Can a Landlord Charge for Electricity? UK Tenant Guide

When can a landlord charge you for electricity?

Start with the tenancy, licence or occupancy agreement. It should say whether you pay the energy supplier directly, reimburse the landlord through separate electricity charges, or pay rent that already includes energy. A landlord should not send you an extra electricity bill when your agreement makes you responsible for paying the supplier directly.

If the supply account is in your name, you normally deal with the supplier, submit meter readings and pay its bills. If the landlord holds the account and resells electricity to you for domestic use, the landlord becomes the reseller. A submeter may only record your share of that building supply; it does not create a separate supplier account.

What is the maximum resale price?

In Great Britain, Ofgem’s maximum resale price is the most a reseller can charge for gas or electricity already bought from an authorised supplier and resold for domestic use. Since 1 January 2003, that maximum has been the same price the reseller paid, including standing charges. The rule therefore prevents a landlord from adding a profit margin to the electricity itself.

The calculation should reflect the landlord’s real tariff, not a national average or another property’s rate. Discounts and supplier adjustments affect the actual cost. A metered charge should use the recorded consumption and matching unit price, while the landlord must pay for any electricity they use.

Ofgem says a landlord or site owner using a business energy contract may charge a separate fee for services such as meter reading and billing. Any service fee should be allowed by the written agreement, transparent and clearly separated from the electricity calculation.

• Unit charge: your measured or reasonably estimated kWh multiplied by the unit rate actually paid.
• Standing charge: your fair apportioned share for the same number of days.
• Adjustments: discounts, credits and corrected supplier bills should flow through to the calculation.
• Evidence: the main supplier bill, tariff rates, dates, readings and allocation method.

How to check a landlord electricity bill

Use: electricity charge = electricity used in kWh × landlord’s unit rate + your share of the standing charge. Subtract the opening submeter reading from the closing reading to find the kWh used. Match both readings to the dates covered by the main supplier bill.

Worked example: suppose your submeter rises from 4,820 kWh to 5,000 kWh over 30 days, so you used 180 kWh. The landlord’s illustrative rate is 26p per kWh. Usage costs 180 × £0.26 = £46.80. If the 55p daily standing charge is split equally between three occupied flats, your share is 30 × £0.55 ÷ 3 = £5.50. The total is £52.30 before any separately agreed service fee.

The figures are illustrative, not a current tariff quote. Use the exact rate and standing charge on the supporting bill. If the building has more than one rate, such as day and night electricity, each register should be matched to the rate the landlord paid rather than blended without explanation.

What if the property has a shared meter?

A landlord should use reasonable endeavours to estimate each household’s share when there is no accurate individual meter. Ofgem’s guidance does not impose one universal allocation method, but says the method must be explainable. Possible factors include floor area, number of occupants or the energy ratings of equipment supplied to each unit.

The total amount collected for electricity should not exceed the relevant supplier cost, and the landlord must include their own use when dividing the bill. Standing charges should be apportioned among users according to electricity used or reasonably estimated use. A flat equal split might be simple, but it can be unfair when homes differ greatly in size, occupancy or electric heating.

Ask for the whole-building bill and a written explanation. Check that the total kWh assigned is plausible, communal areas are treated consistently and later supplier corrections lead to a reconciliation.

What if electricity is included in the rent?

An all-inclusive rent is not normally a separate resale of electricity. Ofgem’s resale guidance says the maximum resale price rule does not apply where accommodation is offered for one inclusive charge and there is no separate agreement for energy. The tenancy terms and wider housing and consumer law then matter instead.

Read any fair-usage limit, review clause or energy supplement carefully. In England, current government guidance says utilities included in rent must be listed in the tenancy agreement and accurately reflect costs. Rules differ across the UK, so get local housing advice before withholding rent or treating an inclusive payment as a metered bill.

Homes supplied through a business energy contract

Some residential occupiers receive electricity through a landlord’s business contract. Ofgem lists examples including park homes, houseboats, traveller sites, farm or tied accommodation and flats connected to shops or pubs. Business contracts are not protected by the domestic energy price cap, so the landlord’s underlying rate can be higher than a domestic tariff.

The absence of the price cap does not allow a reseller to profit from domestic electricity. Ask for the business supplier bill, rate, meter or estimate and allocation. You might not be able to switch or complain directly to the energy company when you are not its customer, so contact the landlord or site owner first.

What to do if you think you have been overcharged

Write to the landlord or managing agent and ask for the supplier bill, opening and closing readings, unit rate, standing-charge allocation, discounts, adjustments and any separate service fee. Set out your own calculation and identify the exact difference. Keep photographs of meters, invoices, the tenancy agreement and all correspondence.

Ask for correction and a refund of any overpayment. Citizens Advice says a tenant in England may consider a county court claim for an overcharge plus interest, but get advice for your nation and tenancy type first. State what you accept and what you dispute. If the account is in your name, use the supplier’s complaint process; otherwise a housing adviser, council team, eligible ombudsman or court may be relevant.

Does Northern Ireland have the same rule?

Northern Ireland has a separate electricity market and regulator, but it also uses a maximum resale price protection. Utility Regulator material explains that its 2007 direction applies a cost pass-through approach to unit charges and standing charges, plus VAT at the appropriate rate. The electricity resale price therefore cannot exceed the original price paid by the reseller to the supplier.

Your tenancy information should state responsibility for electricity bills. Ask for the supplier evidence and allocation in the same way, but use Northern Ireland housing and consumer-advice routes rather than assuming an Ofgem complaint process applies. Northern Ireland support schemes and VAT arrangements can also differ from Great Britain, so check current local guidance when a credit or tax change affects the landlord’s account.