What the place really costs each month, and what you need on day one.
True monthly cost
Rent plus the utilities you pay yourself.
The deposit is counted once, at move-in, because it is normally returned when you leave.
The move-in figure above is one month of rent plus the deposit, and it deliberately leaves utilities out — utilities are almost always billed after you take the keys, not on the day you sign. If your landlord also wants last month's rent up front, add one more month yourself: on rent of 1,800 with a 1,800 deposit, this page shows 3,600 for "first and deposit", while "first, last and deposit" is really 5,400.
No, and counting it as monthly cost would double-count it. A deposit sits with the landlord and normally comes back when you leave, minus any deductions, so this page shows it in exactly two places: the move-in figure, and the running total over the lease. It only becomes a real cost if part of it is withheld at the end.
Rent on its own is not the number to budget. Add the utilities you pay yourself — power, gas, water, internet, and any building or management fee billed monthly — because those arrive every month whether you are home or not. That sum is what the big figure above shows. One-off charges such as a pet fee, a cleaning fee or a key deposit are not monthly and are not included; add them to the move-in number by hand.
The lease length never changes the monthly figure — by definition a fixed-term lease charges the same rent each month. What it changes is the total: 12 months at 1,800 plus 150 of utilities is 23,400; 24 months of the same is 46,800. So a longer term is not more expensive per month, it just commits you to more months. If your landlord quotes a higher rent for a shorter term, put that higher rent in the rent box and the difference falls straight out of the same maths.
Because the first payment usually carries the deposit with it — that is exactly the move-in line above. From the second month you pay rent plus utilities only. If you move in part-way through a month, many landlords prorate that first month to the days you actually occupy; there is no prorating box here, so enter the prorated rent figure instead of the full one if you want the move-in number to match your bank statement.
Yes, if you pay them. The trap is the word "included": if the listing says utilities are included, leave the box at zero and the monthly figure becomes your true cost. If it says some are included, enter only the ones you pay. Water and trash are often covered while power and internet are not, and those two are usually the biggest variable part of a small flat's monthly cost.
Not as a cost — but it does count as cash, and that is why this page keeps the two apart. "Over the lease" is rent plus utilities, money genuinely spent. "Total paid including deposit" is everything that leaves your account, which is the number that has to be in your bank on move-in day. A 2,000 deposit is 2,000 you must have immediately, even though it is not 2,000 you have spent.
It is not rent, and this page does not include it. If you pay it monthly rather than annually, the honest way to model it is to add the premium to the utilities box — that keeps the monthly figure complete without pretending insurance is rent. Note that it then also inflates the "over the lease" total, which is correct: it is money you will not get back.