We have a 3-bed rented apartment in which utilities are covered except for our Hydro (electricity). We pay around $45-50 a month for our Hydro which is with Enbridge.

Thank you so much. You see we have a water meter too but wonder if we are accidently paying for all our neighbours because it has jumped up so high, will speak with them tomorrow before we contact the water board (or whatever they are called now). We dug out the last bill and the one before and they are both around 50 cubic whatsits too.

This was really helpful, thank you.

Thank you everyone for the really helpful replies, there seems to be a really big difference in utilities on the whole.

It has been really interesting reading. Thanks.

Because they build little boxes here! One of the reasons we are moving is that you get so much more house for your money over there, even where we are going and land is of a premium (gardens are all small) the houses are mahoosive in comparison for the same price.

"One of the reasons we are moving is that you get so much more house for your money over there"

That's true, but they're built of flimsy wood with vinyl or wood siding. Not solid brick or stone like the UK houses.

BTW in Ottawa our average monthly costs for utilities is $340 - gas / water / electricity. That's a semi-detached, 3-bed, 1700 ft2, two adults + cat.

It was the sqft that puzzled me. We have a small house in Ontario, which is about the same size, slightly larger than our 2 bed Edwardian terrace in England. Thats all, just wondering if your assessment of the size was right.

That's true, but they're built of flimsy wood with vinyl or wood siding. Not solid brick or stone like the UK houses.

Hardly "flimsy". They are built to withstand harsh conditions, both heat and cold. They are much more suited to the climate than your average draughty, damp and cold british home. In any case, depending on where in the country they are they may be brick. In Nova Scotia and the rest of the Maritimes there is an abundance of wood and a somewhat sparse population and building them of brick is not a real viable option. My house in Nova Scotia is what is called an R 2000 home which means it is very energy efficient. I have a wood burning sealed fire place in the basement which keeps the place at 24 C and the furnace never kicks in when it's burning. It is far more comfortable than my aged parents brick place in the UK. It is a spacious detatched house which is miserable in winter. Thanks but I'll take my so called flimsy house over that any day.

Bit of a generalisation that - the houses around here are most definitely brick, some might have a vinyl back or side, but I've not seen many built of wood.

Aren't many new-build British houses made of wood with a brick facade? I remember my relatives in construction complaining about them a few years back.

In any case, my friend's parents' house in the UK was built largely from wood and mud in the 14th century and doesn't seem to be in any danger of falling down yet .