The tenancy agreement should indicate who is responsible for the payment of utility bills.
Ordinarily the tenant should take over the account and put it in their own name, payment is then a matter between the tenant and utility company. Most utility companies will allow the landlord to notify them of the new tenant’s details and some will actually pay the landlord for setting up the account with a particular supplier. A landlord can agree readings with an incoming tenant and should advise them which company or companies are supplying the fuel.
The utility companies might send someone to read the meter, or they might ask the landlord or the occupier to do this. It is suggested that the inventory agreed between landlord and tenant should include a note of all relevant meter readings at the date the tenant took over responsibility, together with a note of who took the readings. If fuel has been used during a void period, a landlord can agree to reimburse the tenant who may have to pay for it (if it is only a small amount) or pay the suppliers for the fuel used.
If the rent includes a charge for utilities (for example in the case of individually rented rooms, where there is no separate bill), it is suggested that landlords agree and set the rent at a level which reflects the cost.
Landlords should not arbitrarily increase the rent just because the bills have gone up, but should follow the appropriate rules for rent increases.
A contract term which provides for the rent to be increased to reflect increasing utility costs paid by the landlord will normally be considered fair under the regulations – provided the tenant is given reasonable notice of the increase and the opportunity to check the bills to verify that any increase in rent accords with the increase in the utility costs.
If the landlord pays the utilities, and the tenant is receiving Rent Allowance, the payment they receive will be reduced by an amount to reflect this.
Tenants can choose their electricity/ gas supplier. Landlords might find it useful to include a clause in the contract requiring the tenant to advise if they change the supplier, and who the new supplier is. This helps landlords to know which company/ companies to contact at the end of the tenancy if there is a void period. It also means the landlord will be able to correctly advise a new incoming tenant as to which company/ companies provide the utilities.
In a climate of volatile, and mainly increasing energy costs, landlords should pay close attention to energy prices to ensure that the inclusive rent they agree with the tenant does not vary from prevailing costs. In order to keep running costs to a minimum landlords might make every effort to ensure that the properties they let are as energy efficient as possible and should consider implementing the recommendations which accompanied their Energy Performance Certificate. Even relatively simple measures such as fitting energy-saving light bulbs, thermostatic radiator valves, draft proofing windows, fitting better insulation, or installing double glazing can have a dramatic effect in reducing running costs.
Some of the measures attract benefits and grants, such as the Landlords’ Energy Saving Allowance.
The leaflet from the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes is also helpful and can be down loaded at www.eeph.org.uk/uploads/documents/partnership/4.%20LESA%20Information%20Sheet%20August%202008%20FINAL.pdf