Ministers to ensure £200 energy bills relief ‘distributed fairly’ to tenants by landlords

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A new government consultation aims to study whether its planned Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) will treat all tenants fairly.

The scheme, announced in February as part of a package of support to help domestic energy customers with the costs of rising energy bills, starts in October and will provide funding so that all energy suppliers can pass a £200 reduction to domestic electricity customers.

This will be recovered through electricity bills over five years starting from 2023. 

Landlords must pass on the reduction to tenants; those with a domestic electricity connection who charge ‘all inclusive’ rent, where energy costs are included, will need to ensure that both the grant payments and the levy are also passed on to tenants.

Those with tenants who share a meter point will need to ensure that both the grant received, and the subsequent levy, is shared fairly between tenants.

The consultation – which closes on 23rd May – will look at whether the government should explore issues relating to tenancy agreements, for example, if a tenant has moved into a property after the rebate has been issued.

Split bills

It will also consider a situation where tenants split and pay utility bills separately but occupy the same property, and when tenants move into another property during the five years of the rebate.

London rental platform Rentd has revealed that opting for a rental property that includes bills costs the average tenant an extra £700 a year.

It found that the cost of renting a property without bills costs an average of £1,724 per month while those that include them average £2,023 per month – 17% more. 

Just 8% of all London rental homes currently listed on the market offer bills included within the top-line cost of renting. 

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