What your landlord can charge you for energy

Your landlord can only charge you for gas or electricity if it says they can in the written statement of your occupation contract.

Check your written statement to find out if you have to pay your landlord for energy, and on what terms. Ask your landlord for a copy of your written statement if you don’t have one.

Your landlord can’t charge you for gas or electricity if you pay your supplier directly.

How you pay your landlord for energy might affect how much they can charge you.

If your bills are included in your rent

If your bills are included in your rent and your landlord has increased your rent because of higher energy prices, you might be able to challenge this increase.

You can check how to deal with a rent increase.

If you pay your landlord separately for energy

Your landlord must pass on the full amount of support they get for gas and electricity.

They can't charge you more than they’ve paid for gas and electricity - this is called the 'maximum resale price'. This amount includes:

• the units of energy you've used - for example, the kilowatt hours you've used for electricity

• your share of the standing charge, this is a flat fee charged on every energy contract

• the VAT owed, this is 5% for energy

If your home doesn’t have an energy meter that records how much energy you’ve used, your landlord must estimate as accurately as possible how much you should pay. However, it’s rare that a home won’t have its own meter.

Estimated bills should include any discounts your landlord gets on your energy - for example as part of the Energy Price Guarantee.

If you don’t have a smart meter, it might be helpful to get one. A smart meter can: 

• automatically send readings to your supplier so your landlord won’t need to estimate your bill

• tell you how much energy you're using and how much it costs

You can check how to get a smart meter.

If your property is part of a 'Green Deal'

Your landlord might charge you more for your energy if they borrowed money to make energy efficiency improvements to the property. For example they might have paid for wall insulation or double glazing.

You should have been told your property was part of a 'Green Deal' before you moved in.

You can find a list of what energy efficiency changes were made to the property on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). If you don’t have a copy, you can search for your EPC online.

Check the EPC for your property on GOV.UK

Talk to an adviser if you think your landlord has been wrongly charging you as part of the ‘Green Deal’.

If you’ve been overcharged

If you think your landlord has overcharged you, ask them for a copy of the bill and ask them to explain how they worked out the charges.

If your landlord charged you more than they paid for gas and electricity you can ask them to:

• lower the charge to the correct amount

• refund you the difference if you’ve already paid

Talk to an adviser if you don't feel confident speaking to your landlord or you need help to challenge the amount you’ve been charged.

If you can’t resolve the dispute, you can try to get the money by bringing a claim against your landlord in the county court for the amount you’ve been overcharged plus interest. This is sometimes called making a small claim. Get help deciding whether to make a small claim.

If your landlord is your heat network supplier, you might need to follow a different complaints process. Check how to complain to your heat network supplier.

If you're worried your landlord might try and evict you, you should talk to an adviser before challenging your landlord.

Further help

Contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline if you need more help - a trained adviser can give you advice over the phone, online chat or by email.