person leaves. Any internal buyout should be documented between you.
8. Write down what was agreed.A short message that everybody acknowledges, stating the readings, the figures and who owes what by when. It is worth far more than it takes to write.
9. Set up a single shared account or app for future bills.One account paying the bills, funded by standing orders, removes the whole category of dispute for whoever remains.
10. Chase promptly if they do not pay.A polite written request with the figures and the evidence, then a letter before action. The small claims route exists for exactly this.

Tips

• Photograph the meters on the day they leave. Every later argument is settled by that photograph and impossible without it.
• Change the account names within the first week. Liability follows the name on the account, not the arrangement between you.
• Tell the council the same week. A household composition change can trigger a discount that offsets much of the disruption.

Common mistakes

• Relying on a verbal agreement — Memories differ and there is nothing to show a supplier or a court. A short written summary everybody acknowledges takes five minutes.
• Leaving the departed housemate's name on the account — It leaves both of you exposed, complicates any dispute, and can delay a refund or a switch later.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask