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How the home figures are worked out

The council pages and the calculator use Calm Money Home's own figures and sums, for every council in England, Wales and Scotland.

  • A purpose-built flat with gas heating and an EPC rating of D: Calm Money Home's starting place. The two-bed is for two adults; the one-bed for one person living alone, with the 25% single person discount.
  • Rent: the ONS average private rent for the size of home in the council area, August 2026. It includes existing tenancies, so new listings are often higher. Scotland is by rental area, not council.
  • Council tax: band D to start, the same band for every council so places compare on the same footing; each band's published charge when you choose another. England and Wales use the council-area average, parish charges included.
  • Energy: Ofgem's Direct Debit price cap for the council's region, 1 October to 31 December 2026, with VAT as charged then, for the typical use of a gas-heated flat: 1,502 kWh electricity and 4,007 kWh gas a year for a one-bed, 1,880 and 6,134 for a two-bed.
  • Water and sewerage: the main companies for the council area. Their average household bills, or, for Affinity Water (Central), Affinity Water (East), Affinity Water (Southeast), Anglian Water, Essex & Suffolk Water, SES Water, South East Water, Southern Water and Thames Water, their charges worked out for the number of people. Scottish Water is billed by band with council tax.
  • The same in every council: broadband £28 a month, the TV licence £180 a year and contents insurance £59 a year.
  • Buying: the area's average flat price, moved for the bedrooms, a 10% deposit over 30 years at the Bank of England's average 2-year fix for the loan to value, and maintenance at 1% of the price a year.
  • Each bill is shown to the penny; the totals add the unrounded figures, as Calm Money Home does. A region's average is the average of its councils.

Change any figure for your own place in What a home really costs.

Sources