April is almost upon us – and with it comes yet another increase in household bills.
From the first of the month, a whole range of utilities will be getting more costly, including energy, water, council tax, and, alas, the TV licence.
Along these lines, Brits could see their expenses rise by an average of £32.17 per month, totalling more than £360 each year.
This amounts to a whopping £10,200,000,000 in extra costs, spread across 28,000,000 households.
So, is there any way to beat the hikes, and is it worth switching to save a few extra pennies?
Which bills are rising in April, and by how much?
Council tax
It’s bad news on the council tax front, as rates are set to rise by up to 5% across most of England.
But, as Amy Knight, personal finance expert at NerdWallet UK, tells Metro, some residents will see even steeper hikes of between 7.5% and 10%, effective across Birmingham, Bradford, and Newham.
For the average Band D property in England (the rates for which were £2,171 in 2024), a 5% increase amounts to an extra £109 annually – which is roughly £9.08 per month.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, rates will increase by at least 8%, while Wales is set to range from 4.5% to 9%.
Water
Water bills are set to jump up next month, with the average bill rising by 26% (£123 annually, or around £10 per month).
But as Amy notes, customers of Southern Water (which covers Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent), will see an increase of 47% (equating to £224 per year), while South West Water users will see their bills spike by 32% (an extra £166 annually).
Energy
From April 1, the energy price cap will increase by 6.4%, which will facilitate an average annual increase of £111 (an extra £9.25 per month for most households).
TV licence
Things are also going to get more costly in the entertainment world too, as the price of a standard colour TV licence will be increasing by £5 – or 42p each month.
However, if you don’t watch live TV on any channel or device – and you don’t use BBC iPlayer – you aren’t legally required to buy a licence at all.
So if you exclusively get your pop culture kicks from the likes of Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime, you could save some extra money by cancelling your licence fee.
Broadband
In the world of broadband, most customers are expected to see a price hike – though this depends on the individual terms of each contract.
‘If you signed up before January 17, 2025, your bill will rise based on a pre-set rate rather than inflation. However, some providers began implementing fixed-rate increases as early as April 2024, leading to a rise of around £3 per month,’ Amy shares.
‘Long-term broadband customers could see their bills go up by 7%, meaning an average £35 broadband package will cost around £2.45 more per month.’
Mobile
Those who haven’t recently signed a new mobile phone contract could also see price increases of 7%.
As Amy says, for the average £25 monthly plan, that amounts to an increase of approximately £1.75, while those on a fixed-rate contract could see sharper increases of around £3 per month.
Car tax
Things are skyrocketing in the motor world too, as from April, the standard road tax for cars registered after 2017 will rise by £5 to £195 per year – which adds on a monthly cost of at least 42p to most expenses.
It’s a similarly sticky situation for owners of electric vehicles too, which will no longer be exempt from car tax, incurring a £10 fee for the first year alongside the standard £195 charge.
There’ll also be an annual surcharge on electric vehicles exceeding the £40,000 price mark, which amounts to £420 annually. Ouch.
Is it worth switching ahead of April 1?
As Greg Marsh, consumer finance expert and CEO of household money-saving tool Nous.co tells Metro, nine out of 10 of us are overpaying on our bills – and could save by switching services like energy, mobile and broadband.
‘The average person who’s out of contract for their mobile and broadband could save more than £500 a year by switching to a cheap SIM-only deal and an affordable broadband package from a smaller supplier,’ Greg says.
‘For bills like water and council tax it isn’t possible to change suppliers, but households could potentially still save by getting a water meter or checking they’re in the right council tax band.’
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And, according to Martin Lewis, 80% of households in England, Scotland and Wales currently overpay for their energy – but as Amy explains, many households might benefit from switching to a fixed tariff, which is where you ‘lock in’ a rate for a set period of time.
‘Even with a fixed deal, the total bill depends on energy consumption. Luckily for Brits, with longer daylight hours approaching, small habit changes could actually help lower costs,’ Amy shares.
‘For example, simple actions like turning off unused lights, unplugging devices in standby mode, and being mindful of heating usage can make a massive difference.’
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Elsewhere, it’s also worth considering a reassessment on your council tax rates to ensure you’re being charged correctly – and as Amy adds, if you’re on a low income or receiving benefits, you may be eligible for a reduction.
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