Energy Bills: Landlord or Tenant?

On a standard UK tenancy, the tenant pays the gas, electricity and water bills for the property, and the landlord pays for nothing beyond the property's own structure and fixed installations. That default only changes if the tenancy agreement specifically says otherwise, most commonly in an inclusive rent or a house in multiple occupation (HMO) let by the room.

This guide sets out the standard position, what changes with an inclusive rent, how HMOs typically differ, and what happens when a tenant wants to switch energy supplier during a tenancy.

Standard tenancy position

Under a typical assured tenancy (the tenancy type that replaced the fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy for new lettings once the Renters' Rights Act 2025 took effect in May 2026), the tenant is responsible for putting utility accounts into their own name from the day the tenancy starts, and for paying gas, electricity, water and, usually, a TV licence and broadband, directly to their chosen suppliers.

As the landlord, your role is to make sure meters are accessible and readings are taken at the point the tenant moves in, so there is a clear record of where responsibility for consumption starts. Photographing meter readings at check-in and check-out, alongside your usual inventory, avoids a dispute later over who used what and when, particularly if a final bill arrives after the tenant has already left.

You remain responsible for the standing charges tied to the property itself when it is empty between tenancies, since there is no tenant account in place to cover that period, and for anything relating to the property's own systems, such as ensuring the boiler and gas appliances are safe and serviced, which is a separate duty from who pays the ongoing bill for using them.

Inclusive rents

Some tenancies, particularly at the higher end of the market, in shared houses, or where a landlord wants to offer a simple all-in figure, are let with bills included in the rent. In this arrangement, the landlord keeps the utility accounts in their own name and pays the suppliers directly, recovering the cost through a higher headline rent rather than a separate bill to the tenant.

This can suit both sides: the tenant has one predictable monthly figure with no supplier admin, and the landlord can present a competitive-looking rent that is actually all-inclusive. The risk sits with the landlord, who is exposed if a tenant uses significantly more energy than assumed when the rent was set, particularly during a cold winter or if working from home became the norm for that household. Building a reasonable buffer into the rent, and reviewing usage patterns if you offer this repeatedly, protects your margin against a tenant whose actual consumption runs well above what an average household would use.

Be precise in the tenancy agreement about exactly what is included (all utilities, or gas and electricity only, with the tenant covering water and broadband separately, for example) since a vague "bills included" clause is a common source of dispute if a tenant expects more than you intended to cover. Our tenancy agreement essentials guide covers what a clear agreement should specify to avoid exactly this kind of ambiguity.

HMO setups

Houses in multiple occupation, where individual tenants let a room rather than the whole property, most commonly run on an inclusive-rent model for utilities, since it is impractical to split meters and supplier accounts between several unrelated tenants sharing the same connection. The landlord typically holds the utility accounts and recovers the cost within each tenant's room rent, similar in principle to the inclusive-rent arrangement above but structured around multiple individual tenancies rather than one household.

This makes accurate cost estimation more important, not less, since the landlord is absorbing utility risk across several tenants' combined usage rather than one household's. Reviewing actual utility costs against what you assumed when setting room rents, at least annually, catches a gap building up before it becomes a meaningful drag on the property's return. Our HMO management regulations guide covers the wider compliance picture for licensed HMOs beyond utilities specifically.

Switching suppliers

Where the tenant holds the utility accounts under a standard tenancy, they are generally free to switch supplier during the tenancy, in the same way any householder can, and a landlord cannot normally prevent this. If your tenancy agreement includes a clause requiring the tenant to use a specific supplier, be aware that such clauses have limited enforceability in most circumstances, since the tenant is the account holder and the one actually paying the bill.

Where the landlord holds the accounts under an inclusive-rent arrangement, the landlord is the one who can shop around for a better tariff, and doing so periodically is worth building into your annual admin, since energy prices move and a tariff that was competitive when you set an inclusive rent may not still be a year or two later.

How Property HQ helps

Property HQ keeps a note of who is responsible for utilities on each tenancy, alongside meter readings at check-in and check-out, so a query about who owes what for a given period is a quick lookup rather than a search through old messages and paper bills.

Disclaimer

This guide is general information for UK landlords, not legal, tax or mortgage advice. Tenancy law and supplier rules can change - check GOV.UK, Ofgem or a qualified adviser before relying on this guide for a specific tenancy.