When it comes to utilities, there are a variety of possibilities. Depending on your situation, the basic utilities of water, gas, and electricity, and others such as waste disposal and gardening, may or may not be included in your monthly rent. Very often, gas and electricity are not included in your rent, but water and garbage collection are. Phone service is never included! You need to ask your housing manager to see what is provided under your rental agreement.

If some or all utilities are not provided, you will have to contact your local utility companies yourself, before you move in, to get service turned on by the time you move in. Your manager will be able to tell you which companies you need to call. Take care of this early, or you could be without electricity your first couple of days!

Cable Television

In addition to the basic utilities, you may want to subscribe to cable TV or satellite TV as well. These services provide a much larger range of television channels--MTV (music television), ESPN (sports channel), and HBO (movie channel)to name a few--than you would normally get with local television. Usually, one cable TV company is the only service provider for a certain geographic region, so choices are limited. Under that company, different plans are available at different monthly rates, from "basic cable", which offers about 20-30 channels, to "premium" or "pay cable", which offers extra channels. The monthly charge can range from about $20 to $50 a month, plus the initial installation fee, which is sometimes discounted, or waived completely, if the company is offering a special deal for people just moving in. When you have cable or satellite TV, you can order pay-per-view movies and events for an extra charge.