Landlords responsibility for paying energy bills? What do we think?

I can only respond from my own experience of some years ago when I rented out my property while away for some years.  The agent who handled my house always took a reading at the commencement of a tenancy and the supply was put into the new tenant’s name.  At the end of the tenancy the agent took a reading, and then the responsibility for the consumption was mine, although usually it was just the standing charge.

I also can only inform you of my opinions having been until very recently, (3 months ago) a landlord of several properties since 1988. As LPen, meter meetings are taken, sorry were taken, at the start and finish of any tenancy , the supply was arranged by the tenant and a copy of the agreement handed to me at the handover date. The reverse on the tenant giving notice. In my view it is up to the landlord to check all utilities are aware of the tenant and it is the landlords responsibility to do this, otherwise all sorts of problems can arise.

In 33 years I never had a problem with any utility companies.

This is a very difficult topic for which there is not an easy answer. It does of course only apply where homes are in multiple occupation. A single tenant/family in a flat/house for example would be named on the bill. The landlord responsibility was essentially extinguished when the community charge came in the early 1990’s. Up to then the landlord was responsible in most properties for the rates (now council tax), water rates and probably electricity and gas too.

Where there is no single responsible tenant as in a multi-occupied household it makes sense for the landlord to manage this as “a lead owner”. However, this makes extra work for the owner dividing up the bill and there will alway be some argument over who has used more. In flats there is usually a buildings insurance policy which is divided up amongst all the owners. It is not unreasonable for a small commision to be added for billing individual owners. The same should apply if utilities are divided in this way.

This is only an option/opinion but there needs to be a legally binding way forward for these types of properties.

A very interesting debate starter ​@Andrew Burton! 🙂

People whose names on the bill are responsible for the bill. It’s tenant’s responsibility to inform about moving in or out of the property. But it’s also the landlord’s interest to check if the tenant has informed the supplier. Putting meter readings into the tenancy contract helps with managing that.

Unfortunately, much of this discussion had to be taken down after some issues arose. We’re unable to restore it, for which we apologise.

Please note that (as always) the words I write in this comment are my own. But these words do benefit from a lot of research and discussion with a ton of people. They know who they are and all of them have my thanks.

However, I can give you the rough idea based on what I recall. Long story short:

• Landlords are always responsible for paying energy bills and managing energy accounts for Void Properties/Periods i.e. periods where there is no active Tenant
• I strongly recommend that upon moving in, control of ALL utilities should pass to the Tenant who should set up their own account(s) and let them deal with everything from there
• Upon the tenant moving out, the outgoing tenant should close their accounts down, so that control passes back to the Landlord who should again create a new temporary landlord account
• Ideally, landlords should try to avoid naming themselves as responsible for bills outside of void periods
• In the case of a HMO, I strongly advise that each room has its own dedicated supply meter (not a landlord sub-meter!) and dedicated energy account with a supplier like OVO, so each tenant/sub-tenant can just deal with energy bills on their own without affecting or being affected by other tenants (or the landlord)
• For a block of flats, it’s DEFINITELY a good idea to split things up so that every single flat gets its own dedicated supply from the street, complete with dedicated MPAN/MPRN, Energy Meters and Energy Supplier so that whoever moves in can make their own decisions - and most importantly, doesn’t have to share the incoming supply with anyone else!
• It’s critical that these matters are solidified in Tenancy Agreements so that everyone knows what’s what
• If the Tenant does a runner, the Landlord MUST formally end the Tenancy Agreement i.e. go through the entire Eviction Process via the Courts before being able to re-enter/repossess the property and take back control
• Any disputes over any of the above are ultimately for the Courts to deal with - the OVO Forum can’t provide legal advice so you’ll need to ask a lawyer for help if the Energy Ombudsman finds itself stumped or paralyzed