What 'All Bills Included' Actually Means in an Oxford HMO
"All bills included" appears on most HMO listings on SpareRoom. The fine print varies wildly. Here's what it means at Haines, what's actually included, what isn't, and how the maths usually shakes out for tenants.
What's covered in your monthly rent
When you take a room in a Haines HMO, your rent includes:
Gas, electric, and water. Unlimited use within reasonable limits. The bills come to us. You don't see them.
Council tax. Paid by us. You don't register, you don't get demand letters.
Broadband. Fast wired internet to the property. Speed varies by location, but every house has at least 100Mb/s. We test it.
TV licence. Covers the house TV in communal areas.
Communal cleaning. Twice a month, by a professional cleaning company we book and pay. Kitchen, hallways, bathrooms.
Seasonal gardening. Trimming, mowing, hedge cutting in summer months. Tidy-up in autumn.
Maintenance. Reported through COHO, addressed by us, not your responsibility to chase.
Furnished room. Bed, desk, chair, wardrobe, curtains, mattress. Kitchen and communal areas furnished and equipped.
That's the package on every room.
What isn't covered
A few things are on you:
Your contents and personal belongings. We recommend tenant contents insurance. £5-10/month covers most things.
A TV in your bedroom. If you choose to have one, you'd technically need a separate TV licence. Most tenants stream and skip it.
Personal subscriptions. Netflix, Spotify, food deliveries, gym memberships.
Bedroom lightbulbs and your own lamps. We cover communal areas and any fitting you can't safely reach. Your room and lamps are yours.
Damage you or your guests cause. Standard tenancy obligation, written into the agreement.
Cleaning your own room and shared spaces between cleans. You keep your own room and your bit of the shared spaces tidy day-to-day.
That's it. No surprise add-ons. No "service charge". No quarterly utility reconciliation.
How the maths usually works out
Take a £750/month room in a Haines HMO. Compare to renting a one-bedroom flat solo in the same Oxford postcode:
One bed flat:
Rent: £1,000-£1,200
Council tax (single 25% off): ~£130
Gas and Electric: £80-£120
Water: £25-£40
Broadband: £30-£40
TOTAL: £1,265-£1,530
HAINES HMO
Rent: £750
Council Tax, Gas and Electric, Water, Broadband: Included
TOTAL: £750
The difference is roughly £500–£780/month. That gap is the value of all-inclusive plus the trade of having a kitchen and living room shared rather than yours alone. Most professional tenants in Oxford run the maths and pick the HMO.
How to verify any HMO listing is genuinely all-inclusive
If you're looking at listings elsewhere, ask the landlord or agent directly:
Are gas, electric, water, council tax, and broadband all included, with no fair-use cap?
Is the rent fixed, or does it adjust if utility prices rise?
Who pays for repairs and how do I report them?
What's the cleaning standard and frequency?
Are there any add-on charges (cleaning levy, service charge, summer/winter premium)?
If the answers are vague, it's not all-inclusive. It's a stripped rent with bills you'll be chased for later.
At Haines
The number on the listing is the number you pay. Same date every month. We carry the bill risk. You move in, settle in, and get on with your life.
