There has been much talk in the media of homeowners and tenants of individual properties struggling with the rising cost of living and cost of utilities in particular. The new price cap for gas and electricity could see average bills rising by a huge 54% in April. But what about tenants in HMO’s where the bills are included in the rent?
Well, as with any broad cost increases – such as materials and commodities, ultimately no sector of society is spared and these increased operating costs will be passed on to the end user – the HMO tenant. Landlords operating HMOs are therefore also bracing themselves for the large increase in cost of utilities and undoubtedly room rents will increase this Spring.
So how can HMO landlords manage these rising costs and maintain profitability? There are several things an HMO landlord can be doing now to control energy usage within their HMOs. First of all, a brief reminder of the rules here. Landlords cannot simply switch off or limit access to heat, electricity, etc. within their HMOs. Tenants have a right to be able to control the heating and use utilities such as electricity. The landlord can however introduce a limited heating control mechanism – such as Time-o-stat – which only allows the tenants to ‘boost’ the system rather than override completely. Another feature that can be considered in a new HMO (more difficult in an existing HMO) is to make sure as much as possible of the heating, hot water etc. is generated by gas rather than electricity. House rules and a ‘fair use policy’ can also be a good deterrent to over-use of systems, as can general education on how to use the heating system properly rather than just opening the window if the house is too hot.
One thing is for certain; we are entering interesting times when we couple the rising costs of energy with the need for energy efficient measures and corresponding legislation in this area. We will continue to monitor the situation as things develop and will report any significant developments to our readers.
If you would like to save money on gas & electricity bills as well as boiler maintenance cover for your properties, in particular HMO/House Shares, then click below to contact our in house expert Lucy Walton with your queries.
