Households are facing a financial squeeze in April as a stack of bills all rise on the same date, costing families more than £450 as a result of bills all shooting up on the same day
Brace yourselves, Brits!
April Fool’s Day is set to be no laughing matter as households are hit with a barrage of bill hikes all on the same day, leaving families over £450 out of pocket.
According to money-saving tool Nous.co, the average household will be left counting the cost of a £450.75 increase as energy, water, council tax, mobile, broadband and entertainment subscriptions all rocket simultaneously.
The main culprit?
Water bills, which are set to surge by an average of £123 – the steepest rise since the industry was privatised. Add to that increases in energy (£111), mobile phones (£43.20), broadband (£36), council tax* (£109) and entertainment (£29), and it’s clear why April’s price hikes are hitting harder than ever.
In fact, 2025’s April sting is significantly sharper than last year’s. Back in 2024, energy bills actually dropped in April thanks to Ofgem lowering the price cap, which helped offset other rising costs.
As a result, the typical household saw their water, mobile, broadband, council tax and TV license bills climb by just £245. And when you factor in the £238 fall in the energy price cap, the overall dent to household budgets was a mere £7.
But this year, some areas are set to feel the pinch even more due to their local water supplier’s steep price hikes and sky-high council tax increases. Brighton & Hove residents, for example, are facing a whopping £542 increase, largely down to a £224 annual hike from Southern Water.
‘Thumped’
Council tax is set to rise, along with modest increases for water. Residents in the London Borough of Wandsworth are bracing themselves for a £380 hike in their bills as their council tax – currently the lowest in the country – sees a below-average increase.
Greg Marsh, household finance guru and CEO of money-saving tool Nous.co, warned: “Households are being hit by another Awful April this year, leaving them hundreds ofpounds worse off.”
He added: “The combination of water, energy, council tax and more all rising on the same day adds up to serious money. And thanks to an unfair postcode lottery, families in certain areas will be thumped even harder, while others will get away with more manageable increases to their bills.
“With all of us set to lose out on such significant sums, it’s crucial we don’t end up overpaying. Unfortunately, nine out of 10 of us are doing just that. No wonder – staying on top of this stuff is boring, complicated and stressful.
“At Nous, we typically save customers hundreds of pounds a year on bills because they let things slip, and just didn’t realise they were paying so much more than they needed to.”